The Scoop
Equine
News You Can Use!
Compiled
by Kim Paquette & Jill Haight
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Fergus & Friends Coloring Book Now Available
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Time with Fergus and Friends a new full-length coloring book
for kids is now available. The book features Fergus the Horse,
Dottie the Appaloosa & Ditto her foal, Art the Paint Horse,
Claymore the Clydesdale, Grace the Pony and Kase the Fresian
in a comic, rhythmic story about life as a horse. The book introduces
children to basic horse care and to many of the riding disciplines
including jumping, dressage, racing, cutting, driving and more.
Adults will equally enjoy the fun story embedded in the pages
of this delightful tale written and illustrated by the talented
Jean Abernethy. The
coloring book is available through authorized Seminole Dealers
or it can be purchased online at www.seminolefeed.com.
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Seminole
Feed Joins the Social Networking Community |
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Seminole
Feed has recently expanded their Internet offerings by joining
online social networking communities. Unlike traditional websites,
social network sites provide more opportunities through interactions,
blogs, bulletins, classified ads, posts and groups. Horse owners
and equine enthusiasts can send questions about horse nutrition,
post pictures of their horses, and view other member’s
sites. |
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Seminole
Feed and EC Magazine now have interactive sites on both MySpace.com
and HorseCity.com. Log-on and join us in the fun, we would
love to have you as a friend.
Seminole Feed at MySpace: www.myspace.com/seminolefeed
Seminole Feed at HorseCity: www.members.horsecity.com/seminolefeed
EC Magazine at MySpace: www.myspace.com/ecmagazine
EC Magazine at Horse City:
www.members.horsecity.com/ecmagazine
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National Riding Instructors
Convention to be held December 2-5 in Naples, Florida
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The American Riding Instructors Association's National Riding
Instructors Convention will be held in Naples, Florida on
December 2-5, 2007. The Naples Grande Resort, a short walk
from the white sand beaches of Naples and overlooking the
Gulf of Mexico, has been named to host the event.
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| The
Convention is open to all riding instructors as well as those
who want to learn more about the profession. For the first
time, the Convention has been expanded to give targeted information
to stable owners and managers as well as riding instructors.
Attendees will find a friendly, positive and professional
atmosphere and a group of dedicated, helpful staff. More than
twenty speakers from around the world will cover topics of
interest rarely found at horse industry conventions.
The Convention is devoted to education, networking and one-on-one
consultations. Speakers will cover a wide range of topics
designed to help you make your horse business a success, including:
"Riding Instruction 101 - Everything You Always Wanted
to Know about Teaching Riding", the importance of integrity
in your business, running riding clinics, methods for teaching
new adult riders, marketing yourself & your business,
mounted police work, successfully instructing children, starting
& running a summer riding camp, fitting saddlery, helmet
use, equine health & veterinary issues, maximizing riding
pleasure, the mechanics of how a rider's body works, running
a lesson and boarding barn, and a variety of other topics
dealing with legal and insurance issues related to your equine
business. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to
participate in workshops and offer their own tips to other
instructors, with awards given to those ideas voted most helpful.
The speaker presentations, round-table workshops and personal,
one-on-one counseling sessions are sure to help resolve any
problems an instructor may have in his/her horse business.
An Awards Luncheon will be held midway through the Convention,
with a special ceremony for America's Top 50 riding instructors
in 2007 as the spotlight.
ARIA will hold an Instructor Certification Test Center on
Sunday, December 2nd, prior to the opening event of the convention.
A Welcoming Reception, the convention's opening event, will
follow. Instructors passing the testing will gain nationally-recognized
credentials. Certification is offered at three levels: Instructor
in Training (Level I), Instructor of Beginner through Intermediate
(Level II) and Instructor of Beginner through Advanced (Level
III) and in 15 disciplines: Hunt Seat, Western Equitation
& Pleasure, Dressage, Eventing, Reining, Driving, Side-Saddle,
Show Jumping, Saddle Seat, Distance Riding, Mounted Patrol
Training Officer, Riding to Hounds, Recreational Riding, Stable
Management and Hunt Seat on the flat.
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2007 ARIA awards,
which will be presented at the National Riding Instructors
Convention, during the Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, December
4, 2007, at the Naples Grande Resort in Naples, Florida. The
Top 50 Instructors for 2007, who have already been named and
who are listed at www.riding-instructor.com,
will also be honored.
The deadline for nominations is on or before Tuesday, October
23, 2007.
Any
questions, please contact Charlotte Kneeland at riding-instructor@comcast.net.
