NCHC News

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North Carolina Horse Council News

(taken from the North Carolina Horse Council webiste, Executive Reports)

Year in Review 2009

January - The year began with presentations to the Carolina Equine Summit in Camden, S.C. and the North Carolina Arabian Horse Association Annual Meeting. The NCHC was invited to speak with the Orange and Durham County Soil and Water Conservation meeting to discuss horse farming for the future. This allowed the equine industry to relate to other agricultural leaders the role that horse farms take in preserving our farmland and open space. Quarterly meetings began with our two trail consultants as we continue to be faced by multiple trail issues. The Consultants and Executive Director worked to complete a trails survey to be implemented in 2010. Trail issues included a proposal to the Durham Committee on Open Space and Trail Development to include equestrian use of the American Tobacco Trail from the county line to Massey Chapel Road. Finally, we successfully recruited our Education Grants and enrolled three Bronze Sponsors.

February - The NCHC participated in the "Barnyard" legislative chat sponsored by the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Both State and National issues were discussed including the issue of equine slaughter. Perhaps one of the most important outcomes of this meeting was the support generated from our sister commodity groups regarding equine legislative issues. In addition issues of euthanasia were discussed and consensus generated that livestock owners desired to be free to make their own choices. The need to stay vigilante on legislation that might impact livestock was stressed at the meeting. A brief discussion of present use value, land use and ETJ issues were also discussed.

The American Tobacco Trail issues were on-going in February and with the help of Leslie Kennedy and other Durham County trail users plans were made to discuss our concerns with the Durham City Council. The Trail Grants were also posted during this month.

Several speaking engagements occurred during February including the Orange County Agricultural Summit and the Agri-business Council Forum with the Council of State members. The month closed out with a meeting in our West Region One. The meeting was intended to begin to identify interested NCHC membership within the Region.

March - This month was heavily occupied by legislative and trail issues. A new Legislative Committee was convened for the first time by the new Chairperson, Curtis Potter. The NCHC also participated in the Farmers Briefing hosted by Representative David Price. This meeting afforded us an opportunity to further equine issues with both our state and federal legislators. Another key issue was brought to our attention this month regarding the existing state building code and its impact on the equine industry. The NCHC requested and held meetings with State Representative Brubaker and our State Insurance Commissioner Goodwin to begin the legislative process to address this issue. Work began to develop a bill to correct the problem.

Trail issues included the American Tobacco Trail and speaking with the Durham City Council to make sure that the Durham portions of the trail remained open to equine use. The Durham County Farmland Protection Board was contacted and agreed to prepare a resolution to support equine farming and the use of the ATT.

New reporting forms for membership were developed and the month ended with a presentation from members of the NCSU Equine Unit and explanations of their needs.

April - April saw the continuing development of our Western Region. Several Board members assisted in identifying potential key individuals in an effort to build our membership. Statewide membership renewals reminders were also sent out during this month.

Legislative issues were highlighted once again as the NCHC worked to support the building code reform and to promote the passage of our specialty license plate. The NCHC participated in the Agri-Business Council Legislative Committee and identified common concerns with other agricultural commodity groups. Nationally the Equine Slaughter issue was in the forefront of our concerns. Sue Wallis, Representative from Wyoming, initiated a national effort in opposing the existing legislation on the transportation of horses for human consumption (commonly referred to as the Slaughter Bill). We endorsed her efforts and participated in the national effort by writing letters to our state representatives as well as the national delegation and President Obama.

The Education Committee was reconvened this month and began setting new priorities for the NCHC education efforts. Lengthy discussions were held on trying to identify new or alternative methods of providing or linking our membership to existing educational programs.

Trail Grants were awarded during this month. Fifteen Grants were received with a possible maximum funding of $1500. What a difficult task for the committee with all of the worthwhile grants that were submitted! Plans for the Trail School were firmed up during this month with the receipt of Uwharrie's pledge of cooperation and the dates of September 24-27 confirmed.

May - Dianne Lesher, from Equisure Insurance, came to Raleigh during May to discuss our member insurance benefits. Dianne was very informative regarding our liability insurance and clarified that if any of our members hold an additional policy that the NCHC policy will "stack" providing a total of $2 million in coverage. She also shared information on a new "Trainer's Policy".

With the Legislature in session, this month was very busy with the continuation of our legislative agenda. The Equine Specialty Plate was proceeding as planned and the Building Code Bill passed the House 99-0. We remained watchful on the new Equine Industry Board Bill which was brought forward with the release of the new Equine Economic Impact Study which was also released during this month. Several special requests for legislative support were sent to our membership with a very positive response. The NCHC continued our work with the Agri-Business Council on related issues including immigrant labor programs.

During this month the new Equine Economic Impact Study was released.

The Trail Consultants and NCHC staff continued to meet working on trail initiatives and our organizational strategic plan. The Eastern Trails committee held monthly meetings and the Western Trails Committee accepted the resignation of Bev Duvall and began the search for a new committee chair. The Kentucky Horse Council published a new trail guide and the NCHC negotiated a reduce cost of the guide for NCHC members. The booklet is sold to the general public at $8 but is offered to our membership for $6.

