ApHC stallion owners now have a unique opportunity to increase the presence of the Appaloosa horse internationally. The intent of this new program is to help Appaloosa stallion owners increase the volume of exports as well as expand the breeding options for International Affiliate members.
The ApHC Board of Directors voted at their March 2007 meeting to approve an International Registration Incentive Program that will create a much needed avenue for Appaloosa horses from select countries to be eligible for an international registration paper from the ApHC. These internationally papered Appaloosas would become an approved outcross breed, opening new markets for US stallion owners. To go into effect, this program will require a second affirmative vote by the Board of Directors at their July 2007 meeting.
The Select Breeders Services network, strategically located in key horse centers including: (KY, FL, TX, CA, UT, IN, MD) is the exclusive partner with the ApHC in this international venture. “The reputation of SBS in the equine industry is unparalleled,” according to Bill Thiel, ApHC Director, “SBS has an unparallel reputation for their dedication to quality as well as their professionalism throughout the entire process from freezing to export coordination. This is the first time we know of that a registry has designated a preferred provider for freezing equine semen – they are the logical choice for our owners.”
“On behalf of the SBS affiliates labs I want to express my appreciation to the ApHC for entrusting us to provide these critical services to their stallion owners. We look forward to working with the top Appaloosa stallions and assisting their owners with exporting frozen semen throughout the world,” noted Paul Loomis, President and Founder of Select Breeders Services.
Note: All stallions participating in the program must have their DNA on file in the ApHC office and must have a one-time transported semen permit. Stallion owners are encouraged to contact the registration department at (208-882-5578 ext. 300) for information on the transported semen rules. The Select Breeders Service network of affiliated laboratories will offer a 10% discount on freezing services for registered Appaloosa Horse Club stallions whose semen is intended to be exported. This offer is valid throughout calendar year 2007.
For more information on the freezing discount program, call Select Breeders at (410) 658-3328. For information on ApHC breeding rules, call (208) 882-5578 ext. 300.
HorseFlicks, an Award Winning equine TV production company and marketing firm announces the production of a new 13 episode series on the Appaloosa, which will feature 13 individual Appaloosa farms and ranches in North America.
HorseFlicks has produced nearly 100 TV episodes covering a range of horse breeds including The Dutch Friesian, The Morgan Horse, The Gypsy Vanner, The Peruvian Horse, the Paso Fino, The Iberian Horses, Heavy Horses- The Draft Horse in America, and their award winning series on western dude ranches, offering viewers a glimpse of “How the West Was Once.”
HorseFlicks Executive Producer Jon May who filmed the Appaloosa Championship 50 Mile Endurance Ride and the Appaloosa Youth Nationals, slated for release soon, said the impetus for developing a new series on the Appaloosa came from the passion owners show for the Appaloosa.
“Our focus in our equine TV series is to identify breeds that have some very strong attributes and suitability for many activities, and give them exposure to millions of viewers,” said May. “We help owners, breeders, breed associations and others reach well beyond those who already know about a particular breed- creating new interest and new awareness in their breed on a large scale.” The images we captured in the Championship endurace Ride and the Youth Nationals speaks volumes about what a great breed this is. We’d like to help owners and breeders of the Appaloosa reach a national TV audience with their personal stories of involvement.
HorseFlicks episodes currently air on the new HorseTV (link) channel where HorseFlicks productions have 16 slots each week, and are also carried on HorseTV Access and the Gold Buckle Network, an Internet Broadcaster, making episodes available to anyone globally with a high-speed Internet connection.
“Beyond HorseTV, we will market the completed Appaloosa series to The Outdoor Channel, PBS Stations, Discovery Network, HGTV, PAX-TV, RFD and other broadcasters who carry equine-centric programming. Each of our productions captures the unique and personal story of our Client and their breed,” said May. HorseFlicks productions incorporate exceptional production values, and their work has been acknowledged with 16 Awards of Excellence, from five different judging competitions.
HorseFlicks provides its Clients with an exceptional value. There is a small Production Fee to cover travel, filming, editing, professional voice talent and cinematic music licensing, but all services are provided at cost. HorseFlicks generates its revenue from marketing the series to selected broadcasters, so it is able to provide its production services at cost, making it highly affordable for just about anyone to share their story with the Appaloosa breed, with a national and global audience.
Clients may make an unlimited number of copies of their own episode for their own marketing and promotional purposes. All of the TV exposure both near-term and long-term, is free to HorseFlicks clients.
