I have truly enjoyed and been inspired by the commentary presented on this blog. While much of what I have to say has already been said (probably much more eloquently!) by many of the previous posts, I would like to share what I have done to work towards a solution to the issues discussed above. Central Coast Equestrian Association is a non-profit organization I created last year to serve the needs of equestrians here on California’s Central Coast.
I have truly enjoyed and been inspired by the commentary presented on this blog. While much of what I have to say has already been said (probably much more eloquently!) by many of the previous posts, I would like to share what I have done to work towards a solution to the issues discussed above. Central Coast Equestrian Association is a non-profit organization I created last year to serve the needs of equestrians here on California’s Central Coast. The mission of CCEA is to educate, support, and unite our local equine community. Our mission statement is as follows:
- promoting and producing affordable events and competitions that model and encourage first-rate horsemanship and good sportsmanship
- providing mentorship and education for riders of all ages and levels
- fostering mutually beneficial relationships between the equine community and local businesses
The ideas behind the CCEA were hatched during a long, rainy drive home late one night from a horse show in October 2009. I had just had the fairly unsatisfying experience as a trainer of taking an entry level group of riders to a horse show that I thought was going to be an entry-level medal finals, only to find that the level of competition was such that my riders were far under gunned and far over-matched. It was gravely apparent to me that the poor economy had suddenly unleveled the playing field. Competitors who had purchased horses to compete at the “A” show level were now struggling to keep their horses campaigning on the “A” circuit; thus, in an effort to keep costs down and their horses’ values as high as possible, many had migrated down to the “B” show level. The “B” rated shows had become the new “A” shows, and the “C” shows had become the new “B” shows. For me, a trainer with a very “B” show level clientele, this left me wondering “Where will this leave us? Where will we, and other barns like us,
go to for experience at the appropriate competitive venues that our clientele so rightly deserve?
So, I decided that I could either sit back and complain about the state of it all, or I could create the change I wished to see. For me, this is a huge vision that I have spent the better part of 25 years formulating—seeing aspects of the horse industry that did not fit with real world practicality or my ‘old school’ value system of collaboration, camaraderie, and education for all. It was very clear during that drive home that it was time for me to do something about it. My vision is this:
I wish to utilize the tremendous resources that we in the horse industry collectively possess among us (both financial and intellectual) that we don’t typically put into organized action; we need to use it for mentoring and providing scholarships to young riders. They are our industry’s future, and we need to support them if we want our industry to thrive. We only get back as much as we give out….
I wish to provide mentorship and educational opportunities for local professionals. I hope to institute matching services for working students and roundtable discussion groups for young trainers to come, get support, and get educated. While the USHJA Trainer Certification Program is making great strides to assist in this same way, I think there needs to also be programs that reach people on a more grass-roots level.
I wish to create affordable opportunities for riders to school their horses over jumps in different arenas. The average rated horse show costs $400 per day, which is just untenable for many kids in this day and age of family job losses and skyrocketing debt. My idea is to have “Open Barn” events where we oversee days where different facilities open their barns to people to trailer in their horses to school. Similar to the Benchmark Program, the fences will be set at various heights throughout the day. You come, you school, we have a barbeque, and we go home happy with our horses well schooled and our pocketbooks none the worse for it!
I wish to promote good sportsmanship and true horsemanship-something that I feel has been lost in this age of shipping your horse off to a show, handing him over to a groom at the end of the day, and rushing off to the car (or the airport) because you’ve got at least a 3 hour trip ahead of you to get home. The camaraderie of being able to support your team members has suffered from this as well.
I wish to promote local events that support the local industry. We need to promote our local competition venues,so that our business community can reap the benefits of the market share that the horse industry provides. Every time I take a group of clients to a show in another city, we spend thousands of dollars at their hotels, their restaurants, their gas stations, their coffee shops—that money should be staying here, promoting the livelihood of our local businesses community. Returning to these grass roots values is what I think that we need in order to return our industry to one of substance, sustainability, and affordability.
One year ago, all this was only an idea in my mind. Eight months ago we celebrated this fledgling non-profit by hosting a very fun and successful kickoff event. Since then, we have expanded our reach into the local equine community and continued to aid local horsepeople with both educational opportunities, fun events, and over $1200 in scholarship funding. Here is a snapshot of what CCEA accomplished in 2010:
The kickoff event in May featured a riding clinic with Olympian Greg Best, a Sports Psychology clinic with Tonya Johnston, and six different lectures by various experts covering a variety of equine topics. Six riders at the Kickoff Event Clinic received over $800 in scholarship funds to help offset their clinic fees.
We co-purchased with the local Pony Club a full set of nearly new vinyl jumps that they use at their bi-monthly mounted meetings.
We awarded two partial scholarships totaling $250 to a local Linda Allen Clinic.
CCEA produced a free clinic at a local rated show titled ‘Solving the Mystery of the Horse Show Office’.
Sixteen kids participated in the CCEA Youth Awards Program. The kids got points for volunteering their time at our events, their Grade
Point Average, and participating in other community service projects. The grand prize for the top 6 was a donated trip to San Francisco to see the equine extravaganza Cavalia-they donated about $1000 in tickets for these kids.
CCEA donated the proceeds from our Medal Finals Vendor Fair to a local Therapeutic Riding Center.
CCEA produced a Hunter/Jumper Medal Finals with both 2’6 and 3’ heights. We had a “R” judge who presided over a very competitive field of about 20 riders who completed two challenging courses and vied for amazing prizes donated by our local veterinary clinic, tack store, and a nearby stable.
I am very proud of what we’ve done and I am excited to set our calendar for 2011! I would love to get your feedback and hear your thoughts….please check out our full range of programs at www.centralcoastequestrian.org and let me know what you think! Let’s keep working together to benefit our sport!
Regards, Vicki Rose