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| World
Conformation Horse Association to hold celebration |
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group formerly known as the Conformation Horse Alliance is now
the World Conformation Horse Association and boasts over 100
founding members. A celebration announcing the formation of
the group, and providing interested persons with an opportunity
to join, will be held October 17 in Columbus, Ohio, during the
All American Quarter Horse Congress. |
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The
newest among equine industry associations, the WCHA began when
more than 40 concerned halter horse owners, breeders and trainers
from nine states gathered in Tioga, Tex., May 29-30 for a think
tank strategy meeting to discuss issues facing the halter horse
industry and methods for response, including the forming of
an organization to address industry matters.
We
have been extremely encouraged by the response we have received
from the industry, said Peter Cofrancesco, III, of Sparta, N.J.,
WCHA steering committee chairman. There has been nothing but
positive support from all sectors of the stock horse industry
as the WCHA has begun delivering its message regarding the value
of good conformation in the horse, regardless of the discipline
it might be competing in.
In order to gain financial support needed to develop the fledgling
group, the WCHA solicited founding member donations at $500,
offered through August 15. Donations received then become Founding
Lifetime memberships upon completion of document filing for
the association as a not for profit 501(c)(6).
Since we formed 45 days ago, our committees have been hard at
work developing articles of incorporation, by-laws and membership
guidelines, Cofrancesco said. Membership fees for the group
will be very reasonable at prices of $50 for regular memberships,
$40 for non pro and $25 for youth.
Cofranscesco said the kick off event October 17 will provide
more information about the direction and focus of the group
and special announcements will be made regarding competitions
to be held in 2008. The event will be open free to all interested
persons, although you must have a ticket to attend. Tickets
are available from any WCHA committee member, at indicated stalling
areas at the Congress or by e-mailing julie@golatigo.com.
Tickets will be available through October 12.
For more information, contact Julie Bryant at 817-443-0686 or
julie@golatigo.com.
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| The
all-breed American Halter Horse Association (AHHA) Enters
the Arena
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| Saturday,
September 1, 2007, was the official opening of the newest association
designed to promote the Halter Horse, the American Halter Horse
Association. The AHHA Executive Committee members are a representation
of the range of members it serves: horse lovers and executives.
Their unified purpose is to promote and stimulate interest in
the Halter Horse: by encouraging breeding for correct conformation
in a manner consistent with established principles of breed
improvement; recording, collecting and preserving Halter Horse
pedigrees; promoting the Halter Horse through horse shows and
advertising; promoting good horsemanship and good sportsmanship;
and encouraging membership at regional and national levels.
The AHHA will register horses for competition purposes, but
the registration process does not replace breed papers. |
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The
AHHA considers itself a Discipline Organization, much like
NRHA or NCHA. However, they are not limiting themselves to
any specific breed or set of breed characteristics. According
to the Executive Committee, "We intend to work with the
breed associations. It is important that the characteristics
that are specific to a breed are not lost in a generic halter
typing, but rather judged against those breed standards. A
Miniature Horse cannot be judged by the same standard as a
Quarter Horse or a Draft. They were bred to serve different
purposes. Most horse owners would enjoy having another avenue
to work with their horses." Breeds will not be combined
in one class. Classes will consist of each breed, so they
can be judged fairly according to their balance, conformation,
breed character, sex character, muscle, refinement, travel,
show and the animals overall control.
The AHHA currently has four shows scheduled for 2008 and is
actively working with other organizations to offer affiliate
shows in which members can participate. Members can earn and
accumulate points towards several awards offered by the AHHA,
including participation in the AHHA’s Halter Enrichment
Program™.
For more information about AHHA memberships, registrations,
sponsorships, Halter forums, etc., visit their website at
www.halterhorse.org.
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| HorseGirlTV
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HorseGirlTV™ is a video podcast variety show covering
everything from grooming for an Olympic rider, breaking into
reining, and the physical training of the equestrian to riding
along on patrol with a mounted police unit. HorseGirlTV is
available online at www.horsegirltv.com
as well as iTunes, YouTube and Myspace and is 100% free to
all its viewers. It's an attempt to cover the wide world of
horses for horse lovers.
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Video podcasting is still very new but is rapidly shifting from
an Internet phenomenon and becoming part of surfer's daily lives.
Since the shows inception on May 1, 2007, there has been a staggering
increase of 76% in video downloads. Within the next month, HorseGirlTV
is looking forward to providing weekly offerings with the addition
of a new 3 minute news show, 'The Buzz.' HorseGirlTV™
is highly visible in its genre at only three months young. The
show takes the classic world of horses and plugs it into the
wired generation. Each three to eight minute show is educational
while entertaining. The medium is limited only by bandwidth
availabilities as content abounds. If you'd like more information
visit www.horsegirltv.com
or email angelea@horsegirltv.com.
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