HorseFlicks was created by individuals who came from the broadcast, media and national advertising markets- but they were also all long term horse-people themselves. “We produce exceptional programming because we know what horse people want to show viewers, we know what to capture and how to shoot horses correctly. It makes a huge difference in the end production,” notes Jon.
“The Appaloosa is a breed people are passionate about, it is most certainly one of the most versatile breeds in North America. That’s a powerful message we can help owners and breeders expand upon, to create new awareness of the breed, and new interest as a great family horse, recreational horse, performance and show horse.”
The first two episodes already produced on the Championship 50 Mile Endurance Ride and the Appaloosa Youth Nationals will anchor the new series, so there are only 11 episodes remaining for individual ranches and farms. Those interested in promoting their breed to a national and global audience by being featured as one of the limited episodes being produced for the Appaloosa Series, should contact HorseFlicks for more information.
“We produce only 13 episodes because 13 weeks is a full broadcast season. Broadcasters are eager to fill large blocks of time, and so 13 episodes are created to fill a broadcast season. After we complete the 13 episodes, the series is closed,” said May.
To discover how to share your story with the Appaloosa and be featured as one of the remaining episodes, contact HorseFlicks at 940-594-0000, or e-mail at HorseFlicks@aol.com for more information.
A press release will be sent out this week regarding an ApHC agreement with Select Breeders Services. SBS is offering Appaloosa stallion owners a 10% discount on freezing services for registered ApHC stallions whose semen is intended for export. This agreement goes hand in hand with the new International Registration Incentive Program (IRIP), and should help Appaloosa stallion owners increase their breeding options worldwide.
Sale consignment packets are in the final stages of production and will be available online sometime later this week. We already have a list of members interested in receiving a packet. You may have noticed the tear-out request form in the National Show premium book. Remind members to check the website for the new consignment packet.
The Senate Committee on Science, Commerce & Transportation has a planned mark-up session on Wednesday, April 25th for S.311, “The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.” This means the committee may debate, amend, or rewrite the proposed legislation, and may vote on whether or not to send the bill to the entire Senate for its consideration.
Longtime Appaloosa activist, breeder, historian and supporter of youth, Edith Stanger, Idaho Falls, Idaho, received the Legend Award from the Idaho Horse Council at the recent Idaho Horse Expo. Edith is the author of “Fifty Years of Appaloosa History,” serves as Appaloosa Youth Foundation president, and is chair of the Idaho Horse Board. Also receiving a Legend Award was Don McPherson, Kooskia, Idaho. Don is a guiding light for the Back Country Horsemen and served Idaho for many years with the Fish & Game Dept.
Well-known Montana Appaloosa breeder and auctioneer, Jack Bowers, had surgery in early March and has been paralyzed from the chest down since. Although he has shown some improvement, friends are raising money to retrofit his home and pay extensive medical expenses. The benefit lunch and auction is Sunday, April 22 in the Huntley Project School Gym, Worden, MT. A live, silent and dessert auction starts at 1 p.m. Norrine Linderman, the Outlaw Queen, provides entertainment from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. To donate items call Gordon or Doris Radke at 967-6881, Pete or Becky Robison at 348-2649, Craig or Jeanette Wicks at 967-2464, or Jason Barisich at 690-9488.
Interested in the Appaloosa/Arabian cross? Favored by ApHC founder Claude Thompson, it’s still sanctioned for ApHC registration, and you can connect with contemporary breeders who are utilizing the cross simply by joining Yahoo’s Araloosa message board. To find it, log on to www.yahoogroups.com, then enter Araloosa in the “Search Groups” line. Fill out a simple registration screen, submit, and within minutes, you’ll be able to read all archived messages and make your own comments.
During the 2007 South Dakota Horse Fair in Sioux Falls, held March 16-18, spectators had a number of opportunities to see the beauty and abilities of the appaloosa horse. Beginning with the stallion versatility competition on Friday night and continuing through the breed parades held on Saturday and Sunday, the appaloosas were exhibited in the arena; and the Center of the Nation Appaloosa Horse Club (CON ApHC) sponsored a hospitality booth in the breed area of the event as well. Clinicians Craig Cameron and Sandy Jirkovsky used appaloosa horses in their seminars to help demonstrate the concepts of their lessons.
Members of the CON ApHC regional club were available at the booth during the three day event to answer questions and distribute informational literature about appaloosa horses. The booth was decorated with a variety of photos, and videos of the appaloosa horse show and highlights of appaloosa freestyle reining were also playing on a television for visitors to view. A stall next to the hospitality booth was used for a live appaloosa gelding named Ima Touch DZ, so that people could also stop by to see an appaloosa horse “in person”.
