We received the note below and thought it worthy of dissemination. If a regional club or other group would be interested in supporting Beth, it could certainly be a rewarding endeavor. I mentioned to her that we are in the process of organizing the Appaloosa Foundation, which will be an appropriate channel for this type of request. More details about the Foundation will be available once it’s official.
Hi, my name is Beth Levine. I am an accomplished Para-equestrian rider. A Para-equestrian rider is a rider with some type of physical challenge. I have been on the “long list” of the USA Team for Para-equestrians for some time. One can find out more about this type of riding and competition at USEF web site under the sub-heading of “high-Performance”. Additionally, information can also be found on the USET web site. The Paralympic movement was begun after WWII in an effort to offer soldiers injured in the service of their country more opportunities for rehabilitation as well as a chance to again excel.
In order to be moved to the “short list” of the USA Team I need an appropriate partner to stand out with. Such a horse will need to be competitive at an international level in dressage to Prix St. Georges and would have the opportunity to be an exceptional ambassador for his/her breed! The United States Equestrian Federation recognizes dressage as the fastest growing area of the horse industry and is fueled by the Amateur Owner.
I propose that your association assist me in purchasing a horse that will wonderfully represent your breed. Not only will this offer a yearly chance to internationally promote your breed to the “dressage community” as a representative of Team USA but also we (the horse and I) would be available for other events and FEI competitions to promote your extraordinary breed throughout the year! I look forward to hearing from you!
Thank you,
Beth
“Not only does YOUR breed excel in Dressage-but it is SO wonderful that it can do so with a challenged rider”.
Contact Information
BETH LEVINE
19723 112th Ave. NE
#D203
Bothell WA 98011
Email: bethrides@yahoo.com
This release from CSU is obviously in reponse to a close-to-home crisis, but it’s relevant at any time. I guess I’m still surprised by the number of people who don’t have a kit in their trailer.
In the wake of the tornadoes that hit northern Colorado last week, and the number of horses that were treated in the field and at the Colorado State University (CSU) vet hospital, CSU veterinarians recommend horse owners keep a well-stocked first-aid kit on hand to prepare for emergencies.
If your horse is injured, call your vet for evaluation and treatment. Until the vet arrives, be prepared to take action with a first-aid kit that includes bandage materials to treat cuts and stop any bleeding. In addition, have pain medications on hand, such as phenylbutazone (bute) or Banamine and make sure your horses are current on their vaccines, especially tetanus. Shock and dehydration are additional concerns during emergencies. Horses that are shaking or severely dehydrated may need intravenous fluids and hospitalization.
– Colorado State University release
I was drawn to a feature in last weekend’s New York Times about the Horse Institute in Ancramdale, N.Y. The writer, Harry Hurt III, participated in a session for corporate types and came away with some interesting insights.
According to Marie-Claude Stockl, the executive director and co-owner of the Horse Institute, “Horses are like people, they introduce themselves at their own pace.” This was in reference to an exercise in which the participants needed to figure out how to catch their horse.
Another good quote from Stockl: “The biggest problem in the corporate world is that we don’t live in the present. When we come to the workplace, we bring in grudges and things from the past and worries about the future. Horses live in the present. They don’t hold grudges. They’re happy to try something new, unlike many of us who remain stuck in the past. Living in the present works for horses. I think it works for humans, too.”
The Horse Institute is a specialized offshoot of the nonprofit Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (see, there really is an association for everything and everyone).
I promised not to make fun of Rita Nicholson’s best friend, so let’s emphasize the positive and allow the little canine to show off her Appaloosa Fan Club attire.
There was no post-event press conference to hear analysis of what the pooch learned at the Territory I workshop this past weekend in Missoula, but she did seem anxious to head home to Salmon, Idaho, and apply whatever new knowledge had been acquired.
You’ll know Rita as the author of the popular book, NATIVE TREASURE, a wonderful tribute to the Appaloosa horse and its magical appeal. The book is available through the Appaloosa Museum and can be ordered on line.
We’ve mentioned in previous posts some of the new ways to promote your spots and celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Appaloosa Horse Club. We want to let you know that folks in the Performance Department as well as the Marketing Department are able to help you with options and details for placing an order.
If you’re already in touch with someone in the Performance Department about show-related matters, you can also visit with them about advertising and promotion opportunities in conjunction with the 61st National Show. We’ve added streaming video advertising options and some other affordable and effective strategies such as space on the Jackson Equestrian Center concourse, advertising on the official show blog and in the daily Network publication. Of course class sponsorships and banners are also available. Give it some thought and give us a call.
