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Need a Valentine's Day box for an upcoming party at the barn or school? Learn how to make a horse-inspired Valentine's Day box that will have everyone getting horse envy!
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Read the monthly dish in the Arabian horse industry.
The Arabian Horse Association (AHA) has released the first of 25 interviews from Arabian horse industry breeders
in our new Breeder Interview Series.
This month's video spotlight falls on Rebecca Fleck, who is from Indiana and has been involved in the industry for over 40 years, and has no plans of stopping!
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AHA Corporate Partners & Sponsors
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Sponsorship Webpage
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Corporate Partners
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Corporate Sponsors
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Deadline For In-Utero Entries With Additional Late Fee
March 10 - 11, 2017
AHA Board Of Directors Meeting
Aurora, CO
March 31, 2017
Halter Futurities (Re-Nominations Only) Due
April 6 - 9, 2017
Equine Affaire
West Springfield, OH
April 21 - 23, 2017
Midwest Horse Fair
June 1, 2017
Performance Futurity/Maturity Nominations
Club Nominations For Board-Elected Positions Due
June 30, 2017
Final Club Membership Count To Annual Convention Due
July 1, 2017
Performance Futurity/Maturity Nominations
For a full list of dates and deadlines click here.
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Every month, the AHA Insider showcases one of our employees. We want to give our readers an insight as to who works for AHA and what they do for the association.
Brad Short
I joined AHA almost 8 years ago as Controller. My prior experience with horses was limited to riding a cantankerous quarter horse named Steamboat, boarded at a mountain ranch in Evergreen. Steamboat's owner warned me that the horse tended to run at full speed to scare the bejeezus out of inexperienced riders - like me. After a summer of making Steamboat run up steep roads at high altitude, I returned a more well-behaved horse to the owner. I suspect it's been 20 years since I've ridden.
I grew up in southern Colorado, played many sports and found skiing at age 15. Skiing has been a passion of mine - traveling to Canada, France, Switzerland and much of the western U.S. states to sample yet another patch of snow. My love for the mountains grew into mountaineering and rock climbing, which eventually led to adventures in Mexico, Canada, France and throughout the USA.
Over the past few years I have engaged in competitive shooting sports, initially with sporting clays, and more recently with long distance precision rifles.
I often spend weekends at our family ranch in Kiowa, Colo. - trying to keep the pasture weeds under control, keeping the pine forests beetle-free, and generally enjoying the outdoors.
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Get all of your official AHA gear here!
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Do you like to ride or drive your Arabian or Half-Arabian horse? Now you can get rewarded for your hours in the saddle or buggy. Log your non-competitive hours you are riding or driving and when you reach hour milestones, AHA will ship YOU rewards!
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Subscribe to the NEW AHA member magazine!
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Get your loved ones the gift of the Arabian horse to wear! The Arabian Horse Association Store is running a Valentine's Day special where all red and pink items are 25% off. Offer expires February 6, 2017, so hurry and get your V-Day gifts ordered now!
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What Does The Arabian Horse Mean To You?
The Arabian Horse Association (AHA) asked YOU to tell us what the Arabian horse meant to you. Over a two day period, individuals posted on our Facebook and Instagram accounts and told us in one word or small phrase, what their Arabian horse stood for. We then took all of the words and made a word cloud (an image composed of words used in a particular text or subject, in which the size of each word indicates its frequency or importance). Inspired by the word cloud and what it stands for, AHA will be launching a NEW membership campaign focusing on YOUR responses. Make sure to stay tuned!
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Learn to Use Social Media for Your Arabian Horse Club
Have an upcoming event or want to engage your members and encourage member participation and growth in your Arabian horse club? Watch this "How-To" tutorial on how to start your journey in social media and ways to use it to get the word out about your club and upcoming events.
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AHA Backgrounds for Desktop and Mobile Devices
Want to show your love for the Arabian horse even when
you are on your computer and phone? Now you can! AHA has created different backgrounds for you to download for free! Click here to view the downloads.
