ASPC-AMHR Convention Info

[LaVern]

Thank You Karen. That was very easy for me to understand and cleared up some of my misunderstanding. I am going to save your note. Renee

 

[sfmini]

How are they going to determine when all the horses have entered the ring? The people are going to be gaming it for sure if it is not clearly spelled out. I know I do try to wait to go in so I don't have to make a couple of trips around the ring while others mess around going in slowly. This is at AMHA with a 2 minute gate and there is always plenty of time. Maybe it should have been noted that the two minutes can be extended as long as the horses are entering the ring in a continuous stream, or something like that.

As for a lawyer, what you need is a licensed Parliamentarian who knows Roberts Rules of Order inside and out and also familiarizes themselves with the rule book, especially the by-laws. They aren't cheap, but I would think cheaper than a Lawyer would be and would be much more effective. JMHO.

 

[~Lisa~]

Jody that came up as well it is a great suggestion all I know is a pretty large group of people have decided they will come with some sort of representation next year and not count on the registry and whatever reps or person they do or do not bring in. to me this is a pretty sad state of affairs and actually something I never thought I would personally agree was necessary

 

[Mona]

As for a lawyer, what you need is a licensed Parliamentarian who knows Roberts Rules of Order inside and out and also familiarizes themselves with the rule book, especially the by-laws. They aren't cheap, but I would think cheaper than a Lawyer would be and would be much more effective. JMHO.

Unfortunately, as has been proven time and time again in some meetings of other organizations, this is not fool-proof and even having a paid paliamentarian in attendance has still resulted in rule and by-law violations. Perhaps Lisa's suggestion of a lawyer is a better, albeit more costly alternative to ensure rules are being followed by committee members.

 

[Amy]

No -- the youth qualifications for National will remain the way they are now.

This changed back a few years ago -- and all changes to the way they are now required to qualify -- failed by a very large majority.

 

[Amy]

Hmmm - I wonder if I was at the same convention??

Yes, there was a large group of very noisy people out in the hall at all times, yackking away & making it very difficult to hear in the room. Perhaps , if they had come in & joined in there would be less confusion??

I saw a group of VERY weary directors coming out of their meeting at about 11:30 PM on one day, Yet , they were up & at the meeting in the early morning.

I sat in the front row or two so I could hear above the background rumbles -- and I never had a question to ask that I didn't get ananswer for. Perhaps not the one I would have liked from MY view point -- but an explanaton at least.

I spoke with many different directors from many different areas, and asked questions from many of them. ALL of them (except one) took the time to discuss my concerns with me. My own director was very good at any explantion I asked for.

IF so many people have so much to criticize, perhaps they should run for office & see just how easy it really is to do everything by the book & to follow procedure.

As one director pointed out to me "The association spent a great deal of time and money to develop & print the RULEBOOK -- so we better darn well follow it.

I am disappointed and frustrated to see how quick we are to criticize and bash our fellow members who I think are trying hard to do a good job.

Some don't like this President -- others didn't like the last President & I am quite sure there will be just as many that will NOT like the next President -- regardless of who it is. Why is this I wonder??

Also -- I did not hear any announcement made at the Arabian Nights saying that Bruce Becker & Zona had donated the ponies. I knew they had, and asked Zona which one she had donated and she told me a bit of the history behind that pony -- which I found interesting.

I did find the convention was much smaller this year than at some previous ones that I had attended. Also, like many of the rest of you -- I think there were a lot of "out in the Hall" meetings held to stir the pot up to a slow simmer at least. I found this rather distastefull.

I wonder how successful we would be if we put ALL of our enenrgy behind our official representatives, instead of bringing them down with negative comments ??

I didn't think I had missed any meetings but obviously missed the one where all the directors ran out & left 2 or 3 people sitting in the room. !!!!

 

[Gypsygal]

I am just curious - what exactly was not discussed. Seems like there is a lot of generalizations but no specifics. I also was disappointed when I went to convention but I think for other reasons. What were these topics that were not discussed in the meetings?

