Appaloosa Horse Association of Alberta

Booth - Our booth has been out to several venues in addition to our Appaloosa Shows. We were attended the 4H Judging in Olds this July, the Stettler Horse Congress and the Battle of the Breeds.
These booth events are great opportunities for our members to introduce the Appaloosa to horse lovers and horse curious people. We meet some great people and have an opportunity to answer their questions about Appaloosas and horses in general. These are always rewarding events.
This year the 4H Judging event was well worth our while. AHAA Members Tammy Mather, Val Beattie and Judy Ullmann provided horses for the 4H to judge. The 4 horses provided were of excellent quality and showed the many people present the high quality that can be found in our breed.
The Stettler Horse Congress was a new venue this year. This was a two day event held on September 25 and 26. The weekend featured some much needed good weather, which may have kept some people from attending, so that harvest could be completed. 
I sincerely hope that this venue will continue and that we will be able to attend next year. There was something there for everyone, from short reining to round penning clinics and even a trick riding demonstration featuring an Appaloosa. 
Thank you to everyone who volunteered or otherwise helped out with the booth and the Promotion committee.

Advertising - to promote the AHAA, the Appaloosa breed and our activities the AHAA purchased several ad spaces in the Horses All and Northern Horse Review. 

Newsletter - Our Newsletter continues to be printed in the Northern Horse Review and in the Horses All. Members should remember to read our newsletter every month so that they know what is going on in the AHAA, upcoming events, Appaloosa Success stories and news from the Appaloosa Horse Club.
Please keep your submissions to the newsletter coming. Member contributions add a great flavor to the newsletter and ensure that everyone gets a chance to be recognized for their achievements. Thank you to everyone who submitted items this year.

Many pictures were received for the 2004 Photo Contest.  The pictures were displayed in our booth at the Spruce Meadows Masters in September where the public is given the opportunity to vote for the picture they like best.

First Place: Eagle View Farms (Hans and Judy Ullmann) with their foal picture of High On Belevin.   They receive an ApHC leather binder, and an AHAA T-Shirt.
Second Place: Gabab Appaloosas Bob and Gayle Blumhagen) They will receive an Appaloosa coffee mug and set of ApHC leather coasters

Doreen Claiter, Calgary, Alberta
 
 

Patrice Paisley, Cochrane, Alberta
 
 
 

Bob & Gayle Blumhagen, Forestburg, Alberta
 

Due to the uncertainty of the AHAA's funding with the /gaming Commission, it was decided to not spend the $500 booth fee for Focus-On-4H in Edmonton in July.

The AHAA booth was at the Alberta Appaloosa Breeders Sale, May 4 in Olds and at all of our shows.

The booth was booked for our biggest annual promotional event, Breeds for the World in Equi Fair at Spruce Meadows Masters, Calgary in September.

Members are reminded that they can use the AHAA booth at their local trade shows and fairs to promote the Appaloosa Horse and their own farm.  In March, we shipped the booth and literature to David and Janice Adams to use at the Peace Country Classic Agricultural Fair, in Grande Prairie.

The AHAA photo contest was held again.  The entries are displayed in the AHAA booth at Spruce Meadows Masters and booth visitors voted on their favorite.  The photograph receiving the most votes was one taken by Kristin Hokanson and she received the prize package.  We were pleased to see two of our entries from last year used in the April 2002 Northern Horse Review - one ont he cover and the other in a full page color illustration.

The committee recommends that the AHAA put more effort into locating fee and low cost events to send the booth; and recruit members who live nearby to man it.

Sometimes volunteering in the booth introduces you to customers and generates horse sales. This is something the Appaloosa Horse Association of Alberta encourages. While our booth is fully furnished, members can bring their own promotional items, like business cards, photo albums, awards or pictures to help promote their farm while promoting the Appaloosa.

There is a long list of places we have taken the booth to this year and here are some of the hilights:
The Equine Extravaganza is a two-day event put on by the Strathcona Arabian Horse Association. This is a multi breed exposition of horse breeds and has a horse related trade fair.

Pet Expo is a new venue for us this year – it was actually two events. In May we attended Pet Expo in Edmonton and in October we went to Pet Expo in Calgary. For the horses at Pet Expo there is a series of booths with representatives from the major horse breeds. Each horse breed is allowed to demonstrate their horses to the public, in a demonstration area. Pet Expo exposes us to a number of people we might not meet at other venues because it is not horse-specific. At Pet Expo you will see everything from working dogs to cats and fish.

Spruce Meadows Masters – Battle of the Breeds in September draws huge numbers of people to our booth and not just people from Calgary. Members of the AHAA have developed many new opportunities while volunteering at Battle. International sales contacts have been made and pictures of our booth horses have even been taken at battle and used for a book on horse breeds of the world.

Focus on 4H is a venue we attend that is specifically geared at youth. In the past couple of years we have been a sponsor of Focus on 4H. In exchange for our sponsorship we are given space for our booth and other recognition. We believe that 4H is an excellent program for youth. We also realize that the youth of today are the horse owners of tomorrow. If you are interested in making contact with youth and the youth-horse market, Focus is an excellent event to volunteer for.

Our final event of the year is often Farm Fair at Edmonton Northlands. This venue attracts a huge number of people – however it is also the hardest for us to attract volunteers for. Unfortunately many people do not want to take their horses out in November even if they do get good exposure. This is an important event for us so, please, if you can help out contact the promotion committee.

Other events we attended this year were the Spring Appaloosa Horse Breeders Sale, the 50/50 Futurity and Sale and our three breed shows.

If there are any venues you would like to see the booth attend or if you want a day in the booth please contact the Promotion committee.

If you are unable to take advantage of a day in the booth, there are other ways you can use it to promote your horses. The matchmaker album is a great FREE way to promote your sale horses and Stallions. Simply provide us with a 8 /2 * 11 poster of your horse and we will put it in the book – its that easy.