Check back periodically to view newly uploaded backgrounds.
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New Member Magazine: Arabian Horse Life
The premier issue of
Arabian Horse Life is coming to ALL AHA members this month! If you have numerous membership accounts with AHA, each account will receive a copy of the magazine. If you wish to have the magazine removed from one or more of your member accounts, contact
Uriah Quezada. In addition, if you are a current AHA member and you don't receive your issue of the magazine by the first week of March, contact AHA and ask to speak with a Marketing representative.
Arabian Horse Life is AHA's new member magazine for and by the people who love Arabian horses.
Not a member yet? Get your complimentary copy at the AHL booth at the Scottsdale show and sign up for your membership next door at the AHA booth.
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Discovery Farm Program Going to a New Format
The Discovery Farm program is going to a new format. Any Discovery Farm that signs up AFTER January 1, 2017, will have a yearly renewal fee of $30 to stay as a current Discovery F
arm. Any Discovery Farm signed up previously, will be grandfathered in and will not have to pay the renewal fee. The renewal fee will be used to support and promote the program and will benefit the Discovery Farms listed on the AHA Get Local map located on the AHA website. If at any point, you no longer wish to have your Discovery Farm information on the Arabian Horse Association's (AHA) website, please contact AHA at 303.696.4500 or email us at [email protected].
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2016 Time to Ride Winners Testimonials
In 2016, the Arabian Horse Association (AHA) participated in the Time to Ride (TTR) Challenge where AHA encouraged Arabian horse barns to introduce newcomers to Arabian horses and have their chance to win $100,000 in cash and prizes, along with extra cash from AHA. This is what the Arabian horse division winner and runner-up of the Challenge had to say about the program.
WINNER 
Marggie Rushlow-Roberts, Rushlow's Arabians (Spoke with riding instructor- Jolie Quiel)
Romulus, Michigan
(734) 782-1171
Tell me about your business and background as a horse professional.
The business does lessons and I do week long summer horsemanship camps as well as travel to class A shows- the regional show and the two nationals. We teach lessons Monday through Saturday, all ages (6 years of age to adults). We start beginner riders and go all the way up to advanced levels of riders.
I started taking lessons at 8 years of age at another farm, and I moved to Rushlow's 14 years ago and started taking lessons and showing. About 6 years ago I started teaching and I'm the head riding instructor here at the farm.
How did you hear about the Challenge?
The TTR challenge was presented to us on social media on FB, also through the AHA and their incentive for the winning farm. They also sent out an email blast to us.
What was your motivation to sign up?
We know that the only way to get the industry to grow is to bring in new people and that's kind of what we are known for. A lot of our clients started as younger students and stayed here. We really need to promote the Arabian horse.
We have 12 lesson horses, one saddlebred, one qh, and two ponies. The rest of our horses are Arabians and many of them have show records and now they teach students how to ride.
Tell me about your event?
We got a good impact from the open house that we held in June on a Saturday. We promoted it through Facebook and word of mouth. We offered a short horseback riding lesson and passed out flyers on the Arabian horse that we received from AHA and offered farm tours. Halfway through the open house we did an Arabian horse showcase. All full bred Arabians showcasing the disciplines they're known for. Everyone really enjoyed that because each of them really got to see the different aspects of the disciplines. We also did a silent auction and a 50-50 raffle.
What were the results of your event? Did you make new connections or learn a new strategy for growing your business?
Our clients were really good at spreading the word. Our lessons grew in number and we got good results from that. Our lessons have stayed steady since the challenge.
Do you plan to participate in Challenge again next year?
Yes, yes we do! We have some new ideas. I'm gonna talk with some of our local Girl Scout troops to see if we can plan some days for them to come out. We're starting to get the ball rolling.
