Amarillo, Texas, June 26, 2003 - The stage was set early on the morning of Tuesday, June 24 as 350 NASCAR fans gathered at American Quarter Horse Association hoping for just one chance to shake the hand of NASCAR legend Kyle Petty~~and thankfully most of them did.

Some fans traveled nearly 100 miles to Amarillo to attend the event. Other NASCAR enthusiasts arrived early and patiently waited for the gates to open. Many brought one-of-a-kind items for NASCAR drivers to sign-everything from a highway mile marker bearing Kyle Petty's number (43) to a photo of Adam, Kyle and Richard Petty acquired during the 2000 visit to Amarillo.

Arriving at American Quarter Horse Association during the 2003 Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America, Petty was joined by other NASCAR drivers Matt Kenseth and Terry LaBonte. AQHA has its own celebrity riders in the motorcycle company-AQHA First Vice President Frank "Scoop" Vessels and his wife, Bonnie, of Bonsall, California, arrived with the group joined by Patti Colbert of Bertram, Texas, former Director of Development for the American Quarter Horse Foundation who now works as a consultant for AQHF. The Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America was the kick-off event to the 2003 AQHA Member Appreciation Days, a month-long celebration dedicated to AQHA members worldwide.

Kyle and his wife, Pattie, are AQHA life members. Their daughter, Montgomery Lee, won a world championship title in western pleasure at the 2001 American Quarter Horse Youth Association World Championship Show in Fort Worth.

For a glimpse of all the excitement and activities held during the 2003 Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America's stop at AQHA log on to http://www.aqha.com/magazines/aqhj/news/062503.html.