 

[squeaky]

Hi,

Can someone please explain more onto what the minis into USEF means? Are they becoming a recognized breed through USEF and will USEF offer awards for USEF members competing in mini classes, similar to what is going on for the shetland pony? Will our mini shows count towards accumulating points for USEF, or will we need to find other USEF approved shows to compete in? Or should I be asking these questions to the USEF board?

Amanda

 

[muffntuf]

That's a great question and I didn't even know we were thinking of putting the miniatures under the umbrella of the USEF rules and regs. So that is a good question. What does it mean for the registered miniatures in AMHR?

 

[~Lisa~]

Yes that is what it means they will now be a recognized breed under USEF which does offer great breed promotion. Of course if and when you attend a USEF show the fees will be much higher but that will be your choice to do so. Judges will pay more to hold a card under USEF but again that is a choice not a requirement. they do have awards members of USEF can apply for and a great youth program again for their members

There were in fact more then one meeting where there were not a lot of BOD present and some where not a single one was present - granted at one point for a couple meetings towards the end I believe Youth and whatever was after youth they did have a emergency board meeting

Amy perhaps it was cause you were not in the back of the room but if you were you would have seen many directors were not in the room if it was not there committee (which is fine that is there choice)

I will say this again unless you are actually in the board room you have no idea how your director is representing your area. More then a couple told me they felt a certain way on different issues and yet had not problem voting with the majority even after they approached me and told me how wrong they felt this issue or that issue was.

You have no idea what your director is saying about the majority in your area during those meetings I can tell you while I have been in open board meetings before this one was by far the most eye opening experience. You quickly get to see alot about ethics and integrity or even lack thereof.

 

[Karen S]

Good Morning All,

The ASPC/ASPR has been a member of USEF for several years now but the miniatures were not. Now we have both types of horses under the umbrella of USEF. I am currently a member, have been a member for close to five years now and have renewed my membership for 2010. One of the most important part of being a USEF member is their liability insurance. I asked if any of our club shows (the ASPC/AMHR Club of N. Texas) can become a recognized show of USEF so that our members can reap some of the awards that they do offer. We did visit about the posibility so that our members can enjoy the awards they offer and most of our judges are already carded USEF judges as well.

Right now in my hands, since I'm a current USEF member I get to vote for the Pony of the Year for the Shetlands. There are some very nice contenders and will be hard to decide as to who should win as they all are fine examples that represent our Registry, but sadly only one can obtain the award. The miniatures will now be able to compete for those same honors.

The USEF is very excited about us coming into their association as it will allow them the opportunity to promote us. Go to the USEF website and you will see who and what organizations are current members. If it wasn't for the BOD picking who would be on the USEF committee as a member I would gladly be a representive. Their annual meetings are held in January. The Shetlands already have their own section of the USEF rulebook, and what isn't covered under our rules falls back to the rules of the USEF. They are very strong numbers wise and I'm proud to say we as a Registry are part of them. It will help in recognizing us as a Registry and start getting the repect that we need. Those of you that didn't go to the USEF meeting or see their presentation, you missed something that will be a great asset to our association. I urge each and everyone to obtain a membership with USEF if for nothing else their million dollar liability coverage. It's well worth the membership fee.

Thanks for letting me share.

Karen

 

[~Lisa~]

Karen I agree and hearing about the youth program or award that one of our kids got and what it enabled them to do and see that is a wonderful thing!

I to thought the insurance sounded great and loved the sound of the facebook type of thing they offer. I thought the 2 did great jobs presenting in both the different committee meetings despite being hounded relentlessly by a couple of people

They stuck around and were there to answer questions I thought both of them were not only nice( spent some time talking with them around the hotel) but were both very professional as well.

 

[Sandee]

I'm curious about this insurance you're talking about. Is this something each person is covered under or is it something that our clubs could get? I tried to look at their site and don't see anything relating to insurance coverage for joining. Anyone have more information?

 

[~Lisa~]

I was not taking notes in that session but did talk to the reps several times thru out the week. I am pretty sure the coverage is for each member when you join you go under there group insurance (might not be the right term) and you get covered for liablity under that individual membership I am sure Karen can explain it much better cause I think she knows alot about insurance

 

[LaVern]

Had to think about this for a bit. Sounds like to me that the AMHR miniature horses are now a recognized breed. The first and the only. Very Cool. Guess, I didn't have to wait so long after all.

