N O R T H E R N M I N N E S O T A A R A B I A N H O R S E A S S O C I A T I O N The NMAHA Bit Newsletter December 2013 Meeting NMAHA Meeting Minutes 12/07/13 NMAHA Meeting Minutes December 7, 2013 The December 7 th 2013 meeting of the NMAHA was held at Muriel Besser s community room located at 750 Railroad Avenue, Sauk Centre, MN. Members present: Lynda Frenchick, Muriel Besser, Jim Tesch, Loretta Wulf, Tonya Johnson, Darcie Elmhorst, Barb Olson, Lois Tesch, Steve Elmhorst, Jean Liestman, Brady Larson, Jaime Diederich, Kennedy Penk, Katelyn Lipelt, and- Jenny Johnson. Also present: Joyce Lang, Bob Johnson, Henry Wulf, and Syarrah Ulrich. The meeting was called to order by President Lynda Frenchick at 1:15pm. Lynda welcomed the new members present and thanked Muriel Besser for hosting. Approval of Minutes: From the October 26 th, 2013 meeting. Motion made by Darcie Elmhorst and second by Tonya Johnson to accept the minutes of the meeting. Motion carried. Note there are two corrections for other parts of the newsletter: Board Member Jean Liestman s name needs spelling correction and her phone number should be 320-434-0686. The second correction is in Thoughts from My Perspective the new Secretary is Jenny Johnson not Barb. Treasurer s Report: No official report available. Lynda Frenchick reported that the membership dues to WSCA have been sent and the other expense this past month was for postage to mail invitation letters to the membership for the December meeting and Christmas party. Old Business: Lynda Frenchick reported that she sent the WSCA Membership. It has been submitted prior to the December 31 st deadline. She listed the incoming Officers on the membership form so it would be current. We will need a volunteer to go on the web site and enter the list of members of our club by the May deadline. Lynda Frenchick and Mary Smith gathered information regarding Tri State Horseman s Association, which is year end high point award program. Lynda Frenchick asked that we table further discussion until our January meeting as we will still have time to submit this membership prior to our May 2014 show. From the information gathered our classes at the Recognized show will Inside this issue: Meeting Minutes Cont d 2 Christmas Party Pics 3 From My Perspective 4 Convention Repot 5, 6,7,8 Pictures from Convention 9 Dates to Remember: January 18th, 2014 Next meeting: This the annual meeting which will be held at Jenny and Bob Johnson s in Brainerd. Their address is 15343 Nokay Lake Road, Brainerd, MN.
NMAHA Meeting Minutes, Cont d. 12/07/13 align with this program. New Business: Lois Tesch asked for members to submit information, articles, etc. for the newsletter. Darcie Elmhorst stated she has information regarding the Arabians Unplugged Banquet and Year End Awards and she will get it to Lois. Other Business: Lynda Frenchick reported that she has spoken with Jody Hoting Converse and has access to the club s email and facebook accounts. She also visited with her about the web site and has some initial information regarding the club s web site. We will continue to pursue the possibility of moving our web site. It will probably be the smoothest transition to stay within the same company we are currently using that being Homestead.com. Jenny Johnson suggested that we create a committee that can report back to the next meeting. Jaime Diederich and Lynda Frenchick agreed to chair this committee. What was paid in the past for reimbursement for our current web site was discussed. Further discussion tabled until the January meeting. Announcements: The next meeting will be our Annual Meeting and it will be held at the home of Bob and Jenny Johnson, 15343 Nokay Lake Road, Brainerd, MN. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn by Jim Tesch and second by Henry Wulf. Respectfully submitted by Lynda Frenchick, Acting Secretary Christmas Party notes: Those present enjoyed the game Now you have it, Now you don t which was followed by drawing of door prizes and our two money gifts. Steve Elmhorst and Jim Tesch were the lucky fellows to receive $50 each. Thank you to Darcie for the excellent job in purchasing and wrapping the many door prizes. Page 2 T HE NM A HA BIT NEWS LE TTE R
Christmas Party Page 3 T H E N M A HA B I T N E W S L E T T E R
