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Re: [RC] Letters ...NOW-- Let's get the ball rolling! - heidi

Well Heidi
I've been breeding athletic horses for over 15 years now and I was aware
 of problems back in the show world in the 80's, having been involved
with it and knowing some of the big guys. Don't know where you got the
idea that I thought this was a brand new problem (you must be easily
amused)

Uh, by the addition to the thread title that you coined, most likely???

but I'm tired of hearing all the belly aching and I just felt it
 was time for those of us that are unhappy with the status quo to try
something new.

Petitions and letter writing campaigns are not new.  We've done several,
from several groups.  They are a good thing--my beef was in the idea that
somehow "NOW" doing the very same thing would make some magical
difference.  It will not.  That doesn't make it a bad idea--and if I sound
jaded, perhaps I am, but I've just seen the same cycle go by over and over
and over again without any change.

Talk is cheap and you're preaching to the wrong choir.

I already said I was preaching to the choir to some extent.  But what is
happening on ridecamp that is different than all the letter writing
campaigns and petitions, etc. ad nauseum is that HERE, there is an actual
group that RIDES and that wishes for the most part to be educated about
what to look for when it comes to shopping for Arabians.  THAT is what is
new, and THAT is what is exciting.  And it is the educated consumer--one
who KNOWS good conformation and INSISTS on good minds--who will change the
direction in which our breed is going.  The ONLY thing that will make a
difference is when good horses sell to good riders, and the dross that is
being bred to fit the current "standard" gets a firm "no thank you" from
educated consumers, no matter how tempting the price.

Those of us on ridecamp are already aware of the problems in the show
world here. What we need is numbers to write to people in power to try
to get some changes--- numbers count and there are a LOT of numbers on
this chat room.

No, what we need is the above.  Words are cheap--it is voting with dollars
when one makes purchases that is noticed.  There is already notice being
taken of the fact that people are not buying Arabs in general in the
numbers that they once did.  The next step is to make it clear to the
Powers That Be that it is not just any old Arab that people want to
buy--it is one that they can ride, and enjoy, and make a member of the
family.  And the ONLY way to make that statement is to educate consumers
who WANT those sorts of horses so that they BUY from people who breed
those sorts of horses.  If the "extreme" horses have no market, they will
soon have fewer breeders.

I'm not half as concerned about registry numbers as I am about what is
happening to the breed.  If breeders would actually BREED useful horses,
the market is there, and registrations would not be down.  But people are
sick and tired of the crazy ones that can't stay sound.

It seems many would like to see distance and trail
riding promoted by the AHA and something done about the show ring for
those of us that also like to compete in other ways. I guess is it
easier to for one to bemoan his fate than it is to try something
proactive-- and no, I don't think just breeding more athletes is the
answer unless we have a way to let folks know about them.

Bette, that remark borders on the offensive to those of us who have been
"proactive" for years in terms of educating consumers and keeping useful
horses available.  What on earth do you think many of us HAVE been
doing--on this list, through groups like ASHAI, with booths at places like
AERC convention and regional conventions (out of our own pockets, with no
help from IAHA, since we were not promoting their agenda), and in many
other places?  WE HAVE BEEN LETTING FOLKS KNOW ABOUT THEM.  And
furthermore, we are making a difference.  Additionally, if we DON'T breed
the athletic ones, we won't have any more of them.  One cannot put the
classic horses on the shelf and just get them back down in a couple of
decades when somebody was interested.  Our breed has already lost a great
deal of genetic material because of the discarding of many useful lines in
favor of the fads.  Continuing to breed the athletes is an integral part
of being "proactive."  If they are not out there to be seen, no one can
know that they exist.  And to have them out there to be seen, first one
has to breed them!!

It takes restraint on my part not to breed these last few years (I love
babies) but I see a glut of good horses on the market who are going for
very little money

I actually see very few GOOD horses on the market.  That's part of the
problem.  There is a glut, for sure--but not of much of anything that I'd
care to ride.  And judging by the posts from folks like Barbara and others
who have searched high and low for a GOOD one, I'm not alone in this
assessment.

and it takes a long time to sell in CA due to over
breeding.

I agree that there has been overbreeding of mediocre horses.  But there is
still a relative shortage of good ones.

"AND using the products of our breeding
programs in endeavors that illustrate what they were bred to do."

Who makes that decision, Heidi? There are folks who believe Arabians are
great cutting horses and use them on their ranches (like Katy Comacho)
and those who go to the Cow Palace and beat the pants off the quarter
horses (like Sheila Varian) and those who enjoy a "good trottin'" horse,
like Jeff Wonnell and win ribbons in English pleasure at Nationals by
training in old school methods (He is in his 80's now and I'm making a
documentary of his life and you should hear the stories from this true
horseman).. and on... and on. We cannot be myopic in our vision of what
the Arabian can do . It's the versatility of the breed wherein lies its
strength (boy that sounded familiar :-)

Yes, it is.  And having ranched with Arabs, and done a lot of other things
with Arabs myself, I'm one of the first to laud versatility.  But be
honest, Bette.  Where IS the versatile Arabian???  He is NOT in the halter
ring with a long neck and a sausage body and mile-long cannon bones.  He
is NOT in the park classes with the back end going like a crippled
windmill.  He is NOT in the WP classes, with the inability to drag his
toes out of his tracks.  He is out on the trails.  The myopia is among
those who pretend that the show ring of yesteryear is the show ring of
today.  I've got news for you--it isn't!  Look at the pedigrees of top
endurance horses--their pedigrees read like a who's who of the show ring
from the 50s.  But those versatile horses would be laughed out of the ring
today.  This thread is not about dissing the show ring--it is about
RETURNING our breed to what it is supposed to be.

And don't think that show people
in general aren't just as concerned about saddles and vitamins, etc.---
perhaps you should drop in on some of the other chat rooms that have
people who are not distance riders but pleasure ride and show.

Hey, Bette, I WORKED with that crowd professionally for the better part of
two decades.  Sure, they are "concerned"--what magic pill or potion or
hock injection can get me through this show.  You clearly have not hung
around enough endurance riders to realize what a DIFFERENCE there actually
is.  The chat rooms may sound similar--but the reality is WAY different.

Remember
there are very few "big boys" left and lots of people struggling to
afford the shows and who are just as dedicated to their sport be it
equitation, English, western pleasure or reining, etc...  I will refrain
from using the cliché about the stones but you get my gist. Those that
want to try the petition approach can email me privately and we can see
what we can do.  Goodnight

The "big boys" are still in charge, though.  And until they are gone, the
show ring doesn't stand a chance.  It will only change, once again,
because of educated consumers who want to ride and enjoy GOOD horses.  The
Sport Horse venues are a healthy step--and the overwhelming support of the
SH Nationals overwhelmed the Powers That Be.  Again, this wasn't due to
petitions or letter writing or chat rooms--it was due to people who RIDE
their Arabians, and who want to do something with them, just as we do.

Heidi


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And remember, an arab's fourth gait is the spook! 
~  Jeanie Miller

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Replies
Re: [RC] Letters to the World -- showing, Chris Paus
Re: [RC] Letters to the World -- showing, heidi
Re: [RC] Letters ...NOW-- Let's get the ball rolling!, Bette Lamore
Re: [RC] Letters ...NOW-- Let's get the ball rolling!, heidi
Re: [RC] Letters ...NOW-- Let's get the ball rolling!, Bette Lamore
Re: [RC] Letters ...NOW-- Let's get the ball rolling!, heidi
Re: [RC] Letters ...NOW-- Let's get the ball rolling!, Bette Lamore