We thought you’d like to know that some helpful additions have been made to the website collection of information about registering your Appaloosa. From the appaloosa.com home page, click on the “registration” button and then go to the “FAQ’s” (Frequently Asked Questions) area for more details about HYPP and DNA testing. The DNA tutorial features a step-by-step guide to collecting, handling and shipping samples.
In case you missed it, there is also information about the Performance Permit Program that can be found in the registration section or by clicking on the “show” button in the main menu.
Just a reminder that if you haven’t already subscribed to the Appaloosa Horse Club E-Newsletter, the latest issue is available now.
For full details, please visit:
http://www.appaloosa.com/newsletter/2008/0804.htm
______________________________________________________
In this month’s newsletter, you will find important information about:
Last chance for 2008 slot purchases
2007 ApHC Yearbook available now
Scholarship Applicants Sought
Attention Regional Club members
Oklahoma Racing
Racing Reminders
Racing enthusiasts directory application
HYPP test result procedures
Annual trail rides
New trail ride
Team tournament
2007 ApHC Year-End Awards Banquet
2008 AYA Officers Elected
You be the judge
Sponsor a youth class
Annual scholarship programs
You’ll notice an addition to the appaloosa.com home page menu on the left side. A button called “Wallpaper Download” will take you to a rendition of the Journal cover and calendar for the current month. It can be downloaded for use as a background for your computer monitor. You’ll have options for size to best fit the resolution of your screen. Another good idea we’ve stolen, but we like it. The April calendar is posted now.
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With the success of the Town Hall meeting held in December, some members from Territory 1 have organized workshops in various places in the Territory.
“Members have been asking for some time now to make their voices better heard by the Appaloosa Horse Club” says one of the workshop organizers. “Any Appaloosa enthusiast is invited to come and learn about the Appaloosa Horse Club, discuss its programs, and be heard.”
The first of these workshops will be held at the Dakota Magic Casino, Hankinson, ND on Feb 16, 2008 beginning at 9:00 AM. Gail Smith has organized a great day fro Appaloosa owners featuring discussions on regional clubs, the Appaloosa Museum and ApHC programs. A block of rooms have been set aside for the workshop for those who wish to stay overnight. For more information contact Gail at 888-801-1685, or at the email smithshowhorses@aol.com.
The second workshop will be held in Missoula, Montana on April 26-27, 2008, with Jan Phillips as organizer. This one’s to be held at Ruby’s Reserve Street Inn, with registration beginning at 12:00 PM on April 26. Contact Jan at 406-626-5331, or email her at fe_appys@bigsky.net
The third workshop will be held in Moscow, Idaho–the Appaloosa Horse Club’s hometown– on May 17-18, 2008. The first day’s activities will begin at 9:00AM with tours of the Appaloosa Museum to be given by George Hatley. Other members of the Appaloosa Museum Board will be available to answer questions. There will also be guided tours of the Appaloosa Horse Club offices that will show you how a registration is handled, from mail receipt to outgoing mail. Registration for the workshops will begin at 12:00 PM at the University Inn with the workshop to begin at 1:00 PM. Lynette Thompson is the organizer of the Moscow workshop. She may be contacted at 509-635-1114 or WLT1863@palouse.net
Workshops in Missoula and Moscow will discuss Appaloosa Horse Club Programs, the Appaloosa and the changing horse world, regional clubs and other topics that the discussions lead us to. Examples of questions to be addressed might be:
If you were to purchase a new breeding animal, would incentives to win awards make an animal more attractive?
Would you utilize the ACCAP program more if it were more user friendly and winners were given more recognition?
Suggest tools that the ApHC could give you that would make it easier for you to market the Appaloosa horse.
Do you belong to and participate in a regional club? If not, why.
As both the Missoula and Moscow meeting are overnight, there will blocks of rooms available at reduced prices. There will also be a fee of $45 per person that will cover Saturday evening buffet, Sunday morning brunch and 5 door prize tickets.
Appaloosa Horse Club Offers Rebates to Chartered Regional Clubs .
We hope you’ve all heard the exciting news…beginning in 2008, Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) members will have more membership perks than ever! When you join the ApHC, you’ll reap the rewards all year long with the Appaloosa Members Advantage Program. That means big savings for you and big benefits for your breed of choice. Every purchase through the Appaloosa Members Advantage program provides members with savings on products used for their farms, businesses, and personal use.