Thoughts from My Perspective Thank you to Muriel Besser for hosting our Christmas gathering. The potluck was wonderful as always and even more enjoyable with such great company. I was so pleased to see some new faces at our meeting. I hope that you will continue to join us. First I must make an apology to Jenny Johnson for indicating Barb Johnson as our new Secretary. Don t know where that came from, well actually I do. I did my article from memory and I had a moment of cerebral hygiene and recalled the name of an old acquaintence. Even though Lois and I both caught the error somehow it managed to slip into the newsletter that I mailed out to the officers and board members anyway. So sorry Barb I mean Jenny. Gotta smile at those senior moments. Thank you to Jenny for your kind understanding. We covered some business by calling a short meeting to order, kept it short and probably set a record for shortest meeting. We did table a couple of items until our January meeting. WSCA membership is in. For all of our membership please be sure you are a member of our club on May 1 st to be listed with WSCA. Talking about membership, I have heard that AHA has passed the resolution to increase the cost of membership to $40 per year from $25. This will take effect January 1 st 2014. I would recommend that you renew your membership prior to that date to get the lower membership charge. If you join for three years prior to January 1 st you will really get a deal and savings on AHA membership $75 verses $120. Thank you to Roz and Mary for attending the AHA convention. Roz has submitted a report of the trip and convention. I pray that our cold weather will moderate soon and that if we are experiencing this cold now that Jannuary and February will be nice to us. I also wish everyone safe travel during the holidays and that you have wonderful gatherings with your family and friends. Diwali, Muharram, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah have passed but I want to wish a Merry Christmas, Kwanzaa and Happy New Year to all. Sincerely, Lynda Frenchick President DECEMB ER 201 3 ME ET I NG Page 4
Convention Report The 2013 Arabian Horse Association Convention was held in Lexington, Kentucky. It was sponsored by Region 14. Mary Smith, Kathy Monico and I attended with Mary and I as delegates and Kathy a guest. Mary traveled down several days early to visit her friends so Kathy and I drove down together. It is approximately a 15 hour drive so Kathy and I left on Sunday. We missed the Illinois tornadoes by maybe three hours. We hit rain and wind. At Minoch, Illinois huge steel power poles were down at an interchange. We stopped at a gas station but no electricity. Flash lights guided us to bathrooms. The tornado had gone just behind the station turning over a tractor trailer in the parking lot and destroying a house behind the station but no damage to the station or motel next to it. A week later, coming back in the dark, power crews were working on huge lights putting up the power lines. We stayed overnight in Rockford and arrived in Lexington the next afternoon. Mary was not coming in until Wednesday. Tuesday, Kathy and I signed up for the Bluegrass Tour for AHA members. We visited Darby Dan Farm first. The farm was where part of the movie, Secretariat was filmed. It is a beautiful farm with white wood fences and white and green buildings. The two stallions shown were Dialed In and Shackleford. Dialed In ($7,500 stud fee) was a favorite for the Kentucky Derby but broke his knee in the race. He still managed to finish. Shackleford ($20,000 stud fee) won the Preakness. The stud manager spent over an hour explaining the operation. Besides the two stallions shown there were several others standing at the farm including Tale of Ekati and Jersey Town. This year they bred over 460 mares. Shackleford covered 174 mares sometimes breeding four mares a day. The farm has a 92% conception rate. No outside mares stay at the farm, they are brought in the day before they ovulate, teased, bred and then leave. The owner is guaranteed three covers and a live standing, nursing foal. The stud fee is all inclusive and not paid until the mare foals. The Arabian community could learn something about customer service from the thoroughbred farms. We got an extended stay at the farm due to the tour bus breaking down. The staff graciously let us walk around while we waited for another bus. The countryside is farm after farm on beautiful rolling hills. We went by Three Chimney, Stonestreet and Lanes End. Zenyatta is at Lanes End and Rachel Alexandra is at Stonestreet. The tour guide said Rachel only had two foals and can no longer be bred due to previous foaling complications. Three other stops on the tour were the Woodford Reserve Distillery, established in 1800s; a Bed and Breakfast for lunch; and Stalemare Arabians where we saw the English stallion Jack Daniels and some of his get. Region 14 sponsored the tour. Wednesday the Plenary session was at 5:00 pm followed by a welcome party sponsored by Region 14, so Kathy and I met up with Holly Foster Kratzenberg. Holly was one of Deb Hennington s students at Guardian Farms and is an attorney in LaGrange, Kentucky. She took us to the Shaker Village, a restoration of a Shaker Community, for lunch. Besides the tourist part they have a B & B as well as stables for your horses. There are over 32 miles of trails DECEMB ER 201 3 ME ET I NG Page 5