Captain Zip Ahoy, a nine-year-old stallion, exhibited by Jim Jirkovsky, was the uncontested winner of the versatility championship award at the Horse Fair. The pair won four of the five events, halter, reining, western pleasure, and trail; and placed third in the fifth event, barrel racing. Captain Zip Ahoy was also the winner of both the 2006 Nutrena Iron Horse and the 2006 World’s Best Appaloosa awards at the Appaloosa World Show held in Fort Worth last Fall.
During the breed parades, four horses and riders presented examples of the variety of events in which appaloosa horses excel. Nancy Nickel rode Kool’s Legacy sidesaddle, Emily Ketcham exhibited Ima Touch DZ in English attire, Jim Jirkovsky and Captain Zip Ahoy demonstrated western riding and reining expertise, and western pleasure was shown by Sandy Jirkovsky and Zip A Dee Bar. During the exhibition, the announcer read information about the history, characteristics and other highlights of appaloosa horses.
Thanks to Center of the Nation secretary Dorine Bennett for providing the information and photos!
ApHC member Randi Yocum of Fayetteville, Texas, made sure to include her favorite breed when creating her newly published children’s book, “Cowpie Corgi: A Dog’s Tale.” Randi, winner of multiple National and World Show titles and high-point awards, incorporated a colorful Appaloosa into her tale about a scampish Corgi who does his best to avoid having to be bathed by his owner.
Unlike many children’s books, which rely on illustrations for visuals, Randi’s son, Sam Yocum II, photographed the book. He’s a New York-based photographer and creator of award-winning campaigns for Levi’s, Nike and Target. With his family connection to Appaloosas, he knew just how to capture Randi’s colorful Appaloosa, JB Persuader — not to mention “Scout,” the Corgi — in an appealing way.
You can learn more by visiting Randi and Scout at www.cowpiecorgi.com. Or, visit www.tiogaterritory.com or ask for the title at your favorite bookstore.
(review by Juli Thorson can also be found in the April issue of Appaloosa Journal)
Ya gotta love Google alerts. Here’s an update on a fascinating “character” from the Appaloosa racing world.
America’s first black female jockey, now a California racing official, has a look back
By Larry Muhammad
The Louisville Courier-Journal
Whatever happened to Cheryl White, America’s first black female jockey?
She came in dead last in her first race in 1971 but made history, was on the cover of Jet magazine and briefly enjoyed celebrity status at tracks in the Midwest.
“That was a cool time, a fun time,” said White, now 53 and a racing official in California. “Female jockeys were still a novelty, and I got worldwide coverage for being the first black” female jockey.
She went on to become the nation’s top Appaloosa rider, racking up 750 wins over a 21-year riding career.
She has received the African Americans in Thoroughbred Racing Award from Lexington’s Bluegrass Black Business Association, and was one of seven “Fast Women in Sports” honorees at the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles.
But White was mostly a name from the past until Kentucky publisher and racing enthusiast Tina Hines tracked her down while researching a book on female jockeys.
Economic Research Services (ERS) reports: Non-metro America is less ethnically diverse and older than the rest of the country, though demographic trends indicate some changes lie ahead. Non-metro populations will continue to be older than metro populations because a greater proportion of retirees are moving to non-metro counties than metro counties, and because older people account for a larger share of the population in counties that are losing residents. Hispanic population growth is counteracting persistent population decline in many rural counties, especially in the Midwestern and Great Plains States. See http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/April07/Features/Population.htm
Appaloosa Gelding brings $16,000.
News from the Billings, Montana, March horse auction — “Tivios Passer” a 96 ApHC Chestnut gelding x Pass It On Down, owned and ridden by Dottie Taylor Andrew, Filer, ID, sold to Karen Stepp, Boulder, WY for $16,000.
There was discussion at the March 2007 Board of Directors meeting about the pros and cons of lining up under each judge versus recognizing the top 16 finalists at the National, Youth and World Shows. Keri LeForce has put together an article in an effort to help ApHC members understand the differences between the two systems and to encourage input and discussion of the issue. Please take the time to read through this article and share your views with your Director and with the ApHC office.
The complete document can be found in the “News Spots” section of appaloosa.com website and also by clicking the “Show” button on the left-hand menu.
CORNELL UNIVERSITY DEVELOPS TEST TO IDENTIFY CARRIERS OF DISEASE.
A DNA test for the autosomal recessive connective tissue disorder HERDA has been developed by genetics researchers at Cornell University and is now available to the public.
According to CU geneticist Nena Winand, D.V.M., Ph.D., the test unambiguously identifies normal, carrier and affected horses. Affected foals can be definitively identified at birth.