 

[LaVern]

Karen, Am I reading too much into this? I never thought I would live to see it. But, am I right in thinking that the USEF (United States Equine Federation) (The big one). Has officially recognized the AMHR miniature as a breed.

If that is right, I think I am going to cry. This is saying that in the miniature horse world that the plain old AMHR miniature horse A or B is the main man. We are to be acknowledged as to be on the same level as any other breed, right? Can this be true? I am stunned. [SIZE=18pt]Only[/SIZE] AMHR doesn't sound so bad anymore.

 

[Minimor]

I rather imagine the insurance is on a per member basis, not a club basis. We have the same sort of insurance available here, if you are an Equine Canada member you get the insurance.

The bad thing is (IMO) that in order to show at many shows (western, H/J and many open shows) you must have an EC membership in order to show. If you want to show at just that one show it's an extra $25 which IMO is an added expense that I don't care to pay. I have liability insurance otherwise and am not impressed to have to buy a membership to have more.

I never want to see the Minis here be required to show under EC rules and have to buy an EC membership in order to show--Canadian owned Shetlands showing at the Royal, I believe, are required to have Canadian registration. I don't see Canadian Mini owners being thrilled if they had to obtain Canadian registration on their Minis. In the first place registration is very expensive and in the second place the Canadian registry recognizes only those minis that are 34" and under. So, I hope that there is never any follow up requirements for a national membership to show AMHR in Canada. For that matter I hope it never becomes required for ASPC ponies owned in Canada to have CPS registration in order to show. CPS registration is $50 (or more, depending when they get registered). If it came down to that I would chose to not show rather than pay that kind of money for an extra registration fee.

USEF affiliation is great as long as it never leads to any requirement that here in Canada we have to be an EC affiliate!

 

[SWA]

Karen, Am I reading too much into this? I never thought I would live to see it. But, am I right in thinking that the USEF (United States Equine Federation) (The big one). Has officially recognized the AMHR miniature as a breed. If that is right, I think I am going to cry. This is saying that in the miniature horse world that the plain old AMHR miniature horse A or B is the main man. We are to be acknowledged as to be on the same level as any other breed, right? Can this be true? I am stunned. [SIZE=18pt]Only[/SIZE] AMHR doesn't sound so bad anymore.

This was our first time attending the National Convention too. We didn't get to set in on all the meetings like we hoped, but did get to attend some and it truly was an eye opener for us on how all this registry stuff actually "works". We learned so much, the good, and yes the bad and the ugly too

, but for the most part it was a positive for us in all that we did learn....so far. That said, I realize now, there are great extents that we still need to continue "learning the ropes" of...and just look forward to continuing in that direction. I don't feel confident, myself, in commenting any further on the many issues that were discussed, because I don't feel adequately (yet) versed in all the topics to be able to contribute appropriately. I will comment on this one topic though, in that the above is one of the most enthusiastic positives that we took away from this convention in that we too, understood this to be the case...that the AMHR is now an officially recognized BREED!

Even my husband was most surprised and excited about this...granted...if we did in fact understand this to be the case.

Aside from all the political matters, the main purpose of us attending this convention...in all honestly, this being our very "FIRST" one in attendance, we were mostly just hanging out by ourselves just trying to take in all the "in's and out's" of how things function. It was confusing at times, extremely intense at times, but for the most part, I loved most just getting the opportunity to meet as many mini/pony folks as we could, and soak up the comraderie of the people that love our breed as much as we do. We just got our "feet wet" so to speak, with much more still to learn...and looking forward now to continue to strive in that direction...Lord willing.

 

[dmk]

Hmmm - I wonder if I was at the same convention??
Yes, there was a large group of very noisy people out in the hall at all times, yackking away & making it very difficult to hear in the room. Perhaps , if they had come in & joined in there would be less confusion??

I saw a group of VERY weary directors coming out of their meeting at about 11:30 PM on one day, Yet , they were up & at the meeting in the early morning.

I sat in the front row or two so I could hear above the background rumbles -- and I never had a question to ask that I didn't get ananswer for. Perhaps not the one I would have liked from MY view point -- but an explanaton at least.