Worked continued through May on the Southern Horse Festival as the new dates were confirmed for November 7-8, 2009 and sponsorship requests were mailed out.

June/July - The summer months remained very busy for the NCHC. Trail work dominated the months. The NCHC supported an Eno River Benefit Concert and continued work on the Trail School. We successfully negotiated for a waiver of the use fee at the Uwharrie Forrest. We also posted a notice to our members regarding a new national database which will be collecting information on closure of trails on national public lands. Other discussions with Orange County Representatives and Durham County Representatives on possible equestrian trails in Little River Regional Park were conducted.

Legislative issues remained active over these summer months. An agri-business legislative luncheon with our state agricultural legislators was held. We continued to push for our specialty license plate and HB 780 Building Code/Exempt Equestrian Arenas was signed into law! We continued to watch a bill to study the impact of property tax exemptions and the potential of recreational taxes. The Sunday Hunting bill did not make the cross over and so was off the table for 2009. We continued to monitor the Equine Industry Board bill.

The US Department of Agriculture held public listening sessions on the National Animal Identification System program and multiple meetings were held to discuss animal rendering and processing issues. And finally during this month we began the planning of five regional meetings to disseminate the Findings and Recommendations of the Equine Industry Study.

August - The NC Rural Development Center contracted with the NCHC to organize and conduct five regional meetings on the Equine Study. Five sites were identified: These were: the Western Agricultural Center, Reidsville Community College, Hunt Horse Complex, Southeastern Agricultural Center and the Martin Agricultural Center. The NCHC also participated in the annual Farm Bureau Policy Day. The Farm Bureau's Equine Committee joins with us in many legislative goals including: land conservation issues, building code regulations and other policies impacting our industry.

Meetings with our Auditor began this month in preparation for the annual audit. We implemented new reporting procedures.

A highlight of this month was the NC Agri-business tour with our congressional Staff members. This three day tour gave us the opportunity to visit with the congressional staff members and shore our view point on critical industry issues. While no equine farms were on the tour this year a promise was made to add one on next year's tour.

September - Lots of planning occurred during September as we continued our work on the regional meetings and actually held our first three meetings during the end of the month. The meetings were well attended and all agreed to follow-up NCHC Caucuses. This was also our third year participating in the Mountain State Fair. This year we kicked off our new membership campaign at the Fair, with the Campaign: Win a Thousand Pounds of Horse Feed. Finally we successfully held our Trail Master Certification School with 12 students of a maximum 15 in attendance.

As a result of participating on the Congressional Bus Tour, the NCHC was asked to serve on a sub-committee on Agriculture addressing the new rules on nutrient levels and the river basins. We are finally at the table.

October - The Regional meetings were concluded during October. And all five sites were unanimous in agreeing to follow-up NCHC Caucuses. Final planning was held for the Southern Horse Festival and successful recruitment of class sponsors and award sponsors. Three major breed associations, The North Carolina Arabian Horse Association, The North Carolina Quarter Horse Association and the North Carolina Hunter Jumper Association provided major sponsorships for the SHF. In addition Star H Insurance and the NC Farm Bureau were major sponsors. Several Board Members and Southern States sponsored several of our classes. Our goal for 2010 will be to have all of our Board members participate!

Notice for public comment on the NC Division of Parks and Recreation 2009 System-wide Plan for NC State Parks was posted and an NC HC response was prepared.

Our audit began this month and due to great pre planning all went smoothly and quickly in an effort to hold down our costs. We drafted the new 2010 budget for review during this month.

National work on the development of standards and rules for the National State Horse Council Committee were drafted and reviewed during this month.

The Council maintained visibility via an on-site display during the State Fair and the booth remained at the Hunt Horse Complex throughout the month. Other initiatives included a preliminary meeting with the NC Agri-Medicine Institute to discuss how the livestock commodity groups might become more involved.

November - November was highlighted by an interview on National Public Radio regarding the results of the Equine Economic Impact Study. We successfully conducted the Southern Horse Festival with over a 400% increase in profits! And we successfully conducted the five regional caucuses. The primary purpose of these meetings was to:

• To preserve and promote equine owners ability to pursue their equine interests
• To protect the investment of equine enthusiasts by pursuing favorable laws, policies and regulations that impact the industry including but not limited to land use, preservation of equine farms, taxation issues and environmental issues which affect the industry
• To support efforts of like minded agricultural, educational and economic development groups to further the interests of the equine industry
• To recognize the importance of the equine industries activities to our state's economy and to build an organizational structure within the NCHC to address equine issues and recommendations.

The month was rounded out by the recruitment Board Members and compiling interested member biographies in preparation for the annual membership meeting. The new membership campaign: "Win a Thousand Pounds of Horse Feed" continued throughout this month.

Finally, we began discussion with the Pisgah Trailblazers regarding co-sponsoring a trail safety school in the spring of 2010.

