The annual General Membership meeting of the Florida Walking and Racking Horse Association was called to order on January 16, 2010 at 4:10pm by President Kasey Kesselring.

A motion to approve the minutes from the January 11, 2010 meeting was made by Darren Gray with a second by Weldon Vineyard. Motion carried.

The Treasurer’s report was presented by Janie Van De Walker. She stated that the Association had approximately $8,300.00 in the checking account and $2,500.00 in the money market account. A motion to approve the report was made by Wayne Conkle, with a second by Bruce Boydstun.

President Kesselring next introduced the guests present. They were Mr. Tommy Hall and Mark Taylor from WHOA; Mr. Stan Butt from TWHBEA and Dr. Steve Mullins from SHOW. Tommy Hall spoke of the new direction that WHOA is undertaking for 2010. There are plans for over 60 shows around the Country that will be under the WHOA umbrella. He stated that WHOA is sanctioning shows, not affiliating shows and that it will work with all groups and will affiliate with the HIO that is being used in each particular part of the Country. The goal of WHOA is to get more owners and exhibitors involved in showing with an emphasis on putting the fun back in showing. He spoke of the possibility of bringing other gaited breeds into Walking Horse shows and the ultimate goal of satisfying all segments of the Walking Horse breed. Mr. Hall advised the membership that WHOA now offers a number of discounts for products as a perk to members in addition to the National High Point program. His goal is to become involved in each State Association, with a point person(s) to act as liaison.

Mr. Stan Butt of The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association spoke next indicating that the Breeders Association ended the year better than had been anticipated. He said the goal of TWHBEA is to reach out to all areas of the Breed. He congratulated Tracy Pinson on her win in the Non-Pro Division at the Extreme Cowboy Race World Finals and presented her with the Pleasure Horse Ambassador of the Year Award for 2009 for her contribution and dedication to the Breed. He also stated that Tracy will exhibit at Craig Cameron’s Road To The Horse in Murfreesboro, Tn. On March 6, 2010.

Mr. Butt spoke of several of the programs offered by TWHBEA and highlighted the continuing success of the GO Gelding program. The anticipated payout for this program in 2010 is $5,000.00 in cash awards. He reviewed the statistics for 2009 registrations, stallion reports and memberships, indicating that the membership goal for 2010 is 12,000.

The next guest introduced by Mr. Kesselring was Dr. Steve Mullins, CEO of SHOW. He addressed the new shoeing rules that have been approved by SHOW and the USDA for 2010. Dr. Mullins told the audience that representatives from SHOW, WHOA, TWHBEA and the Trainers Association will all meet next week to discuss the new rules and iron out any issues that may arise. The $100.00 fee for the SHOW card does not apply to Academy, lead line, sales or special needs classes as they are exempt from this cost. There was much discussion among the attendees regarding the new rules and Dr. Mullins addressed all questions from the audience.

The next item on the agenda was to confirm which shows for 2010 will be included in the Florida High Point Program. A motion to include the Montverde Winter Fun Show in the High Point Program was made by Laurie Wilson, with a second by Wayne Conkle. Motion carried.

The horse shows scheduled for 2010 are as follows: Montverde Academy Winter Fun Show-January 23; Clarcona-February 27; Jacksonville Equestrian Center-March 27 & 28; Southeastern Livestock Pavilion (Ocala)-April 24; Montverde Academy Casual Fun Show-May 15; Tampa Fairgrounds(Indoor Arena)-June 5;Montverde Casual Fun Show-September 18; WHOA/State Championship Show(Tampa Fairgrounds)-October 15 & 16. The March show will be a partnership with FWRHA and WHOA with an affiliation with NWHA. Vicki Ritter, a Board Member of NWHA, was asked to speak regarding some of the questions members had about shoeing requirements and membership requirements with NWHA. She indicated she is attending the National Board of Directors meeting the following weekend and will have more information on what to expect at this show. She did say that an inexpensive member card would be available to exhibitors in order to show with NWHA.

There was discussion about the class schedule for upcoming shows and it was agreed that the new Board will put the class sheet together. However, it was requested that members please call or email their Board with class suggestions and requests. The shows will be affiliated with WHOA and inspected by SHOW in 2010.

The Honorable Link Webb has been chosen as the judge for the FWRHA State Championship Show on October 16th. If anyone has suggestions for judges for the upcoming season, they are requested to contact Board members with their input.

The fee structure for show entries was reviewed with the idea of charging more per entry for non members. A new member discount on the membership fee was suggested as was a change in the High Point Program that would charge each person a fee to participate in the program. All of these ideas will be discussed and voted on by the new Board of Directors.

Mr. Kesselring next presented an award from the Walking Horse Report High Point Program to Alex Conklin.

A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Gail Hart, with a second by Carrie Martin. The motion passed and the meeting was adjourned at 6:15pm.

Submitted by Laurie Wilson