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RUNNER-UP 
Kathy Richardson, Rusty Bar Ranch
Roy, Washington
(253) 843-2455
Tell me about your business and background as a horse professional.
My first horse wasn't an Arabian but my second horse was and I just fell in love with them. They are my absolute love.
We own a thirty acre boarding, training and lesson facility. I started riding when I was four and fell in love as soon as I could identify a horse. My wonderful grand parents got me lessons when I was a child, and all those years of lessons held me and I never lost touch with the horse. I got my first horse at 23; I knew how to finish horses but not how to start, so that's what I did. I bought a book to teach me called "Training Your Own Young Horse" by Jan Dickerson. It was a great read- there was everything from buying a horse to training and that's what I did with my first horse. I essentially kept horses for pleasure. The second horse is the one we named the barn after, Rusty. He was originally a horse that did whatever he wanted and overtime, I eventually turned him into a horse I could put any one on.
I gave lessons off and on through the years, but when my husband and I moved down here and got this place, there was a brand new arena built by the previous owners and I really wanted to start giving some lessons. I began looking for an organization that would set me apart, so I went to the Certified Horsemanship Association and got involved with them. I acquired a few more horses so I could continue giving lessons. I do a bit of showing in English and western.
"My BEST beginner horses have been Arabians. My Arabs have always been my go to for beginner lessons."
The award from the AHA was a HUGE surprise!!
Horses:
- Crona Bambie (aka Rusty)
- Rogala Signet- (aka Rowdy)
Programs involved in:
- Girls Scouts (helped restructure a 5 hour program for badges)
- CHA (instructor for English and western)
- Western Dressage Assoc. of America
- Horse Agility accredited trainer and judge
- Equine trail sports judge
- Boy Scouts horsemanship Merit badge counselor
How did you hear about the Challenge?
I remember seeing it in my CHA online newsletter
What was your motivation to sign up?
Well it sounded like a good way to get my name out with people who were interested in getting into horses for the first time. I specialize with beginners, I have a good string of horses for beginners.
Tell me about your event?
National meet a horse day that we did in July for the first time. I did some research on it and we did it here and it was a huge success. We had three areas set up: one area kids could shake hands with a mini and give him a treat, another area to ride on one of the ponies and some of the bigger horses being led, and another area where they could ride in the cart. The little ones got on the mini and the bigger kids/adults rode the bigger horse. It was big hit! We had a great group of people.
What were the results of your event? Did you make new connections or learn a new strategy for growing your business?
We didn't make any connections to begin with...I passed out the riding coupons and didn't hear back from anybody until about a month/month and a half ago. Since then, I've gotten more emails and phone calls from people wanting to come out and meet the horses and me and just find out what their goals are, and everyone of them had come to the challenge! Their schedules were clearing up! I've had an equal number of adults and kids that wanted lessons. While we didn't reap any benefits right then, it showed that it was a good thing for us to have done.
In addition to lessons we got a few paid gigs that resulted from TTR.
Do you plan to participate in Challenge again next year?
Absolutely. The challenge was very good to us this year.
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AHA Available to Provide Services at the 2017 Annual Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show, February 16-26
Come meet with the AHA staff and see what's new. We are located at the northeast end of the Shopping Expo (North
Hall). AHA is there to help you:
- Register or transfer your horse
- Submit your late in-utero nominations to the Sweepstakes Program and Halter Futurities (deadline extended to February 26)
- Pay for your late Halter Futurity re-nominations
- Renew your Achievement Award Program
- Purchase or renew your AHA membership and receive a free gift (while supplies last) - BE ENTERED TO WIN AN iPad!
- Look up pedigree, progeny and ownership information on DataSource-get a FREE printout of the pedigree of any registered Arabian, Half-Arabian or Anglo-Arabian
- View/print the accomplishment record of any registered Arabian, Half-Arabian or Anglo-Arabian
- Get assistance with your pending transactions - bring your work to the show
- Choose from a wide variety of blank forms for registration and enrollment to our many programs
- Become acquainted with the new website
This is your opportunity to get personal assistance with your paperwork and answer many of your questions.
