Day 2 at 2016 AQHA Convention With Lainie DeBoer

Day 2-

By: Lainie DeBoer

Today was a very exciting day at the AQHA Convention. The day started off with the general membership meeting, which was the first for our new Executive Vice President Craig Huffines. There is a definite feeling of change in our association, and I have to say everyone here feels invigorated. The AQHA is sending out survey after survey to get to know the needs of our membership, which, in my opinion, is very refreshing and optimistic. AQHA is taking steps to get up to speed and into the 21st century, which in turn will take us into a healthy future.

The morning started with guest speaker Kevin Oschsner giving an overview of the AQHA’s new mission. They’re definitely focused on the future and ready to embrace change. They’re asking questions, especially the right ones. They feel in order to do that they must take action and get creative. Pretty awesome stuff! AQHA is an industry leader and, to survive and be successful, they need to make good decisions regarding the membership. The three pronged approach is Analyze, Align, and Act. In order to respond to change, they must Define, Decide, and Deliver. I don’t know about you, but it has been a very long time since I heard all those words at a general meeting. There is positivity in the air, and I’m totally on board.

Next, AQHA President Dr. Glenn Blodgett gave a heartfelt speech about his time with the AQHA Executive committee over the past five years. He was clearly emotional talking about how much AQHA has meant to him, especially when his wife was in a terrible life threatening accident last fall. He felt a sense of family, and the outpouring of support meant the world to him. He was truly so grateful for all his experiences as an Executive Board member. During that time period, he has weathered a cloning law suit, banned Clenbuterol, taken away lip chains, and acquired an award based company and registry. That’s only to name a few! If you want a link to Dr. Blodgett’s speech click here.

Craig Huffines stepped up for his speech, which was going to set the tone for the whole convention. In my opinion, he delivered. I had a sense that he’s really invested in our association and is clearly turning the boat around, so to speak. He revealed a priority list; let me tell you, not only is it ambitious, it’s exciting. It includes recruiting professionals and developing leadership; surveying membership demographics, wants, and needs; developing business plans for upstart ventures like Arc and Robin Glenn Pedigree; evaluating costs and benefits of programs; building a robust media plan for both print and digital properties; and reaching across the industry to institutionalize best welfare strategies. Wow! Each one of those priorities is exciting in and of itself. Are you getting the tone of the convention? CHANGE!

The rest of the meeting was made up of a Treasurer’s report by Trent Taylor. I’m happy to say that, after many years of decline, we’re on a plateau, which is a great sign that we can rebound soon. Leman Wall made sure to thank our wonderful corporate sponsors such as Bank Of America, Nutrena, Adequan, Lucas Oil, Merial, and Markel Insurance, just to name a few. The best part of the meeting was Minnesota, my state, was awarded a $10,000 grant from Bank Of America (you all need to get an AQHA credit card from them) to help fund the 4-H Boot camp that was implemented several years ago. The program has had incredible success developing open show youth riders into AQHYA exhibitors. I’m so proud of all the work my affiliate has done to make this program work, and now we will be able to sustain it for the future.

That’s it for today. Tonight is the awards banquet, and it’s a chance for all of us to celebrate and let our hair down for a night, oh and get all dressed up. It’s always weird to see fellow horseman all dressed up with their hair done, make up on, and high heels on, especially Steve Meadows and Jim Searles. Ha, LOL just kidding! There are more committee meetings tomorrow, so I will have much more to report from the Show committee…

Perspective From Convention Attendee Bill Kaven– “I’m very thankful that AQHA is taking a proactive stance about the current issues that could potentially effect everyone that enjoys the horse industry. These issues are attracting new participants, animal welfare, and how social media can be used to positively highlight our industry. The Equine Business speakers presented by the Professional Horsemen’s Association gave members vital information to help them run and protect their businesses better! I would like to congratulate everyone at AQHA for putting on such an amazing convention!”

Day 1:

By: Lainie DeBoer

Welcome to the AQHA annual convention in “Lost Wages,” I mean Las Vegas. Today was a very exciting day for me because I attended the Professional Horseman Small Business Workshop. Why this is so near and dear to my heart is because I’m so proud of how far Professional Horseman has come as a group and the strides they ‘re making to have a strong voice in our industry. This was the first year of many that I no longer sit on the Council, and I felt like I left at a very pivotal time in our growth. It was incredible to witness how fast they’re becoming a strong voice in the AQHA. Thanks to the leadership of Steve Meadows and Patti Carter and all the wonderful council members, the Professional Horseman are well on their way to great success.

The workshop was filled with interesting topics that our industry is facing today. Sam Rose and Eleanor Greene started the conversation regarding Animal Welfare. I have been fortunate to serve on the Animal Welfare Commission the past few years, and after an incredibly productive meeting yesterday, we are reaching out to Professional Horseman to help us pursue the welfare of the American Quarter Horse. I was so proud to have the commission well represented, and they shared the topics that are plaguing our industry the most, and AQHA’s commitment to make sure the welfare of the horse is paramount.

The speakers that gave presentations were so informative, from a professional’s point of view, and I feel I gained so much knowledge. We learned about different teaching methods from Christy Landwehr. Developing good horsemanship skills and recognizing visual, auditory, and kinesthetic ways of learning. It was such a great reminder that, as teachers, we need to really understand each and every customer’s specific needs regarding their learning process.

Next was Yvonne Ocrant, which I believe was a fan favorite. She is a very, what I would call, a firecracker of a personality, an equine liability lawyer. She was so fun to listen to and explained that we need to protect ourselves more with contracts, liability releases, signage, and insurance. I did learn that every State has its own Equine Liability Statute, and I will be looking into my business a little closer to make sure all my contracts will hold up in court. She offered her services free of charge for any Professional Horseman that attended the seminar.

We then shifted into using digital tools to help promote ourselves and our business: tracking trends and identifying what people follow our websites, Facebook, Linked In, and much more. It was very good information regarding professional networking and all the available resources out there to build our business.

We finished with Becky Peskin from Merial, an AQHA corporate partner and my personal favorite, the maker of Ulcer Guard (which I use religiously on all my show horses). She gave an incredible and very informative speech on balancing profitability and customer satisfaction. We looked at expenses and income and re evaluating our business to improve operating margins. This is a very tough business to make a living in, and it was refreshing to have somebody make suggestions to make our lives a little more profitable.

After lunch, we attended the Town Hall meeting that AQHA hosted for the first time in it’s history. It was very interactive (we had hand held devices to answer questions) and it feels like AQHA is trying to understand how the membership ticks and who we are as a group. It was clear our membership is mainly made up of older women and we have lost the younger mothers and youth. Programs such as Time To Ride are helping promote new possible members into the horse industry and they’re clearly working on channeling a market that has dwindled in the past.

I think the most moving speech was given by Al Dunning regarding professionalism in our job to ensure the welfare of the horse. He reminded me that I must always lead by example, and I should not be afraid to reach out to fellow professionals if I see something that I feel is not in the best interest of our horse. If I don’t act, I am as guilty as the person committing that abuse and it is my duty to speak my mind and reach out and mentor other fellow professionals. It was a healthy reminder to all that listened, that we are all here because we love the American Quarter Horse and we should do whatever we can to protect them.

One of the topics of discussion all day was social media and how perception from the public can damage the industry. A lot of negativity can be put out into the public and we talked about how we need to work to better ourselves as horseman, trainers, and owners to make sure we are doing all we can to keep a positive public perception. We need to promote the Quarter Horse and put as many positive messages out as we can. I know after witnessing all that I did today at the convention, I already see strides to make our industry better on so many levels. It’s only day one and already we are off to an exciting start. Stay tuned!