December - During December the NCHC was heavily involved with nutrient management and watershed issues. As a member of the agriculture sub-committee we are still working on the Falls Lake Plan. The NCHC was appointed to the The Jordan Lake Committee to begin to develop plans on how to enforce the new rules. The Durham County Soil and Water Conservation district representatives and the USDA representatives invited the NCHC to participate in discussions to determine the Durham and Wake County funding priorities.

Representative from the Agri-Supply Company met with us to discuss the needs of the equine industry and how their company might become more involved. It was a very positive discussion with a commitment from them to work with the NCHC.

While our web statistics remained high throughout the year a new "look" was developed for 2010. The new design will pose a question of the week, highlight the store and a store item and create a more interactive page. In addition, a NCHC Facebook page was developed which will assist us in our marketing efforts and allow us to push out information to select target groups.

Discussions continued through December for the formation of a new national state horse council organization.

SUMMARY and HIGHLIGHTS

This was a year of several major accomplishments. The contract with the NC Rural Development Center provided not only increased revenue but also increased visibility. This effort and the resulting NCHC Regional Caucuses place us in the lead as we negotiate for the economic future of the equine industry. In addition we saw a 400% increase in our revenue from the Southern Horse Festival as this event continues to grow in the Eastern part of our State.

Trail issues once again dominated the year, specifically the negotiations with the City of Durham and issues facing the American Tobacco Trail. We saw increased membership within several trail organizations. Looking towards the future the new coalition of trail advocate and user groups formed in 2009 continued to pursue joint legislative efforts which will benefit us all. A Grant funded a trail schools for 2009 and we successfully completed the school in September.

We were successful in building our relationships with multiple state agencies as we became involved with legislative and budgetary issues connected to our state equine facilities and management of those facilities. We continued to carefully monitor Tax assessment and revenue issues this year. We were not successful in passing the necessary legislation for our NC Horse Council License Plate but are hopeful once again for 2010. The year was rounded out by the successfully passing of our new exemption from the building code of equestrian arenas/facilities.

Technologically we have continued to advance our web presence. We grew the Equine Directory and improved our electronic communication to our membership as evidenced in our many legislative requests that were responded to by our members. To date we continue to change our webpage every Monday and continue to show increased traffic to our site.

I would like to personally thank ALL of the NCHC Board members who have helped to make this year a success. I would also like to highlight in this year-end report the outstanding work of four members of our Board. These members provided outstanding service to the Council. Sammy Jenkins for his wonderful leadership and dedication to the Southern Horse Festival, Lucinda Human, as a new board member, for her participation at the SHF and creative marketing ideas , Bob Sanford for his leadership in assisting in the development of new marketing and membership campaigns and last but not least, Clare Reece Glore for her support and attention to the financial issues facing the NCHC . Please welcome in the New Year by taking the time to thank Sammy, Lucinda, Bob and Clare for a job well done!

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Good News for
Equestrian Trail Riders!!

Wake County Parks has now begun developing the horse trails at Piney Woods Trails System, a 1200-acre tract of land in southwestern Wake County near Harris Lake County Park. The project has been in the planning stages for some time, and a recent grant and some additional funding have allowed construction to begin. Many of the trails already exist as old farm and logging roads, requiring mainly clearing and trail surface improvements. Other new trails will be cleared through the woods and fields. This should open up many miles of trails for horseback riding, a welcome addition to the limited number of public horse trails in the Triangle area.

Here is the important point: This trail system is a big project, and the staff at Harris Lake County Park (the managers of Piney Woods) will need volunteers to help them with trail construction and maintenance. The park system is making a special effort to provide trails for equestrians, because they are aware of the limited number of public places to ride in the area. We, as equestrians, show our appreciation by volunteering our time.

Here’s what to do: Get on the mailing list of Jordan Lake Trails Conservation Association (JLTCA), which is a non-profit organization that is helping to develop the trails at Piney Woods in cooperation with Harris Lake County Park. (JLTCA was formed initially to develop trails at Jordan Lake, but with limited success there, the organization has changed its focus to Piney Woods.) Once on the mailing list, we can keep you updated about the progress of the trails and when meetings and workdays will be held. A planning meeting will be held soon.

Pass this word on to any horseback riders you know who might be interested, and let’s all work together to make this trail system a success!!

To add your name to the mailing list:
Contact Leslie Kennedy, Email: lesken1@earthlink.net
Phone: 919-362-4011

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News from the Trail -- Region Trails Report

We continue to be involved in trail planning for equestrian trails in the Piney Woods
park, managed by Wake County Parks and Recreation near Harris Lake. NCHC
representatives met in January with Wake County staff and other trail users to discuss
trail planning. The park is going to rely on volunteer support to develop and maintain trails; equestrians need to be actively involved with this new trail opportunity for it to be developed to its full potential. If you are interested in supporting this trail opportunity, please contact Leslie Kennedy with The Jordan Lake Trails Conservation Association: 919-362-4011 or lesken1@earthlink.net.