Come check us out!
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CHA Seeking Sites for Equine Facility Manager Certification Clinics
The Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) is currently seeking equine facilities that are willing to host an Equine Facility Manager Certification Clinic. The CHA Equine Facility Management (EFM) Program is a 20-hour certification clinic that is run over three days. Participants are evaluated on their skills and knowledge of equine facility management through demonstrations and through written tests at each of four levels of certification: Stable Worker (Level 1), Stable Manager (Level 2), Herd Manager (Level 3), and Equine Facility Manager (Level 4). Participants start at level 1 and can complete all four levels within one clinic.
Read full press release here.
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CHA Seeking Host Sites for Day Ride Trail Guide Certification Clinics
Do you own or manage a trail ride operation, a camp, a dude ranch facility, or a Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts equestrian program? Do you want the chance to have your wranglers professionally certified? Would you like to reduce the cost of your wrangler's equine professional liability insurance? The Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) is currently seeking equine facilities that are willing to host a CHA Day Ride Trail Guide Certification Clinic.
Read full press release here.
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Corporate Partners and Sponsors Corner
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AHA Convention
Mark your calendars! The 2017 AHA Convention will be held November 15-18 at the Denver Marriott Tech Center. Hotel reservation link and more details coming soon!
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Scholarships - over $30,000 available!
The
Arabian Horse Foundation and numerous Arabian Horse Association (AHA) clubs offer a wide array of scholarships to AHA members. We want to help our outstanding youth find scholarship opportunities on the AHA website as well as submit the general Arabian Horse Foundation application by April 1.
For all other scholarship opportunities look
here.
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AHA began using new financial software in December, with the first account statements distributed in early January. These initial statements included open balances from the prior system as of December 1, 2016, and subsequent customer account activity during December. The statements were emailed on January 3 to customers with balances on their accounts, however customers with a zero balance due at month-end were not sent statements, regardless of account activity during the month.
Starting with January's month-end statement run, account statements will be emailed to any customer who does not have a zero balance due or who had financial activity during the prior month. Furthermore, beginning with January's month-end statements, members can view their statements and monthly invoice activity on-line via AHA's website.
If you have any questions, please contact our office at [email protected].
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Scottsdale Show Special for Halter Futurity and Sweepstakes Programs
Missed the enrollment deadline for your foal? You can still enroll your 2017 In-Utero Foal as a Breeding Entry or in the U.S. and Canadian Halter Futurity Program from February 16 - February 26, 2017.
In addition to the enrollment fee, a $100 late fee for Sweepstakes and $100 late fee per horse/per country for Halter Futurities apply. Remember, the enrollment extension applies to in-utero nominations only.
Visit the AHA Booth at Scottsdale or contact the AHA Office at 303-696-4500 (option #4) for additional information.
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30th Annual Darley Awards Will Honor the Best Arabian Racehorses of 2016
Mark your calendars for the 30th rendition of the highly coveted Darley Awards HOLLYWOOD 2017 to be held March 31st-April 1st in a weekend of activities dedicated to the Arabian racehorse.
The Darley Awards will be held at the historic Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA just a few weeks after the Academy Awards take the same stage. The black tie affair elevates the international sport on the highest level with Arabian Racing Cup's partnership with the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nayhan Global Flat Racing Festival and the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak International Ladies in Racing awards. Guests will enjoy a true Hollywood experience, complete with the same red carpet walk as the Academy Awards.
The next day, guests head to nearby Santa Anita Park, one of the most beautiful panoramas in horse racing. The featured race on the card is the lucrative $100,000 HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Darley Stakes (G1), which attracts the best Arabian racehorses in the country.
It's an unforgettable weekend, and you are invited to attend!
