has been importing Standardbreds to improve the quality of their local horses and to expand and improve their harness racing.
“Racing is big around the world.
Mongolian ponies are raced. Arabs race their native horses and now Thor- oughbreds. Icelandic ponies are highly competitive with their unique gait. And then there are places like India, Viet- nam, Laos, Thailand and many other countries where gambling is strong, and perhaps we need to be viewing these countries as potential markets for Paint racing. “But, it needs to be done through the
governments, and the politics to do this need to be carefully understood with insiders promoting the American-bred Paint Horses. And when these horses are winning, more will be purchased.” Tim is director of the Equine Industry
Program at the University of Louis- ville, where he also teaches courses in marketing. He says the first level of international marketing involves the “good horse.” Buyers will find these horses, Tim says, just as Chico traveled from South America to find Chasin The Money in Montana. “The second level involves market- ing the sport first, and then promoting horses for that sport once it becomes established,” Tim said.
The logic makes sense. A marketing
program for racing Paint Horses, no matter how well done, has little chance
of success in a country that has no Paint Horse racing. He suggests breed organizations should make better use of federal and state economic development and mar- keting officers, whose job is finding foreign buyers for American products. “Most of our embassies have agricul- tural trade officers who can help open foreign markets to United States prod- ucts, including horses,” he said. “They might not know much about horses, but they’re willing to learn because that’s their job. They know the local markets and they can help open doors in other countries.”
Leaders at APHA appreciate the
importance of emerging foreign markets and are actively pursuing development programs in a number of countries. Many of those efforts are being con- ducted in partnership with U.S. Live- stock Genetics Export Inc., a private, not-for-profit national trade organization that promotes the export market for horses and other livestock. The collab- orative effort allows APHA to support existing breed shows and develop new events in other countries. “We’ve traveled to Germany, France, Costa Rica, Mexico and Brazil to pro- mote Paints,” APHA Executive Director Billy Smith said, “and as a result we’re seeing growth in Europe and Latin America.”
The most efficient business model, Billy says, involves promoting events in
countries where an interest in Paint Horses already exists “Where do we have Paint Horses,
but few events?” Billy said. “We find the horses, and then we work with local clubs to develop more events in the future.” More breed-specific shows and other activities increase demand for Paint Horses, Billy explains, which creates more export opportunities for domes- tic breeders. “We’ve done some work to try and
introduce Paints in new areas, but at the present time our money is better spent locating horses and developing new events in other countries,” he said.
The international effort appears to
be working. The 2012 APHA Annual Report identifies 31 affiliated clubs in 23 foreign countries, a number that is increasing, and international registra- tions accounted for 28 percent of all Paint Horses registered with APHA last year. In addition, APHA approved 59 new shows last year, 30 of which were outside of the United States. With an outstanding product and
APHA support, Paint breeders are dis- covering new markets for their horses, which helps strengthen the industry overall.
Milton C. Toby is a special contributor for Paint Horse Racing. To comment on this article, email
feedback@apha.com.
APHA is actively pursuing Paint Horse market development through its partnership with U.S. Livestock Genetics Export Inc., a national trade organization. Travelling to countries that include Costa Rica, Mexico and Brazil to promote Paints, APHA Executive Director Billy Smith says they’ve seen exciting growth in Europe and Latin America.
16 JULY 2013
PAINT HORSE RACING
APHA FILE PHOTO
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