AHC Annual Meeting, Forum Recap

The AHC Annual Meeting and National Issues Forum featured ideas from different perspectives on how to work together to continue to grow the horse industry.
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The American Horse Council (AHC) Annual Meeting and National Issues Forum, held June 9-12, in Washington, D.C., resulted in a wealth of ideas from different perspectives on how to work together to continue to grow the horse industry.

Attendees took in information and insights on topics ranging from cutting-edge topics to help equine athletes and how to encourage the next generation to get involved to how we can partner with other organizations to work together for the benefit of the industry.

Some take-homes from committee meetings include:

  • The Coalition of State Horse Councils (CSHC)—The coalition reviewed federal and state legislation and regulations before examining the results of a recent questionnaire aimed at identifying ideas and best practices that might be useful to state councils.
  • United Horse Coalition (UHC)—The UHC shared on where the group was, where it is currently, and its goals for the future. The UHC’s new website is live and features its resource database. The group is working to develop a searchable resource database, as well as identify resources available across the nation for horse at-risk or in transition. The UHC also said it is updating and working on identifying a need for new educational materials. The coalition held a kickoff meeting to discuss the regrouping of the executive committee and sub committees, and it discussed growing the UHC Ambassador program to help promote the UCH’s new mission and good works.
  • Marketing Alliance—The Time To Ride program manager reviewed the 2019 Time To Ride pilot program, which focuses on working with local lesson facilities to offer a series of riding and horse care lessons to school-age children. The group discussed instructor and facility requirements as well as industry support. Time To Ride accepted 62 facilities into the pilot, representing a broad cross-section of breeds and disciplines across the country. These facilities will receive marketing materials and support to introduce themselves to schools and youth groups in their areas, helping put horseback riding on a level footing with other sports activities available to young people.
  • Health and Regulatory—Angela Pelzel-McCluskey, DVM, MS, and Amber Headen, DVM, provided updates on the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Surveillance, Preparedness, and Response Services and the USDA APHIS National Import Export Service Update, respectively. Bailey McCallum reviewed new features, including the database, on the Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC), and Nat White, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, spoke about the program’s financial needs and requested fundraising support to maintain and preserve the EDCC for the future.
  • Recreation, Trails, and Land Use—Guest speaker Michelle Lane, a professional staff member at the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, recapped passage of  S 47, the so-called “Lands Package,” in February. She said the legislation’s most important provision was permanently reauthorizing the Land Water Conservation Fund. Additionally, Bryan Brendle, AHC director of policy and legislative Affairs, said the AHC continues to lobby for the Restore Our Parks Act (ROPA, HR 1225/S 500), which adopts a creative approach to fund trails initiatives by establishing a new revenue stream to move forward with deferred maintenance projects. Grassroots efforts have generated 129 letters to support ROPA, which has gained more than 220 cosponsors in the House and 37 in the Senate.
  • Racing Advisory—The committee heard updates from committee members on sports betting legislation, H2B guest worker visas, the Horseracing Integrity Act, three-year depreciation of racehorses, advance-deposit wagering (ADW) account holder credit card funding transaction declines, and Google advertising by ADWs. Remi Bellocq, of the North America Riding Academy, presented the concept of a workforce development apprenticeship or certification program to train U.S. citizen to work in the equine industry.
  • Equine Welfare—Bruce Rittenhouse, from the Bureau of Land Management, provided an update to last year’s presentation on the agency’s Wild Horse and Burro Program. The Committee also heard presentations from inside and outside the AHC on industry welfare efforts, including updates on the UHC and Equine Welfare Data Collective, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ “Good Welfare for All Equines” campaign, the American Quarter Horse Association Welfare Commission, the National Reining Horse Association welfare issues, and the Humane Society of the United States domestic equine welfare legislative efforts.
  • Horse Show and Competition Committee—The committee heard several legislative updates and welcomed guest speaker Penny Brown, from Cowgirls of Color. She presented on the group’s after-school and summer camp riding programs which uses activities to discover, understand, and master the rider’s abilities, skills, and mannerisms for the training, riding, and managing horses as well as training their own behaviors and managing their own mindsets. The committee also heard updates from Cozen O’Connor PLLC regarding “Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and SafeSport Authorization Act.”

National Issues Forum

The morning session kicked off with a panel discussion on “Celebrating Our Past and Envisioning Our Future,” which AHC President Julie Broadway moderated. Panelists included Matt Iuliano, of The Jockey Club; Billy Smith, of the American Paint Horse Association; and Olivia Tordoff, of the American Quarter Horse Youth Association. They shared insights on industry accomplishments over the last 50 years, how the industry is making a difference, and their vision of the future

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