Convention Report Cont d. surrounding the village. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at an old fort, saw where Abraham Lincoln s parents were married and stopped at an old drugstore complete with an old fashion soda fountain. Of course, we had to have some ice cream. The Plenary session allowed the proponents of each Resolution the opportunity to express the intent of the Resolution and reasons to vote for it. It really gave you a hint of where the issues would be in the committee meetings. It was apparent that the resolutions on levels, amateur status, cutting, and halter judging system would have the major discussions. Surprisingly not much discussion of the dues increase. Thursday was the official start of the General Sessions. The first day is introductions, President s address, treasurer s report, nominations for offices, revocations of clubs and other convention business. The afternoon is committee meetings. The meetings Kathy, Mary and I attended were the Sport Horse, Distance Riding, Professional Horsemen s, APAHA, Equine Stress/Research and Education, Commissioner s Review, Ethnical Practice Board, AHA Futurity, Dressage and Working Western. We will give a full report at January meeting. Thursday night were the Regional Caucuses. At Region 10 caucus we discussed the resolutions and Region 10 show schedule, profits and suggestions. Friday morning were more committee meetings; Equine Stress, USEF Arabian Division Rules, Amateur, and Education/Evaluation were the ones we attended. There was a meet the candidates meeting but only Nancy Harvey had an opponent. The General Session was in the afternoon where we started to debate and vote on resolutions as well as vote on the vice president position and committee and board/panel candidates. Nancy Harvey was re-elected Vice President. (this was announced on Sat.) Resolution results are on the AHA website but the ones defeated Friday were class size affecting horse and/or rider status, short term transfers limitations and shoeing Country English horses. Friday evening was a tour of the Arabian Horse Gallery at Kentucky Horse Park and dinner at Spindlewood Hall. Previously the home of a saddlebred owner and now the Alumni House for the University of Kentucky. The Arabian Horse Gallery is fabulous and a must see if you are ever in Lexington. The money donated by Arabian owners was well spent as it is one of the best exhibits in the Horse Park. Saturday was all general sessions. The most controversial resolutions were debated. The one allowing two unrelated amateurs to own a horse and both show in AOTR/H/D classes was withdrawn by the Amateur committee as they could not agree on content and wording. All other resolutions were approved except the safety helmet required in the Sport Horse Classes resolution. DECEMB ER 201 3 ME ET I NG
Convention Report Cont d. Most resolutions are subject to USEF approval and will not go into affect until December, 2014 if approved by USEF. The extraordinary resolutions were the halter resolution and the dues increase which will go into effect December 31, 2013. The Halter resolution passed which allows local shows to petition the Commissioner to use the comparative judging system. This affects the February Scottsdale, Las Vegas, Kentucky Celebration and October Scottsdale shows as well as any other rated shows. Any rated show would have to apply every year not to use the score card. An Ad Hoc committee has been set up to study the whole halter system and will report to the convention next year with their recommendations. The committee consists of: Bill Melendez, Cindy Wright, Greg Gallun, Stan Morey, Ted Carson, Lori Conway and Chris Rickart. There might be two others but I did not catch their names. The whole issue was trying to bring all groups in AHA together as AHA continues to see declining numbers. The adult membership dues will be set at $40 for basic membership which does not include the magazine. The 2013 basic adult dues were $25 so the 2014 dues are a $15 increase. If you compete you will pay an additional $35 for a competition card. According to AHA this was needed to stay fiscally responsible. Get your dues in before December 31st when this goes into affect and if you sign up for three years it really is a deal. President Cynthia Richardson Report: Classes added to AHA class list; western dressage, ranch sorting, trail in hand and adult showmanship. Ad Hoc Halter committee was established to help bring all groups together. Want to stress Arabians looking like Arabians and moving at correct gaits. AHA computer program still has issues and has 120 ticket items to fix. It is a Oracle program, same company that was part of Affordable Health Care program which speaks volumes. AHA continues to support T.A.I.L program and had 360 Girl Scouts participate in it at US Nationals. Still working on redoing AHA website and should be ready in 9 months. Judging Team program at Nationals was rated as one of best by teams. One of biggest growing groups is the 50+ women who want to have fun with their horses. Treasurer Dave Corning Report: Youth, Canada, and Sport Horse Nationals shows made a profit. Information not in yet on US Nationals. Oracle wants additional $95,000 for licensing. AHA has enough money to pay bills but some