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DECEMBER 2013 THE RIDER /29


Ontario Quarter Horse Association Inc. 2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS


President Shawna Crawford crawfordqh@gmail.com 1st Vice Shari Irwin 2nd Vice Pete Hammer


Ashley Cook Ken McLellan Jim Thomson Pete Hammer Joyi Cressman Kathy Patterson


shari_irwin@hotmail.com hbindustrial@rogers.com


Affiliate Area 2 Marianne Ramey


ashleycooka@hotmail.com ken.m.mclellan@gmail.com thomsonqh@sympatico.ca hbindustrial@rogers.com joy.cressman@sunlite.com tbrkathy@hsfx.ca rqh@silomail.com


613-913-7262 905-440-5941 519-504-6969


Past President Jamie Simpson richlandshowhorses@sympatico.ca 519-821-2425 Area 1 Area 1 Area 1 Area 2 Area 2 Area 2


519-289-5526 519-504-6969


519-443-8713 www.oqha.on.ca • info@oqha.on.ca


Area 2 Area 3 Area 3 Area 3 Area 3 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 Area 5 Area 6


Rick Fleetwood Andrew Dewar


Janine Domingos Shari Irwin


gatorrocks@hotmail.com


dewarperformance@hotmail.com tlex@hotmail.ca


Jessica Mosley Cairncross mosleyjessica@hotmail.com 705-322-5795 Jodi Malette Val Love


shari_irwin@hotmail.com Jodi@jmquarterhorses.ca


Shawna Crawford crawfordqh@gmail.com Rod Jeffries


vlove@sympatico.ca avisions@sympatico.ca


Jenna Woodley jennawoodley@hotmail.com


Amateur President Sheryl Chillson Youth President


Tiana Domingos tlex@hotmail.ca


petiteheartstrings@gmail.com 613-348-3906 519-833-0210


Check out our website for the latest OQHA information!


519-620-9015 519-833-0210


905-440-5941 905-846-9309


905-263-8158 613-913-7262


AHC Testifies Before House Committee on Soring Bill


and believes it has the potential to end the abusive practice of soring in the Tennessee Walking Horse, Racking Horse, and Spotted Saddle Horse indus- tries,” said Hickey. “I was happy to appear before the committee and explain why the AHC and almost all national horse show associations support the bill.”


hibition on soring, a 2010 USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG) report found that this practice continues to be a prob- lem in the “big lick” or “performance horse” segments of the Tennessee Walk- ing Horse, Racking Horse, and Spotted


to cause pain in a horse’s forelegs and produce an accentuated show gait for competition. It usually involves the use of action devices, chemicals, pads, wedges alone or in combination with the application of irritating or blistering chemical agents to a horse’s forelegs. The showing, sale, auction, exhibition, or transport of horses that have been “sored,” has been prohibited by the Horse Protection Act (HPA) since 1970. “Despite the HPA’s 43 year pro-


Soring is an abusive practice used


(Washington, D.C.) On November 13, 2013, the House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Com- merce, Manufacturing and Trade, held a hearing regarding the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2013 (H.R. 1518) or PAST Act. American Horse Council (AHC) President Jay Hickey testified in support of the bill. “The AHC supports the PAST Act


lem, the PAST Act amendments to the HPA are clearly needed and justified. The bill is narrowly focused on the problem it is intended to solve and does


a new licensing process for horse show inspectors, eliminating the current inef- fective designated qualified persons (DQPs) program. The bill would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to train, license and appoint new indepen- dent inspectors for shows and other HPA-regulated activities that wish to hire an inspector. Licensed or accredit- ed veterinarians would be given prefer- ence for these positions. The decision to hire and cost of an inspector would still reside with the management of a show, sale or auction. “Because soring remains a prob-


increase fines and penalties for viola- tions, including the potential for a life- time ban for repeat offenders. Additionally, the bill would create


HPA to prohibit a Tennessee Walking Horse, a Racking Horse, or a Spotted Saddle Horse from being shown, exhib- ited, or auctioned with an “action device,” or “a weighted shoe, pad, wedge, hoof band or other device or material” if it is constructed to artificial- ly alter the gait of the horse and is not strictly protective or therapeutic. These new prohibitions would not apply to other breeds that do not have a history of soring. The legislation would also


Saddle Horse industry,” said Hickey. The PAST act would amend the


might not realize it, but soring is garner- ing more and more adverse and unnec- essary publicity for the horse industry at large. Witness the press surrounding Jackie McConnell and Larry Wheelon and others. This affects the non-walking horse sectors of the show industry because the public does not understand the differences between various show breeds and what they do.” “The public sees other breeds


PAST Act were Dr. W. Ron DeHaven, Executive Vice President & CEO Amer- ican Veterinary Medical Association, Marty Irby, International Director and Former President Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ & Exhibitors’ Associa- tion, Teresa Bippen, President Friends of Sound Horses, and Donna Benefield, International Walking Horse Associa-


doing an animated gait and thinks it is a walking horse and being sored, rather than performing its natural gaits. That reflects badly on the entire show horse industry,” says Hickey. Also, testifying in support of the


not adversely affect or unnecessarily burden other segments of the horse show industry that are not soring horses and have no history of soring horses,” said Hickey. “Soring is unquestionably abusive and its continued prevalence is severely damaging the Tennessee Walk- ing Horse, Racking Horse, and Spotted Saddle Horse industries and negatively impacting public perception of other segments of the horse industry.” “The wider horse community


tion.


support the bill include, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, U.S. Equestrian Federation, the Ameri- can Quarter Horse Association, the American Paint Horse Association, the American Morgan Horse Association, the Pinto Horse Association of America, the Arabian Horse Association, the American Saddlebred Horse Associa- tion, the United Professional Horse- men’s Association, the Appaloosa Horse Club, and the American Veterinarian Medical Association as well as many other state and local organizations. The bill has broad bipartisan sup-


https://www.facebook.com/American- HorseCouncil


http://www.horsecouncil.org/press- release/ahc-testifies-house-committee- soring-bill Find the AHC on Facebook -


AHC and full hearing can be viewed at: http://energycommerce.house.gov/hear- ing/legislative-hearing-hr-1518-bill- amend-horse-protection-act Link to article on AHC website -


port and currently has 223 co-sponsors in the House and 26 co-sponsors in the Senate. The full written testimony of the


Julius Johnson, Commissioner Ten- nessee Department of Agriculture, and Dr. John Bennett, on behalf of Perfor- mance Show Horse Association. Other national organizations that


Witnesses opposing the bill were


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