I spoke with many different directors from many different areas, and asked questions from many of them. ALL of them (except one) took the time to discuss my concerns with me. My own director was very good at any explantion I asked for.

IF so many people have so much to criticize, perhaps they should run for office & see just how easy it really is to do everything by the book & to follow procedure.

As one director pointed out to me "The association spent a great deal of time and money to develop & print the RULEBOOK -- so we better darn well follow it.

I am disappointed and frustrated to see how quick we are to criticize and bash our fellow members who I think are trying hard to do a good job.

Some don't like this President -- others didn't like the last President & I am quite sure there will be just as many that will NOT like the next President -- regardless of who it is. Why is this I wonder??

Also -- I did not hear any announcement made at the Arabian Nights saying that Bruce Becker & Zona had donated the ponies. I knew they had, and asked Zona which one she had donated and she told me a bit of the history behind that pony -- which I found interesting.

I did find the convention was much smaller this year than at some previous ones that I had attended. Also, like many of the rest of you -- I think there were a lot of "out in the Hall" meetings held to stir the pot up to a slow simmer at least. I found this rather distastefull.

I wonder how successful we would be if we put ALL of our enenrgy behind our official representatives, instead of bringing them down with negative comments ??

I didn't think I had missed any meetings but obviously missed the one where all the directors ran out & left 2 or 3 people sitting in the room. !!!!

I was not sitting up front throughout the meetings. In a private conversation elsewhere I made note that not many directors were at the individual committee meetings. There were some. I was surprised. I also sat towards the back of the room and you get a different impression back there for sure. Many comments overheard, many people going in and out and many out in the hall conversing, but could be about anything I guess. Some came back in for the votes only and stepped back out.

I have disagreed with several people over several issues, but I will certainly stand up and say they have a right to state opinions. This is OUR registry and every vote counts as one. Regardless of how long you have been a member or where you live.

 

[Karen S]

Renee,

Yes the ASPC/AMHR will now be recognized by the USEF.

Here is a copy of my renewal I got from USEF:

If you have recently renewed, please disregard this email.

The new USEF Competition year begins December 1, 2009. Renew your membership now. It is so easy when you log into your MY USEF Account and click on "2010 USEF Membership Application" under 2010 Competition Year. For your convenience and the best membership deal, you can opt for a three-year membership for $150.

The annual USEF Competing Equestrian membership costs only $55. As a competing member, you are eligible to participate at all USEF Licensed Competitions, receive "equestrian" magazine at no additional charge, a million-dollar personal excess liability policy for horse-related accidents that cause bodily injury or property damage to third parties, and the added benefits of USEF MemberPerks--a members-only discount program with unbeatable deals from companies like John Deere, Hertz, Sherwin Williams, USRider, FarmVet, LifeLock, Moxie and others.

Not participating in USEF Licensed Competitions but still want to be a member? There are member categories for you. With the USEF Equestrian membership, at $35, you receive automatic insurance along with the MemberPerks. If you are a college student who is busy studying and not competing, you can join as a USEF Collegiate member for $25. This is another non-competing membership that will give you the benefits of MemberPerks plus four issues of "equestrian" magazine to keep you well informed of equestrian sports. And Club Equestrian, which is only $15, gives you access to the MemberPerks program.

Renew your membership when it is convenient for you by renewing online at www.usef.org. USEF is pleased to announce that we can offer you the ability to pay for your membership renewal with a credit or debit card or by utilizing our newest electronic check payment method. We accept American Express, Visa, MasterCard and electronic check.

If you have questions, call the USEF Customer Care Center

and a personal agent will assist you. You may call 859.258.2472.

Monday through Friday, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm [ET]

UNITED STATES EQUESTRIAN FEDERATION: 4047 IRONWORKS PARKWAY : LEXINGTON, KY 40511 : 859.258.2472 : FAX 859.231.6662 : WWW.USEF.ORG

Again, this is a very good program and everyone should take advantage of even the cheap membership just for the liability aspect. I'm a licensed insurance agent for the State of Texas and can tell you that personal liability policies cost way more than $35 or $55 for a million dollars worth of coverage.

Karen

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