NTASHA Meeting March 12, 2012 Mill-Agains Stables 6:30 Attendance: Sandee Razminas, Brent

NTASHA Meeting March 12, 2012 Mill-Agains Stables 6:30 Attendance: Sandee Razminas, Brent

NTASHA Meeting
March 12, 2012
Mill-Agains Stables 6:30
Attendance: Sandee Razminas, Brent and Betsy Cowan, Candee Carlson, Ashley Walker
Treasurer's Report: $14,277.26
Last month's minutes accepted.
OLD BUSINESS:
Awards- We have received SASHA and TASHA's share of funding for the Save-the-Date cards and also for the Texas High Point Awards, which were hosted by SASHA in conjunction with the SASHA show this month, although we continue to coordinate purchase of the plaques through Cactus Awards in Plano. We briefly touched on cumulative points awards programs, and how nice it would be if the UPHA Chapter 6/7 would host a chapter awards program, as it would encompass Oklahoma and Louisiana as well as Texas. Our thoughts were that the Texas State High Points program would probably still continue, but that it might supercede the various club awards. NTASHA no longer holds their own high points program.
Tune-Up Show- We have already ascertained that our initial thoughts of having the Tune-Up Show coincide with the Big D Gala was flawed thinking, since it was just too much activity for one day. We did like having the Tune-Up Show, though, and hope to continue having some sort of an early spring show in Dallas---maybe even a "tournament" amongst the 3 local barns. Evidently tournaments are gaining in popularity in other parts of the country, and are a fun, competitive, but more affordable and casual way for the exhibitors from various barns to interact.
Fall Horse Show- We are in the final phases of hiring a TWH/RH judge for the show. Both of the favorite suggestions from those exhibitors already have commitments, but there are a few other good possibilites that we will be reviewing this month. John Owens flattered us by calling to say that he had been offered another announcing position on the east coast for the same weekend, but that he enjoyed our show so much that he would be back in 2012. Our show schedule has gone through the preliminary phase and is being "tweaked" by volunteers from both breeds and several disciplines. We should have it back this month as well. Todd Kimbrough has been working on establishing our ability to become a charity horse show, and has been working with the treasurer and president to go through the documentation process.
NEW BUSINESS:
While discussing financial matters, it came up that since one of our main sources of club revenue had been the horse show, which is now its own entity, we might need to look at our other sources of income. Of course, historically, NTASHA was sustained through membership fees, but membership in clubs in general has dwindled, and the incentive to be in a club is not the same as it was before the internet or when more people had their own farms and weren't part of a big stables. We continue to evaluate what value we can offer our members or if membership itself needs to be a focus. Our largest function is to support the American Saddlebred, which we do by putting on the show and also with our calendar, but we are entertaining other ideas for breed promotion and interaction with the public. We like the idea of coming up with stylish, catch-phrase apparel---something that invites the passerby to ask about the horses. We think that there is an old misconception that one needs to have a farm to have a horse, and for that matter one must be a horse-owner to be involved with equines. We are open to ideas on how to spread the message that there are local barns for lessons and horse interaction. Of course as ASB aficionados, we hope to let people know that horses aren't necessarily way more expensive than high-level high school/club sports, and that there are benefits of interacting with a live animal that can't be duplicated in volleyball or cheerleading. One of the main obstacles to horse involvement is a family's decision to focus on a hobby that garners scholarship opportunities for their child, and we have a tough time addressing that concern. In summary, NTASHA hopes to continue to provide ways to show our breed to the public while sustaining itself financially, so ideas are always welcome.
NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, April 18 at 7:00 at Mill-Agains