Letter to AHA

Mr. Jim Benedict, Special Services
Arabian Horse Association
10805 E. Bethany Drive
Aurora, Colorado 80014

Hello Jim
Long time no contact. Hope things are going well for you. I have been participating in an endurance e-mail list, ridecamp, of approximately 3000 people worldwide, the majority of which own Arabians or part-Arabians due to the very nature of long distance riding. The general consensus there seems to be that AHA is failing to address this very growing field. Although the numbers of trail riders and distance riders are growing, many newbies accept the stereotype of the half-crazed and snorty Arabians that the Halter classes, some English, Park and Liberty classes depict. There does not seem to be enough promo material out there about the family horse, the horse that is versatile and can participate in many disciplines.
Someone on ridecamp further pointed out that when people go to the AQHA web site, they see pictures of happy people riding; however, the AHA web site appears to be more concerned with procedures and marketing incentives for shows, etc. It might be a good idea to revise the home page to put forth a more family-friendly image. I noticed that you have a link on the home page to horse stories if you could just put the picture of first story (coincidentally, a story about a distance rider and her horse) on the home page with the first few lines of the story and a link to the rest, I believe it would catch more attention. The same would be true for the story about Mollyboy that is a real tear-jerker and could be linked more prominently. Your Arabian story idea is fabulous! It should be more eye-catching! I would be happy to put together some layout suggestions if you would like. I design horse web sites.
Truman of ridecamp suggested that AHA set up booths at Regional Trail conventions as well as National ones in an attempt to educate riders of the wonderful disposition of the Arab. Seems most trail riders know Arabians do well in distance riding but think their temperaments are difficult --- again the byproduct of peoples exposure to some classes in the shows such as Park, Halter and English Pleasure. Perhaps not enough emphasis has been placed in reeducating people away from the image of the crazy Arabians with their crooked ruthless trainers (e.g. fanny implants, eye jobs, using cattle prods before a halter show). These are all images that persist despite successful efforts to end these abominations. Tim Miller had a great proposal: he suggested that AHA donate some money to ride managers so that they could better advertise their rides and invite local families to come out and watch, help out and even perhaps join in the evening BBQ. That might get some new riders interested who are under 40 for a change. The kids could even ride with a mentor. The money could be given to the managers directly or through AERC, earmarked for that purpose.
I know you have worked hard to promote the Arabian and that is why I am addressing these concerns to you. Of course the never-ending problem of abuses in the show ring lingers, although it has shifted significantly from cruelty (many gains in this areahooray!) to politics. The practice of having judges who are also competitors and have real conflict of interest issues has been a long-standing debate and has discouraged most of the people I know from entering the major shows. Many feel these part-time competitors/part-time judges do more harm to the industry than good promotion.
The following are names with their AHA numbers of people on this one e-mail list alone. There are many more who complain only in private because they feel it is a lost cause. We are choosing to make another effort. Please fell free to write back a reply which I will send back to this group. Thank you so much for your consideration and support of our breed of choice.