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Subscribe FREE to the AJC's Global Arabian Racing E-Newsletter
Curious about the world of Arabian racing? It's fast, fun,
friendly and more affordable than you might think! Subscribe to the FREE AJC Global Arabian Racing E-Newsletter to receive the industry's latest news and events on Arabian racing in America and abroad.Sign up
here
!
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Members Tales
The Arabian Horse Takes to the Big Screen in the Movie Finding Fortune
 A little girl, Holland, and her mom are excited for their Arabian mare's future. The mare, Fortune, has a great show career under her belt and they are about to embark on a new journey - they decide it is time for Fortune to have a foal. Mom and daughter send her to get bred, but she doesn't return home...
The film Finding Fortune follows the Arabian horse Fortune who was put on the wrong trailer, bound for slaughter. Holland is desperate to get her horse back before it is too late and must turn to her father, who she holds a grudge against, to work together to save Fortune. The story is full of suspense, overcoming challenges and the growth of a bond between father and daughter.
The creator of Finding Fortune, Kayli Fortun, was kind enough to sit down with us and we were able to ask her a few questions about the movie and how she started in the Arabian horse industry.
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| Cheryl Fortun, Kayli Fortun, Charles Bunce and MWF Benedykt (horse star). |
Kayli was first introduced to horses through her mom, Cheryl, who has been involved with horses her entire life. Kayli started showing walk/trot at age 7 and has been hooked ever since. She has shown everything from Country English to Costume and more. She currently owns a Purebred English mare named Noble Fortune which she keeps at Stachowski Farms.
When not at the barn, Kayli found a passion for film. She
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Cast and crew at film premiere. |
attended Mount St. Mary's University as a film major in undergrad. She then joined the Masters of Fine Arts Program in Film and Television (MFA) held at Hollywood Center Studios where she got into film production. In May 2016, she graduated with her Masters and has been busy doing projects ever since.
During her time in the MFA program, Kayli had to come up with a thesis project to graduate. Many years ago, she had read a news article online about a horse getting on the wrong trailer, headed to slaughter. During undergrad, she wrote a screenplay inspired by the story and it later became her inspiration for her thesis project, with extra encouragement from her film partner Charles Bunce. It took Kayli and Bunce three semesters to develop, produce and edit the project. The project turned out to have three goals: 1) be a complete thesis project to be used to graduate 2) be used as a TV pilot that can be pitched to
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| Kayli, Zoey and Cheryl at premiere. |
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networks for a TV series 3) bring awareness to horse slaughter.
The film project had a very low budget, but fortunately it turned out to be a passion project for many involved. Kayli's mom, Cheryl, volunteered to be the Production Designer, her Dad volunteered to be the Executive Producer and he also helped fund the film, along with her Aunt Linda and Uncle John.
Furthermore, film partner Charles Bunce gave much of his time and expertise in producing, directing and mixing the sound for the film and lead actor, Richard Handley, gave 110% of his time.
Finding Fortune
is currently being submitted to film festivals and has seen much success, gaining awards such as:
- Glendale International Film Festival,
- Equus Film Festival
- Winner: Student Feature Film
- Winner: Sheila Varian $2,500 Award
- Hollywood Boulevard Film Festival
- Winner: Best Actress Under 18
- International Independent Film Awards
- Winner: Gold Winner- Television Pilot
- International Women's Film Festival
If you would like to view the film Finding Fortune, check out the upcoming film festivals the film will be aired at, or request a showing. Connect with Kayli on the Finding Fortune Facebook page for more information.
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| At Glendale International Film Festival: Charles Bunce, Zoey Bunce, Kayli Fortun, Cheryl Fortun, Richard Handley and Kevin Fortun |
"The earth would be nothing without the people, but the man would be nothing without the horse."
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Author Unknown.
If you or another AHA member has a story that you would like to share in the AHA Insider, please email Mikayla Boge at [email protected] with the subject line: Member's Tale Story.
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