Page 104 - April 2017

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0417/MerleWoodHumanitarian Award Edit
Lead Pix alias w/ edit: cut woman on left FORUM TALKS
TOWN HALL
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YOUTH TRENDS
“The main things that we at AQHA are lob-
bying for amongst jurisdictions are uniformity
across jurisdictions, listing clenbuterol as a pro-
hibited substance, having a penalty that follows
the horse—if the horse gets a penalty for a class
1 or class 2 drug, he gets put on the steward’s
list—and then making sure that there’s reci-
procity between jurisdictions of those steward’s
lists,” VanBebber said. “I have to say, this ap-
proach of partnering with the jurisdictions, who
hold the real power, has proven to be a lot more
effective for us at AQHA and for me personally.
Every day, we’re getting news about jurisdictions
that are coming on board. Wyoming is now
cosmtoirnygcaobuortaersdy wAQithHtAhe•zpehrottolceoruarntceesyoTnhteheAmerican QmuuarcthermHoorreseagJiolue.rnTahley’re much more movable. They’re much more flexible. They are in a lot
clenbuterol. We just got news that Prairie Mead- ows anticipates that being in effect for the 2018 racing season. More and more jurisdictions are in line with the things that we are trying to enforce for the betterment of our sport. We feel its more effective to partner for change.”
The Racing Committee and the Racing Council will meet again during the Challenge Championships. The Racing Council has been and will continue examining the Cham- pion selection process and the procedures relating to the superior racehorse award.
“Hopefully, with getting the subcommit- tees working on things, we can get some ideas and put together what’s feasible and what’s not feasible, and what will be an asset to indi- vidual programs and the overall organization and racing,” Childers concluded.
Former AQHA President Johne Dobbs, Joan Schroeder, Jan Bruner & others attended the 2017 AQHA Convention.
more activities; we are one piece of those activities. What we have learned is that they won’t just pick us. They want to be involved in it all.”
Roxane Durant, founder of the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA), spoke next and related a very different trend for the IEA. Founded 15 years ago to bridge the gap be- tween high school and college for kids who ride horses, the IEA has seen significant growth every year since.
“Our goal was to keep kids involved from high school through college, because if they ride through college, they have a better chance to continue riding after college,” said Durant, who said the IEA now boasts 13,200 members in eight zones and 55 regions across the country.
“Accessibility is big to the IEA thing,” Durant continued, explaining the draw-based show format that doesn’t require competitors to have their own horses. Host schools rely
on local horsemen to volunteer and supply horses for shows. “We make riding accessible to people who can’t afford to own a horse. One of our biggest enemies to the industry is greed. Our horse shows are all about sharing resources.”
American Quarter Horse Youth Association (AQHYA) President Brock Murphy explained the four-point approach the AQHYA Board of Directors is taking this year. Each quarter, the AQHYA Outreach Committee will focus on a different emphasis—inspire, excite, impact, grow.
“Since I first joined, our youth membership has decreased by approximately 25 percent,” Murphy said. “Ten years ago, AQHYA totaled more than 31,000 members. Today, we have approximately 23,000 members. I don’t think that has to be our future. It is our hope to connect with youth who love horses, locally, nationally and even globally. The membership issue isn’t just about how many kids hold a membership card. To me, it’s about how much members actually do with AQHA. There are a lot of kids in those 23,000 who are choosing not to be active in the AQHA and may not even know what we have to offer.”
The final panelist to speak on youth issues was Austin White, Vice President of Market- ing for the National High School Rodeo Association. White indicated the NHSRA had
seen six years of “pretty good growth,” with the largest growth seen on the East Coast. The addition of reined cow horse classes into the high school rodeo line-up has helped the as- sociation, which has averaged 3 percent increases in membership over the last three years and is on track for a 10 percent spike this year.
“We need to listen to the members more, and our members are the kids,” White said, add- ing that the NHSRA has added some new sponsors and partners that do a good job of engag- ing with the kids in a relevant and interactive way. “That’s kind of the direction we are going.”
No one had one definitive, clear-cut answer on how to solve the problem of declining youth membership in the horse industry. But, the Town Hall Forum was proof it’s an impor- tant issue that many people continue to work hard to solve.
The Convention opened with a Town Hall Forum emceed by AQHA Executive Vice President Craig Huffhines. Three major topics – youth organization, politics & Washington D.C., and microchipping horses – were presented and discussed by panelists, after which questions were taken from the audience.
Katie Reynolds, AQHA’s director of youth development and AQHYA, presented the results of a youth survey, which yielded some interesting figures. Among youth who participate in the AQHA, 70 percent are also involved in 4-H, while 57 percent participate in extracurricular sports. The youth surveyed ranked scholarships as the number one benefit of AQHA involvement.
Four experts in the field of youth and horses sat on the panel, and each spoke before fielding questions from Huffhines and the audience. Dr. Chris Boleman, former Texas 4-H Program Director, stated that involvement in 4-H horse projects has dropped 20 percent, from 5,000 to 4,000, over the last decade. In response, the long-standing organization has modified its program to fit the needs of today’s kids.
“We’ve adapted our program, there’s no doubt about it,” Boleman said. “Today’s family is
102 SPEEDHORSE, April 20176
photo courtesy The American Quarter Horse Journal