NORTH CAROLINA HORSE COUNCIL

2006 Year in Review

Annual Report

We would like to take this opportunity to share with each of you a look back over this past year both in reflection and actual experience.  We will review the Council successes as they relate to the Strategic Plan and Goal Statements, the challenges that we believe the Council faced this past year and the challenges that we believe we will need to address as we move into the future.

Attached at the end of this report are committee reviews from the Trails Committee and the Education Committee.

Our 2006 Successes as they relate to our Goals

Goal Number One: Develop and implement a comprehensive marketing and promotion program for the equine community.

·          Our Land Our Legacy: This multi-day event exposed the Horse Council to well of 45,000 state fair attendees

·          Participation in the Mid-Atlantic Farm Show exposed the Council to many in the western part of our state

·          Purchased new marketing items for general distribution

·          Participated in the Concord Horse Festival

·          Horse Industry Place Mat was developed

·          Attended multiple Equine Association meetings throughout the state

·          Represented the NCHC at the St. Jude’s Trail Ride

·          Met with Foothills Equestrian Trails Association (FETA) toured Polk County  and FETA trails system

·          Provided materials for two magazine articles:” Fifteen 501 Equinomics”; Fifteen 501 Magazine and The Economic Impact of the Equine Industry in North Carolina: The Carolina Banker Magazine 

Goal Number Two: Expand and strengthen the equine industry’s legislative presence.

·          Supported and promoted legislation for an Equine Industry Study

·          Conducted a brief survey on our membership’s opinion on lifting the Ban on Sunday hunting resulting in the Council taking an official position opposing any legislation that would lift the current ban.

·          Formulated an official statement opposing federal legislation regarding the Slaughter of Horses.

·          Assisted many of our members with local planning and zoning issues impacting horse ownership and farming.

·          Participated in a  public forum held by the US Secretary of Agriculture regarding the National Farm Bill

Goal Number Three: Promote the North Carolina Horse Council through communication with and Involvement of all equestrian enthusiasts

·          Produced newsletters and news flyers

·          Updated the organizational Strategic Plan

·          NCHC members participated in the American Horse Council’s Annual meeting

·          Board President represented the NCHC at the State Horse Council’s Annual meeting

Goal Number Four: Enhance and increase educational programs.

·          Continued Co-sponsoring the successful Equine Short Course Series with North Carolina State University

·          Conducted for the first time a Short Course entitled Introduction to Judging

·          Participated in the first Agricultural Commodities Leadership Development Program conducted by North Carolina State University

·          Re-instituted the Grant Award Program

·          Conducted the Southern Horse Festival Open Horse Show with the revenue benefiting the Educational Fund

·          Dr. Mansmann with NCSU/CVM and co-representing the NCHC Equine Health Committee held a very informative Horse owners symposium. They toured the imaging facility, speakers addressed the new ideas about de-worming programs, anatomy, and breeding research

·          Many regional REINS meetings were conducted

·          New horse care brochure was developed

·          Dr. Bob Mowrey announced that the 4-H Judging teams were National Champions and were the first team to ever win all three categories of Horse Judging, Horse Bowl and Hippo logy.  All the youth on the team ranked in the top 10….way to go North Carolina!

·          For the first time a separate class for youth was offered during the Judges Certification Clinic.

·          Identified over 200,000 Equine 4H Projects placing us as #1 in the Country

Goal Number Five: Improve the business and regulatory environment for the equine industry.

·          Increased awareness among agri-business members on the economic impact of the horse industry through varies methods, including personal meetings, distribution of NCHC materials and telephone contacts

·          Promoted a Department of Agriculture review of the referendum dollars and compliance records (Note this is on-going)

·          Successfully recruited vendors for the Southern Horse Festival Open Show

Goal Number Six: Manage and maintain a statewide program to promote trail riding and trail access.

·          Two regional trail consultants were hired

·          Sponsored two North Carolina Equine Enthusiasts to attend annual South Eastern Trails Conference

·          Several NCHC Board members attended the South Eastern Trails Conference

·          The first ever NCHC Trail Ride was conducted on May 20^th

·          Monitored the National Forestry Services plan to sell national forest land

·          Barb Oslund appointed to the Sate Parks Trails Committee

·          Supported multiple events in honor of National Trails Day

·          Hosted a work crew at the Uwharrie National Forest as part of National Trails Day

·          Began negotiations with NCSU regarding Hill Forest Trail use

·          Participated in Public Hearings regarding National Park Trails

·          Succeeded in preventing the immediate closure of Stone Mountain trails

Goal Number Seven: Operate the organization by having a strong fiscal plan.

·          Completed a financial audit

·          Prepared a new budget for fiscal year 2007

·          Drafted a proposal for new financial guidelines and staff duties

·          Began discussion on preparing a set of standard operating procedures

Challenges faced in 2006

·        Resignation of the Executive Director and the search for a new Director

·        Transition and change with a new Executive Director

·        The search for new sponsorship of the Southern Horse Festival

·        Conducted a Southern Horse Festival Open Horse Show

·        Opposition to the National Slaughter Bill

·        Opposition to lifting the Ban on Sunday Hunting

·        Legislative request for support of an Equine Economic Impact Study

·        Challenges for horse owners regarding local zoning and taxes

·        Research and study of how referendum dollars are collected

·        Re-instituting the Grants Program and preparing a new Request for Proposals (RFP)

Challenges for the Future

It is certain that the North Carolina Horse Council will face many challenges in the upcoming year. Legislative and regulatory issues, healthcare and maintenance concerns, local tax and zoning issues, trail closures and trail maintenance are but a few of the major issues facing equine enthusiasts. To address these as well as other important issues facing the Council, we offer four focus areas as challenges for our future.

1.      Legislative and Regulatory Actions

Ø      Develop a system to monitor state and national legislation

Ø      Engage the Equine Community in political action

Ø      Prepare timely responses and positions to our constituency regarding legislation which impact horse owners and enthusiasts

Ø      Consider forming a political committee for the purpose of lending support to political candidates who support issues that impact the industry

Ø      Continue our lobbying efforts

Ø      Strengthen our connection with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture

Ø      Partner with other commodity groups

2         Marketing and Communication

Ø      Improve the Website and offer more interactive communication via the web

Ø      Develop a “Brand” for the NCHC and expand our store

Ø      Offer a NC License Plate for NC Horse Owners and Enthusiasts

Ø      Improve the timeliness of our newsletter

Ø      Expand our membership

Ø      Develop a plan to become a statewide organization

3        Education

Ø      Continue our association with NC STATE University and expand our involvement with other institutions of higher education

Ø      Develop an Educational Endowment Fund

Ø      Increase the Grants Program

Ø      Increase  our involvement with Equine Health Programs

Ø      Support Equine Research

4        Management

Ø      Develop Standard Operating Procedures

Ø      Streamline the decision making process

Ø      Develop new staffing patterns to more efficiently conduct daily business

Casey and I would like to thank each of you for the work that you have done in 2006 which has made this year such a great success! As we prepare for the upcoming year we would like to encourage you to remain an active part of the “TEAM” who serve as the voice of the North Carolina horse community and help us meet the many challenges that we face as representatives of the Equine Industry.   

Respectfully Submitted: 

Casey Armstrong, President NCHC

Sue M. Gray, Executive Director NCHC