AHBA Interested in Supporting Small Breeders

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The board of directors of the AHBA (the Arabian Horse Breeders Alliance) recently held a board meeting for the Las Vegas Show, and it’s becoming clearer and clearer that the show in Vegas caters to the “big time” horses and owners. That is not our intention, and in fact to the contrary, we’d like to do something to more fully support the “smaller” breeders and owners.

There is no getting around the fact that many of the horses that win are owned by people who can go out and spend the money to buy a winning candidate horse, send it to the best trainer, promote it, and send it to Vegas with all of the fanfare necessary to get noticed and to win.

Where however does that leave the rest of the breeders who can’t “play this game” the way it has to be played in order to have a shot at winning? And to be clear, one of the key tenants behind our organization and our show when we formed it was to allow everyone to have a fair shot at the title – to level the playing field – and to take away the power from those with the money and those with the political clout it seems necessary to win in our industry.

So, it’s time to re-group and address this issue.  And to make it happen, as Chairman of the AHBA and original founder (along with my brother Rich), I’m calling on you – those of you who are interested in helping yourselves make this industry better – to rally around the idea I posted in an earlier blog – that is to help us find a way to support the grass roots level of our industry – the grass roots shows – and the grass roots breeders and owners.

I am willing to point the AHBA in your direction, and I have some ideas on how we can achieve the support necessary to shore up the foundation of our breed.

Anybody interested in joining me?

The time is now….

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Author: Jeff Sloan

Website: http://www.ariaarabians.com

Other posts by Jeff Sloan

Jeff Sloan has been an owner and enthusiast of Arabian horses since 1982 when he purchased his first Arabian. He is the founder and principal of Aria International, a leading Arabian horse marketing and management firm (www.ariaarabians.com). Aria is known for acquiring, promoting, breeding, showing, and marketing some of the finest Arabian horses in the world, including the likes of *Pianissima, *Emandoria, *Elandra, Aria Impresario, LD Pistal, and many others. Jeff has also maintained a successful amateur handler show career including winning the Scottsdale Yearling Signature Colt Class in 2006. One of Jeff's current ventures is StartupNation, LLC, a media company which provides informational and “how to” content to entrepreneurs aspiring to start and grow their own businesses (www.startupnation.com). Through StartupNation, the Sloan Brothers have been featured in numerous national magazines and newspapers and have appeared as leading entrepreneurial experts on many nationally acclaimed radio and television business talk shows.

AHBA Interested in Supporting Small Breeders was published by Jeff Sloan using the

Community Comments

1. Angie Mason says:

   December 21, 2009 at 8:25 pm

   Hi Jeff,

   I love this blog! Thanks for those thoughts. As an owner of a Marwan daughter out of my Dakar El Jamaal daughter and 2 colts by Marhaabah I feel every word you are saying. Being involved in the construction industry with small family businesses, these past two years have hit us pretty hard, causing me to bring everyone home from my trainer Chris Anckersen and hunker down to weather it out. Predicament is, until I can get back in the game and have the exposure and assistance that Chris provided…my guys sit in the pasture looking like unkempt mudpies, getting older, and costing lots of money! I have managed to keep everyone up though and am waiting for this to turn around. Yes, I am willing to join up for this cause! Without professional help, a lot of us are sitting on high quality stock, that is virtually worth only the joy they bring to us personally. I can’t imagine (for example) anyone who is on the playing level that you are being interested in one of my horses who do not have great exposure. Aside from that though, like many others, the plan wasn’t to breed and then bring them all home, the intention was to stay with Chris and let him steer the boat! Thanks for all you do and I enjoy your startup nation website!

   Reply
2. TakeFive says:

   June 5, 2010 at 10:32 am

   Great topic! So many horses fanastic horses are shut out as the gene pool of the hugely promoted horses become the polific names in many pedigrees. This happened in the dog breeding world where health issues are now inherent within each breed. Are we to face the same within certain lines of the Arabian horse as they are bred to refine, and re-refine characteristics? In the interest of fairness missing from the Arabian horse world, my mares remain open – and they are from incredible lines. A lesser known stallion with the “wow factor” is what we’re holding out for. It would be nice to see a horse with “all the right stuff” win, irrespective of the bankroll behind it. As in major sports, there are scouts that scan for talent. This is a business, lifestyle, and yes, a sport that we are dedicated to promoting. Treasures abound in many barns. Let’s see some of the diamonds we know to be out there without all the politics.

   Reply