“I want this to be used as a tool for breeders,” Winand said. “This test will enable us to manage this disease by testing for it and breeding intelligently.”
Editor’s note to ApHC members: Horses from the Poco Bueno (AQHA) line are identified as susceptible and are specifically mentioned in various alerts.
HERDA (hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia) is a disease caused by a homozygous recessive gene. When expressed, it causes a collagen defect in the skin of affected horses resulting in a lack of adhesion in the deep layers of skin. Trauma to the skin results in skin wounds that don’t heal. Most affected horses have a poor quality of life and are typically euthanized.
“As with tests for other genetic disorders, we hope being able to genetically test for HERDA will aid in the humane management of affected horses, and reduce the financial loss for breeders,” Winand said.
The test can be used with hair or blood samples. Testing inquiries can be made to:
Nena Winand, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Department of Molecular Medicine
C4-140 VMC
College of Veterinary Medicine
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-6401
Phone: (607) 253-3608
E-mail at: njw2@cornell.edu
FOR THE WEEK OF APRIL 2, 2007
National Show Class Sponsors Needed
Consider a class sponsorship at the Youth or National Show. It’s a great, economical way to show your support for the ApHC youth and for the show. Sponsorship of one class is only $100; with additional classes $50 each. Half of class sponsorships at the Youth show are donations directly to the AYA. Sponsors are recognized with announcements, in the Network, and this year also on the Top Ten page on the website.
Webcam Sponsorships Available
ApHC will be broadcasting the Youth & National Show live for the first time on our webcam. The World Show broadcast was extremely popular, with more than 93,000 views over the nine-day show. Sponsors are needed to help provide this feed at the National Show. This is a great way to show your company’s support for the Appaloosa show community. There are only a select number of sponsor opportunities for the webcam page, so give Krystina a call at ext. 282 to set up your sponsorship.
World Sale Consignment Packets Available Soon
The Sale Committee will be meeting soon to finalize decisions for the World Sale consignment packets. Remind members that this is the perfect place to sell their high quality appaloosas – we need your help recruiting good horses for the sale. Packets will be available for download from the ApHC website after April 20, and can be requested now from Karisa or Krystina at Ext. 273 or 282.
Fiscal Year
Our new fiscal year begins – Happy New Year! Our financial statement auditors are making their first trip to the office today for cut off procedures.
Journal
The April edition of AJO (Appaloosa Journal Online) went up as scheduled over the weekend, and we’ll be completing the May issue of the magazine on Friday.
200 horses turned back by Illinois processing plant shutdown
Friday, March 30, 2007
200 horses were turned away at the horse processing plant at DeKalb, Illinois Thursday morning. Illinois state vet Colleen O’Keefe tells Prairie Farmer that the horses were sent back to their farms of origin. The Belgian-owned Cavel International plant was shut down after Wednesday’s federal appeals court decision that prevents USDA from providing inspectors for a fee at the plant. Cavel was the last remaining plant in the U.S. that processed horsemeat for human consumption overseas. Ag groups defend humane horse slaughter while animal protection groups are trying to get laws passed to ban the practice. A bill is pending in the Illinois legislature to end horsemeat processing in the state.
Many people are happy to have the option to look up national show points on the ApHC Web site. There has been a little confusion about how to interpret what you see when you look up a horse’s points. To clarify, when you enter a horse’s registration number, you’ll come up with a listing of points that have been earned by the horse in open, non-pro and youth classes. In all classes, what you’ll see are the lifetime points earned in each class, how many of those points have been earned in the current year and how many of those points count towards qualifying for the current year’s World Show (ie. how many were earned after September 1 of last year).
For purposes of calculating lifetime awards, points are accumulated over the lifetime of the horse and points “roll over” to new age groups depending upon the current age of the horse. For instance, when you look up your horse you might see that he’s earned 37 points in Aged Geldings. In reality, the “Aged” designation is based upon the current age of the horse (4 or older) but the points have been earned over his lifetime. So, he may have earned 17 of those points as a yearling, 10 as a two-year-old, 5 as a three-year-old and 5 as an aged horse to have a lifetime total of 37 points in halter geldings. The same holds true in performance horses where points roll over from junior to senior divisions and from two-year-old snaffle bit to three-year-old snaffle bit. But don’t be confused because snaffle bit points do not roll over into junior or senior points.
If you’d like a complete point history that shows the years in which points were earned and at which shows they were earned, you can order a print-out for $5 by calling the performance department at 208.882.5578 ext. 400 or by mailing in your request with payment to the ApHC office.
All Posts
