What the Industry Has to Say About….
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The Equine Chronicle Question:
by: Mackenzie Patterson
The Equine Chronicle Question: “The one thing that needs to change to help the horse industry grow in a positive direction is…”
1. Stephanie Lynn – “We need more instructors to take on entry-level riders. These days, there aren’t enough opportunities for people to come into contact with horses. It isn’t common for people to grow up riding horses at grandpa’s family farm anymore.”
2. Clay MacLeod – “The economy needs to take off. Horses are very expensive. If there was more money available, people could spend more on horses and showing. That’s the sort of domino effect we need to have happen.”
3. Kristy Starnes – “We need to stop focusing on the negatives and focus on the positives in our industry.”
4. Lydia Brahler – “We should keep expanding class variety. I would also love for AQHA to consider offering more walk-trot classes. There are a couple of people at my barn who ride Western, but just recently started English. They have wonderful horses, but they get nervous at the thought of showing at a canter in Hunter Under Saddle or Equation. Walk-trot classes take a lot of pressure off and make the beginning experience more fun and enjoyable.”
5. Mallory Wachob – “The industry needs better-educated trainers and breeders.”
6. Courtney Battison – “We need a more level playing field. More true novice, limited, and novice horse classes need to be offered. It’s important to give those people starting out some classes they can excel in.”
7. Bob Kail – “We need to keep in mind that horse showing is a very expensive sport nowadays. Especially since a lot of shows are six to eights days long. It’s not easy for most people to spend the amount of money that’s required to go to these big circuit shows. There’s a real struggle for people that want to go to shows, but aren’t able to take a week off from their jobs, numerous times throughout the year. AQHA and affiliate associations need to reach out to local and state associations that are still trying to put on small, weekend horse shows. This is where we’re going to find the beginners that we need to join and remain in our association. We need to focus on encouraging our beginning level participants. It’s intimidating for new people to come out and show against others who are riding really high dollar horses.
“Also, these days, the industry has evolved into people wanting a standard score sheet for judging classes. They want to be able to look at a card and see exactly how and why they scored the way they did. People like consistency. It would be beneficial to find a way to develop a standardized scoring in all classes. As judges, we’re still scoring in ‘non-scoring’ classes, but people don’t realize that.”
8. Jodie Nolen – “People should be required to have a license to breed so we can put an end to backyard breeding. More thought needs to be put into breeding for quality.”
9. Emma Brown – “We need to encourage more people to become involved. Some examples of that may be to offer hospitality booths with informational packets that explain about novice events and the new leveling program. We could place this information at the local and state shows to encourage those exhibitors to move into AQHA.”
10. Kenny Hall – “The association needs to make horse showing fun again. These days, everything is all about instant gratification. Showing horses is anything but that. Many kids spend so much time showing, without much reward, which is leaving our youth division to be predominantly made up of world caliber competitors. We need to make showing worthwhile and fun for everyone. There used to be a horse show in New Mexico where hamburgers were grilled for everyone during the lunch break. The bottom line is that people are moving from AQHA and going to open shows because they offer more fun and enjoyment.”
11. Pierre Briere – “AQHA took a giant step forward after implementing the Novice Championship shows. I’ve attended shows where one day is strictly committed to novice competitors. Our entry-level riders want to be around people who are showing at the same level as they are. Another proposal is to have a separate arena dedicated to novice competitors at the shows, while all other divisions have their own arenas to show in. Many Hunter circuits have been using this approach, and their show attendance is great. All of the novice competitors would be able to prepare and show in a comfortable environment alongside everyone at their same level, all day long. The intimidation factor is inevitably going to be a problem for novice competitors as they prep next to the higher-level riders. It’s also important that we hire judges specifically to judge novice competitors. My main point is that entry-level riders are extremely important for the future of our association. We need to do our best to help them feel comfortable by offering them a place in our association that’s devoted to them.”
12. Nancy Renfro – “I think new people coming into the industry tend to feel there is an unapproachability and intimidation factor coming from the horse trainers and judges. As horse trainers and judges, we seem to get in our own world at the horse show. When someone has a question, we need to be more aware and more approachable. A lot of my clients tell me they thought I wasn’t a very nice person before they knew me. Now, they say I’m a lot of fun. Sometimes, people forget there is a normal person behind a horse trainer or judge.”
