(Fort Worth, TX) — Former NCHA Executive Director Zack T Wood, Jr., who retired in 1991 after 28 years at the helm of NCHA, will be inducted into the American Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame during the 2003 AQHA Convention.

Wood was an original member of the committee that established the Hall of Fame in 1975, to honor people and horses instrumental in the development of the Quarter Horse breed and AQHA. Induction into the AQHA Hall of Fame is one of the highest honors bestowed by the 62-year-old organization. Currently, 98 individuals and 48 horses have been recipients of the award.

"It is quite an honor," said Wood, a former AQHA judge who served on the AQHA Show and Contest committee for 25 years. Wood was also made an honorary AQHA vice president in 1991, a position that includes lifetime membership on the Board of Directors.

The newly formed AQHA/NCHA Alliance is an outgrowth of the spirit of cooperation fostered by Wood and other NCHA and AQHA administrators.

The NCHA had 1,200 members in January of 1962, when Wood assumed his new position. H.L. Akin was president, J.D. Craft was chairman of the Executive Committee, and Cutter Bill was World Champion cutting horse. Coincidentally, Cutter Bill is to be posthumously inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame during the 2003 Convention, along with Wood and seven other honorees.

During his years with NCHA, Wood's loyalty and steadfast guidance earned him the moniker of "Mr. NCHA." Even today, ten years after his retirement, he is still called upon for advice.

"I know I can always count on Zack for a fair and honest appraisal of a situation," said NCHA Executive Director Jeff Hooper.

In addition to his position as an honorary lifetime vice president of AQHA, Wood is a director of the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, and a member of the Equine Advisory Committee for the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau.

While he spends most of his time these days on the golf course and traveling with his wife, Gloria, Wood still shows up during NCHA events at Will Rogers Equestrian Center in Fort Worth, as an interested spectator. And lately, cutters have become accustomed to hearing his name announced numerous times during the day at major limited age events, thanks to the popular cutting horse sire Zack T Wood, named by Wood's friend and current NCHA Vice President, Dick Gaines.

Today, the Fort Worth-based National Cutting Horse Association is 14,000 members strong. The association approves over 1,400 events annually, and awarded $26 million to members last year. For more information about Zack Wood or the NCHA, call 817-244-6188 or visit www.nchacutting.com.