10 Annual Edition "The Blarney" (PDF) - Irish Draught Horse Society ...

The Blarney Yearbook
The official Newsletter of the
Irish Draught Horse Society of North America
Co-Editors
Kate Triplett - Email: theblarney@irishhuntersandjumpers.com
Sarah Bright-Phillips - Email: sarahbrightphillips@gmail.com
Sarah Hooper - Email: tiogarfarm@yahoo.com
Advertising/Design/Production: Laurie Monroe
9885 NW 127th Court, Ocala, FL 34482
(352) 445-1235 / Email: blarney@grafxbylaurie.com
BOARD LIAISON / CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Liz Freeman - Email: irishdraughts@gmail.com
The IDHSNA is considered a daughter society of the IDHS Ireland.
The Blarney is the official newsletter of the IDHSNA and is
published generally quarterly.
The Blarney assumes no responsibility for the truth or accuracy
of the advertisements contained herein. Statements, opinions, and
points of view expressed by the contributors and advertisers are
not necessarily those of The Blarney staff and/or the IDHSNA Inc.
We reserve the right to edit any editorial materials received and
deny placing advertising or written material that is deemed damaging
or contrary to the goals of the Society.
The Blarney is copyrighted by the IDHSNA. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be re-printed in any form without
the written permission of the IDHSNA.
Subscriptions: The Blarney is included with most memberships.
Non-member residents of North America may subscribe to
The Blarney for $30 per year.
Contributions: Articles, photos, news items, and horse
show results are always welcome. Contact the Editors at the addresses
listed above.
Advertising: Advertising rates are available from the editor,
or online at www.irishdraught.com.
2011 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President: Larry Robbins / Email: mdldrobbins@msn.com
Vice President: Michele Metraux / Email: mmetraux@yorku.ca
Secretary: Position Currently Open
Treasurer: Mary Hansen / Email: TreasurerIDHSNA@yahoo.com
Directors: Jim McGinty / Email: jmcginty3@comcast.net
Karen Young / Email: karen@klearyfield.com
IDHSNA Registration Services:
4037 Iron Works Parkway, Suite 160
Lexington, KY 40511-8483
Phone: (859) 455-8090 / Fax: (858) 761-0264
Information Officer: Rachael Cox
HC65 Box 45 Pleasant Mount, PA 18453-9605
Phone: 1-866-IDHSNA-1 / Email: info@irishdraught.com
Member Services Coordinator: Priscilla Menard
4037 Iron Works Parkway, Suite 160, Lexington, KY 40511
Phone: (859) 455-8090 / Fax: (858) 761-0264
Email: idhsna@hotmail.com
COVER PHOTO
Cover Photo: Steeped in Luck RID, ridden by Tom Dvorak at the World
Equestrian Games Breed Demonstrations. Courtesy C. Wolf Photography.
From Our President . . .
Marketing the Irish Draught, A Rare Breed
by Larry Robbins, IDHSNA President
First off, I want to let the membership know that if you haven’t
been contacted already, committee members are going to
be calling you to fund (1) updating the IDHSNA website and
(2) sponsorship of the Future Event Horse Program. Both of these
efforts are critical to keeping this breed from becoming extinct.
The statistics put the number of purebred Irish Draughts (Mares,
Stallions, and Geldings) at 471 registered in the United States.
We are looking at a commitment of approximately $6,000 per year
for three years for FEH, and an estimated $8,500 for website development.
The Society does not have the money in its coffers to
initiate or sustain either effort, so we are reaching out to you, the
membership, and asking for folks to make a donation to either or
both of these funds.
It is critical that both of these happen at the same time. To be a
serious sponsor of the United States Eventing Associations Future
Event Horse Program means that we will receive a lot of publicity;
folks interested in our horses are going to go to our IDHSNA website.
That means that our website needs to be up to date, with a
focus on what our horses are successfully out there doing, what
we have for sale, and our stallions available for breeding. Public interest
stories are one way we will attract and hold new members.
Historically we have done a good job of presenting the facts on
our website. What we need to do now is keep it updated on a
weekly or bi-weekly basis with new and fresh information; we can
do this by presenting every day, human interest stories about our
breed. This will require that our membership (you) send us your
stories about your horses and what you are doing with them.
Other ways we can market our Rare Breed is to make a
personal commitment to get involved with one or two
shows/clinics a year. Our horses are our very best ambassadors
for the breed. If you get your horses out where the
public can see them you will be generating interest and showing
just how wonderful and versatile our Irish Draught breed is. I recommend
that each Regional Chair and Director-at-Large produce a
show or clinic this year (in case you did not know many regions already
have them in the works). Perhaps these shows/clinics should
not all be breed specific but open to all, providing the opportunity
for others to see our horses in action. This is the one thing that
the USEA FEH Program does for us, the breeders, trainers, handlers
and competitors who are at the FEH series are seeing Irish Draughts
and Irish Draught Sport Horses with correct conformation, movement,
temperament, and minds.
We need to do a better job of marketing our breed before we
lose the Irish Draught entirely. If you haven’t been contacted and
you wish to assist in funding one or both of the efforts, please
contact Bill Appel, Cori Oehley, Tony Phillips, Ann O’Donnell, or
Michelle Robbins. No contribution is too small; please know that
it is critical that we make both of these efforts happen quickly.
Saving our breed is what we are all about, educating the public
about our breed is a must to be successful, and publicity is how
we make it happen.
2010 Yearbook - T he Blarney Page 3