THE MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL President’s Letter
by Kimberly K. Egan MHC President
October is Horse Month in Maryland and it is un- derstatement to say that it’s a busy time for the horse industry. T ere is a major nationally recognized com- petition almost every week of the month, as well as regional and local activities of every color and stripe.
October Calendar T e month’s marquee events are, in chronological order: the Capi-
tal Challenge Horse Show (Sept. 28-Oct. 8) at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center, which is the biggest show of its kind east of the Mississippi River;
Jim McKay Maryland Million
Day on October 14 at Laurel Park; the MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill on October 19-22 at the Fair Hill Special Event Zone; and the Washington Inter- national Horse Show on Oct. 23-29, also at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. To help everyone keep track of it all, we are breaking our rule about only publishing our calendar of events twice year so that we can publish the full calendar of events for October in this issue. We’ve updated some events since last month, so make sure to take a look.
Maryland-Bred Sport Horses Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority
Speaking of T oroughbreds, the new T oroughbred Racetrack Operat- ing Authority (TROA) held its fi rst public meetings in August and Sep- tember. MHC was able to attend each of the meetings despite the fact that TROA did not make the meeting notices reasonably available to the public in any way, shape, or form. Our Government Relations column this month is a reprint of a letter we sent to TROA, pointing out that its meetings to date have not complied with Maryland’s Open Meetings Act and asking TROA to correct its defi ciencies. We sent the letter because the T or-
MHC COMMITTEE REPORTS IN THIS ISSUE!
• Farm Stewardship - See how Obligation Farm in Anne Arundel County has turned their horse farm green on page 51
• Government Relations - Read the full MHC letter to TROA on page 55 • Industry Professionals - Meet new
members and read about current member news on page 60
• Sport Horse - Competition results for Maryland-bred sport horses on page 28
Many of our Maryland-bred perfor- mance horse competition riders have used August and September to get ready for the big events in October. Our Sport Horse column this month covers some of the biggest achievements of Maryland-bred sport horses so far this year. T oroughbreds seem to have been the dominant breed out and about over the summer, but we know there are Maryland-breds of many breeds, sizes, colors, and skills out there, so please send information about any Maryland-bred horse you know who is competing in any equestrian discipline to kegan@md-
horsecouncil.org. All we need is registered name, pedigree, and competi- tion record.
• Trail Stewardship - History and highlights of trail riding at Gunpowder Falls State Park in Baltimore County on page 37
oughbred racing sector is a not insignifi - cant part of the industry as a whole, and the industry as a whole would very much like T oroughbred racing to survive. T e sector needs a watchdog, however, and MHC is particularly well-suited to play that role because most of the entities and associations that make up that sector are members. We are pleased to be able to report that
TROA responded to our letter within one business day and graciously apolo- gized for the procedural growing pains it is experiencing. TROA said that “[a]s the Authority continues to solidify its pro- cesses, [it] welcomes the opportunity to speak with [MHC] to discuss engaging the industry and public.” TROA also said that it “takes compliance with the Open Meetings Act very seriously and will con- tinue to strive to comply with it.” It’s time consuming work to be an eff ec-
tive watchdog, but we must be ever-vigilant that T oroughbred racing’s viability, and its social license to operate, do not come under increased pressure due to even the slightest appearance of impropriety on the part of racing’s public bodies.
Thank You To Our Maryland Horse Council Sponsors!
join.mdhorsecouncil.org www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580 THE EQUIERY YOUR MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION | OCTOBER 2023 | 7
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