The Appaloosa Member Advantage program offers discounts to ApHC members for products on premium brands including Dodge, John Deere, UPS, Sherwin Williams Paint, Toshiba and Office Depot.
On December 1, 2007 the ApHC Board of Directors decided to make this program even more exciting by offering chartered regional clubs a $10.00 *rebate for each **new ApHC adult membership they acquire in 2008.
The re-designed ApHC membership forms will include a location for each chartered regional club to write their club name and charter number so they can receive credit for the **new ApHC adult membership and it will list all of the great benefits and value of having an ApHC membership.
Programming is nearly complete that will allow those individuals purchasing their ApHC membership on the website the option to give credit to the regional club of their choice.
For more information about the Appaloosa Member Advantage program, call the ApHC Marketing Department at (208) 882-5578 or via email at marketing@appaloosa.com.
• Rebate monies will be paid to eligible chartered regional clubs at the end of the 2008 calendar year.
• **new ApHC Adult membership definition: a person 18 years or older who has not had an ApHC membership within the previous two years.
After serious discussion in four different breakout groups, members at the town hall meeting in Hartford heard a summary report from each moderator. Some of the ideas specifically for regional clubs included a workshop or seminar to help clubs recruit sponsors, more and better communication between clubs within a zone and territory, and more help with overall promotion and marketing.
At the office, we’ve already talked about a couple of priorities mentioned in Hartford. We definitely want to investigate some options for trade show displays and materials. One possibility is to arrange for a buying pool to offer tabletop displays at a nice discount. Regional clubs could keep these for their own use and update handout material as it becomes available. We’ve also agreed that we should make a variety of handouts available for download so that clubs could print a supply for themselves whenever they need more. One of the biggest bumps in the budget road for ApHC marketing is the cost of shipping materials - often on short notice. Sometimes it’s our own fault, sometimes it’s just one of those things. In any case, by offering a variety on-line, clubs would have access to printed material most suited to their region and audience.
Regional clubs were encouraged to take advantage of local opportunities to have shows and activities listed in media calendars, usually at no cost. It was also suggested that clubs could provide gift subscriptions of the Appaloosa Journal to local libraries, schools, professional offices, Extension agents, FFA chapters, etc.
Two VIP’s participating in the recent “Town Hall” meeting in Connecticut were Kip Shepard and Barbara Breed, shown here. In fact, Kip was one of the supporting sponsors who helped with facilties and meals for the regional club members in and near Territory VI. Barb, a former ApHC director, helped with the discussions and, for better or worse, documented the event with numerous photographs.
As I suspect happens when any group of members gather, there were discussions about the challenges faced by regional clubs — costs of putting on a show, national point fees, judges (costs, the need for more information and perhaps a rating system), the number of approved ApHC classes, incentives for color, breed standards, show rules, etc. We’ll be posting, or at least making available, the complete set of notes from the Hartford meeting very soon.
We are pleased to announce that ACAAP points are now available on the appaloosa.com website via the show points inquiry page. Thanks to Cathy Green in our info tech department for all the work to make this available. We’ve already received positive feedback from members (see below).
THANK YOU for putting the ACAAP points on the Show Points search. I am very proud of what my horses have done in Open competition and I am glad to be able to confirm how many points they have earned. I truly believe this is a very worthwhile program that puts the Appaloosa where it should be, out where everyone can see how great they are and not just at breed show where the true believers are. I believe the ACAAP program shows new people the ability of these wonderful horses and exposes them to something other then just QHs and Paints. Keep up the great job.
Here is a picture of Pretentius Impresion (Andee), yes that is the correct spelling, she has been in the ACAAP top ten every year since she was a weanling, has her ACAAP Superior in Halter with a total of 100 points. Her dam, That’s My Impression, was the first horse that I enrolled in the program and this year I showed both Andee and her sister, Dignified Impression, both of whom are in the Top Ten.
MUCHELL VAHL
The TRAIL END DVD is now available…and just in time for Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers. The DVD includes the award winning short film TRAIL END, starring Barry Corbin ( and the Appaloosa co-star Chippen Gold, aka “Chip”, and a Behind the Scenes featurette about The Making of Trail End.
Purchase the DVD by going to this link: http://www.justhank.com/trailenddvd.htm
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