What’s Happening in 2018


Here are some brief reports from various agencies and organizations representing Mary- land’s equine industry. For more information about each organization and who sits on their boards, see equiery.com.


Maryland Horse Industry Board


Established by legislation in 1998, the Mary- land Horse Industry Board, housed within the Maryland Department of Agriculture, func- tions as a commodity board to help develop and promote the state’s horse industry. To un- derstand more about what the board can and cannot do, and how it diff ers from the Mary- land Horse Council, please visit equiery.com. Board members are appointed by the Gover- nor to represent diff erent segments of the horse industry; these segments are outlined in the law authorizing the Board. T e Maryland Depart- ment of Agriculture and other interested par- ties can make recommendations to the Gov- ernor’s offi ce, but ultimately the appointments are at the Governor’s discretion. MHIB has a diverse and active board, and all of the members, as well as our advisory board members, are involved in our projects and ac- tivities. Here are some of our major initiatives for 2018.


Horse Discovery Center Network T e volunteer project to further develop the Horse Discovery Center network and imple- mentation of the School Horse Curriculum is designed to introduce new people of all ages to horse sports and expand our custom- er base. Still in its infancy, there are currently 43 licensed stables in 17 counties certifi ed to provide fi rst time and re-entry clients positive experiences into the horse world. Anne Litz has been hired as a coordinator to work with stables and connect them with the schools and school curriculum as well as other organiza- tions in their communities. A series of eight educational workshops have been established this winter to work on development of the pro- gram. About 1,000 school age children have al- ready been exposed to the curriculum in its fi rst year. Board members Jim Steele, Karen Fulton, Kathleen Tabor and Bev Raymond continue to devote their time to developing this network. We work in conjunction with Dr. Peggy Eppig of the Maryland Agricultural Education Foun- dation, and MHIB will be a presenter this year at T e Maryland Association of Environmental Outdoors Educators about this program.


Maryland Horse Park System Even though we are still awaiting clarifi ca-


tion from the FEI on the status of Fair Hill International’s elevation to 4- or 5-star status,


www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580


our board member Jay Griswold is working tirelessly as our representative on the Fair Hill Foundation to raise money from the private sector and work with public offi cials to make improvements at Fair Hill. If ever there were an unsung hero to try to raise the profi le of our competitive horse venues and bring Maryland into play with Wellington and Tryon, it is Jay.


Maryland State Fair’s Horseland T is equine educational venture at the State


Fair has grown from 14,000-30,000 to over 50,000 visitors in 2017, and will be back again in 2018 at Timonium under the leadership of our advisory board members Hope Birsh and Laura Unsworth. Hope oversees Horseland and Laura, with major help from the Balti- more City Mounted Police unit and its chief Russ Robar, has developed a Military Riding Showcase at the Fair for veterans and mounted police units.


Filling the Horse World Expo Void Once we learned that the annual Maryland


Horse World Expo was cancelled, along with several of our equine industry partners, we quickly booked the EQUUS Film Festival at the Timonium Fairgrounds. We plan to explore the idea to expand the Film Festival into a full blown Mid-Atlantic Equine Arts Festival, and possibly other options, so that what has tradi- tionally been Maryland’s winter opportunity to celebrate the horse will continue. Board mem- bers Kathleen


Tabor,


Bev Raymond, Neil Ag- ate and Karin DeFrancis have helped us with these and other EQUUS Film Festival activities.


Equine Welfare Issues We are excited to have


Erin Ochoa, executive director of Days End Farm Horse Rescue, as our newest board member. Erin represents Hu- mane Societies and will help us in our response to equine welfare issues. Days End puts on excellent educational animal welfare seminars for our personnel as well as the state’s animal control offi cers. Erin’s input will be invaluable to help MHIB navigate this important part of the equestrian landscape.


Maryland 4-H Horse Program new Co- ordinator Rebecca Gunderson


2017 American Horse Council study on the economic impact of the Maryland horse indus- try as well as continued to advertise and market Maryland horses in various publications, other media platforms and public events. Dr Mike Odian chairs our Health Advisory Committee. Dr. Amy Burk sits on several committees and off ers input throughout the year. Eli Solomon keeps a watchful eye on our budget as well as keeping us abreast of happenings in the harness racing world. Jim Steele, our chair, and Karen Fulton, our vice chair, provide leadership and keep us updated concerning the T oroughbred sector, licensed stables and the event world, in particular. We are planning board meetings and a regional horse expo on the Eastern Shore to involve MHIB more in the Western disciplines.


Visit www.mda.maryland.gov/horseboard to review MHIB’s 2017 Annual Report.


Maryland 4-H Horse Program T e Maryland 4-H Horse Program off ers a


variety of activities for youth ages 8 to 18 to help them explore their interest in horses and the horse industry. Whether youth are looking to advance in their riding skills, or if they just want to learn more about horses, the Maryland 4-H Horse Program has something for every- one! Most activities include club, county, and state level components and some include na- tional level.


Joining the Maryland 4-H Horse Program staff this year is new 4-H Horse Program Coordi- nator Rebecca Gunder- son. Becca was born and raised in Gretna, Ne- braska. Growing up she was involved with Pony Club until she joined her fi rst 4-H club when she was nine years old. She rode everything while in 4-H: Hunt Seat, West- ern, Jumpers, Dressage,


Touch of Class, MHIB Grants and More! At this year’s Horse Industry Day in An- napolis, MHIB promoted the results from the


Reining, etc, you name she has tried it! While in 4-H, equine was her main species but she also showed cattle, chickens, rabbits, cats, and did veterinary science display boards. Her county was very involved with Equine Knowl- edge and competed in Horse Bowl, Hippology, Horse Judging, and Communications at the county, state and the national level. Her Horse Bowl Team even won nationals back in 2010. Becca received her BS in Animal Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Decem- ber of 2016. While at UNL she spent most of


continued... FEBRUARY 2018 | THE EQUIERY | 69


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