A Gift From the Heart
Iowa QHA’s Verlin Potts creates circuit awards to cherish for The Mayflower.
The Mayflower circuit award momentos created by Verlin Potts. Photo by bar H Photography.
Iowa Quarter Horse Association and AQHA member Verlin Potts had already left an indelible mark on the industry in his lifetime as an AQHA judge, trainer, and an art teacher specializing in pottery in Boone, Iowa, in his lifetime.
Also carrying on the IQHA Past President’s hallmark as a celebrated horseman are his children, TR Potts and Amanda Potts, who also have been active in IQHA and show AQHA.
“Verlin served as (IQHA) president and was also always up for providing entertainment, appearing at their annual banquet as characters such as “Church Lady” and “Buster Black” (Baxter’s cousin) and Verlina Pottsina. A couple of years ago, Verlin was seriously injured in a riding accident that left him paralyzed,” explains IQHA Secretary Jennifer Horton.
That accident in February 2023, when Verlin and Kathy had traveled to Arizona to escape the Iowa cold and spend time exploring the trails of Arizona via horseback, changed his path, but not his dedication to the horse. Just as the horseman had done his whole life, he found a way to give back to the horse community.
“Last year he was able to find a pottery wheel that could be operated without the use of his legs and feet so he could continue his artistic craft,” says Horton, who also serves as the Mayflower Chairperson for the IQHA. Last January, she contacted Verlin about creating a special circuit award for the Mayflower show.
With the show theme, Verlin created small ceramic vases with the state outline and Mayflower script logo for the 2024 show. This year’s circuit award was a slightly different design featuring the same show theme blue color and logo.
“The handmade Mayflower vases are a special award you won’t find on Amazon or your local tack store,” says Horton. “They’ve been a conversation piece for people as well as a unique piece of pottery that can be used for several different purposes. I hope people appreciate the specialness of these awards.”
In addition to the circuit awards, Verlin (aka Pots by Potts) created special larger vases that were awarded in their Sponsor Appreciation drawings.
Those awards will serve as cherished reminders for exhibitors of time spent together enjoying the love of the horse, and as author Robert Brault once wrote, “Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
See more about this year’s 2025 Iowa QHA Mayflower Show: Around the Rings – 2025 Iowa QHA Mayflower Show | Equine Chronicle
Learn more about IQHA: Iowa Quarter Horse Association – Iowa Quarter Horse Association
Follow the Facebook page for IQHA State Show-The Mayflower: Facebook