funds still in negative. Sweepstakes has been paid back. Executive Vice-President Glenn Petty: Trends in horse industry is down in all breeds (declining youth, members, registration, revenues) but competitions are stable. AHA issues are magazine is struggling, technology is aging, reduced revenues, negative social media issues and animal welfare issues. What we need to do to improve: Amnesty registration program was instituted until Dec. 31 Get kids/adults interested in horses and then get breed specific Increase involvement in local clubs; be welcoming Use website to reach youth especially 10 and under, work with Girl Scouts and Learn to Ride program Include classes like English Trail, Adult Showmanship, In-Hand Trail to encourage involvement DECEMB ER 201 3 ME ET I NG
CONVENTION REPORT CONT D. with non specific breed associations like, USDF, RSNC (at US Nationals 46 teams in ranch sorting exhibition class) and NRHA Improve our use of Social Media in positive manner Improve AHA website: Katie Harvey s company is working on upgrading website with $45,000 allocated. Need to encourage AHA staff to stay, a lot of turn over because of competition from other Denver markets Commissioner Stan Morey spoke at the Professional Horsemens Committee about several issues. One of positives was at US Nationals they were measuring shoes in preliminary classes and as a result only 6 shoes were lost in the ring the entire show. A negative at Youth Nationals was underage drinking and he stressed the need for adults to supervise any alcoholic beverages. Second issue was the extreme flexing of horses and some complaints at US Nationals. The final issue was the judging outcome of one halter class at US Nationals and the comments on Social Media that tends to push people away from the Arabian Horse. Secretary Jan Decker also discussed the USEF resolution about not allowing any horse to be injected 12 hours prior to competition unless approved and done by licensed vet. USEF will have a tip line during shows that people can call in if they see something. Regional Caucus: Next year the Region 10 show will have 132 classes with an attempt to keep the sessions short and to get done earlier. The 2013 Region 10 show made a $53,000 profit. Mary, GayJean, and I looked at the One-Day show concept. In 2012 there were 47 shows and in 2013 there were 156. With the change in rules you can now have three one day shows in a weekend. A judge can not judge back to back but if another judge is in between they can. Now any show under 150 can do One Day shows. One Day shows can be concurrent but Region 10 does not allow for concurrent shows at this time. In our region several clubs are considering doing three or two back to back One Day shows. In April the South Dakota Club is approved to have two back to back One Day shows. One Day shows qualify for Regionals and also have Sweepstake classes. We had some concern about the negative affect on rated shows. January 5th will be the next Region Ten meeting at Eau Claire, WI. A list of National dates and judges is published on the AHA website. It was a good convention with the usual disagreements but overall everyone was respectful and had the best interest of the Arabian horse in mind. Whether we agree or disagree with what was done we need to come together for the betterment of our industry. Roz DECEMB ER 201 3 ME ET I NG
PICTURES FROM THE CONVENTION Kathy Monico and Holly Foster Kratzenberg, a student of Deb Hennington and now an attorney In Kentucky General Session Darby Dan Farm Arabian Gallery at Kentucky Horse Shackleford at Darby Dan Farm Page 9
NORTHERN MINNES O TA ARABIAN HORSE ASSO CIATION Jody Converse, Editor & Webmaster 11743 61st Ave SW Motley MN 56466 Phone / Text: 218.371.7753 Email: nmahanewsletter@yahoo.com Lois Tesch, Newsletter Coordinator 15756 County Road 160 Cold Spring, MN 56320 Email: lois.tesch@isd742.org Proudly Promoting the Arabian Horse! Find us on the web at: www.northernmaha.com Facebook: Northern MAHA President Lynda Frenchick 55569 395th St. Paynesville MN 56362 (320) 493-5956 gemeofarm@hotmail.com Vice-President Darcie Elmhorst 59743 120th St. Litchfield MN 55355 horses@hutchtel.net 320-587-2383 Treasurer Valerie Temp 23108 Nightingale St. St. Francis MN 55070 (763) 753-5521 Secretary Joel Wood 12090 N Park Rd NE Alexandria MN 56308 (320) 852-7642 Board Members 1.) Jan Barrington (2013) 12874 CSAH 1 Cosmos MN 56228 (320) 587-5825 2.) Heather Larson (2013) 10940 45th Ave SW Pillager, MN 56473 (218) 746-3695 3.) Mesa Leiser (2013) 24940 313th Ave Paynesville MN 56362 (320) 243-3148 4.) Jean Liestman (2014) 61650 320th St Litchfield MN 55355 320-434-0686 rframbo@hutchtel.net 5.) Kathy Monico (2014) 3002 Albert Ave S. Park Rapids, MN 56470 (218) 732-0165 Delegates Lynda Frenchick Mary Smith Roz Gilbert (Alternate) Membership Secretary/ Webmaster Jody Converse (218) 371-7753 FPHRanch@yahoo.com Newsletter Editor: Lois Tesch 15756 County Road 160 Cold Spring, MN 56320 ( 3 20 ) 685-7359 www.northernmaha.com