Save the Date!
The American Horse Council’s 2025 National Issues Forum will be June 22-25 in Washington, DC, Omni Shoreham Hotel
Registraton will open on April 1, 2025
Conference Schedule
American Horse Council 2025 National Issues Forum Speakers
Sunday, June 22
| Time slot | Sponsor | Location | Moderator | Topic | Speaker |
| 11:00 – 5:00 | Registration desk open | ||||
| 1:00 – 3:00 | United Horse Coalition | Hampton Ballroom | Andrea Manley – UHC Manager | Open Outsourcing Aftercare | Diana Bezdedeanu, founder of Horses Offering People Education (aka HOPE in MA), and Kyle Rothfus, co-founder of Mareworthy Charities and Horse Husband Stables |
| 3:00 – 4:00 | Coalition of State Horse Councils | Hampton Ballroom | Justine Staten – CSHC Chair | Using Partnerships to strengthen a state equine industry | Dr. Neely Heidorn, PhD Associate Professor, Equine Ext Specialist, LSU |
| 4:00 – 5:00 | AHC Membership Working Group | Hampton Ballroom | Julie Broadway – AHC President | The Digital Landscape of Horse Culture: Collaborative Technology to keep pace | Tyson Hartshorn |
| 6:00 – 7:00 | AHC Foundation -Cocktail reception |
Monday, June 23
| Time slot | Sponsor | Location | Moderator | Topic | Speaker |
| 8:00 – 5:00 | Registration desk open | ||||
| 8:00 – 9:00 | cont. breakfast | Assorted Fruits; Muffins, Danishes, croissants, pecan sticky buns; Fruit preserves, jams, and sweet butter; Individual flavored yogurts; Cage-free hard-boiled eggs, served chilled and peeled | |||
| 8:30 – 9:30 | AHC | Hampton Ballroom | Julie Broadway – AHC President | Keynote: Culture, Collaboration & Conflict resolution | Jaime Notter, Global Keynote Speaker, Author of “Culture Change Made Easy,”, Consultant and Culture Scientist |
| 9:30 – 10:00 | AHC | Hampton Ballroom | Julie Broadway – AHC President | Legislative and Regulatory Update | Julie Broadway & Brigid Shea |
| 10:00 – 10:15 | Break | ||||
| 10:15 – 11:30 | AHC | Hampton Ballroom | Julie Broadway – AHC President | Global Perspective: Arab Emirates supporting Equestrian sports | Mr Mohamed Al Hadrami, Event Director, Emirates International Endurance Village (EIEV); Dr. Jorge Lohse, DVM, MSc, PhD, Equine Sports Medicine Advisor (EIEV); Baraa Bnaian, Eng. Timming System (EIEV). |
| 11:30 – 1:00 | AHC | Hampton Ballroom | Award Luncheon – Buffet | Join us as we recognize and thank our 2025 Award Winners Maryland crab soup; Bakery-fresh bread rolls with sweet butter; Deconstructed baby gem lettuce, spinach mix, cherry tomato and raw julienned yellow beets, apple cider vinaigrette, olive oil and balsamic vinegar Raw vegetable salad | Carrots, bell peppers, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and baby corn with dill vinaigrette, Russian potato salad, peas, carrots, egg, and creamy dressing Sweet potato chips; Roasted chicken, berbere spice rub, DC sweet and sour mumbo sauce on the side; Grilled beef burgers, sautéed mushrooms and onions Vegetable-black bean burgers: Bib lettuce, sliced tomato, red onion, bread and butter pickles, ketchup, yellow mustard, and mayonnaise Classic and gluten-friendly burger buns; Go-Go macaroni and cheese—plus a variety of mini cupcakes & mixed fruit salad |
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| 1:00 – 2:00 | AHC Racing Committee | Hampton Ballroom | Joe Wilson – committee chair | Data-driven partnerships advance equine welfare | Lisa Lazarus HISA |
| 2:00 – 3:00 | AHC Health Committee | Hampton Ballroom | Dr Katie Flynn – committee chair | Disease Mitigation: Screwworm | Dr. Nelly Amador-Jehn, USDA |
| 3:00 – 3:15 | Break | ||||
| 3:15 – 4:15 | AHC Equine Welfare Committee | Hampton Ballroom | Kathy Alm – committee chair | Social License | Speaker TBD |
| 4:15 – 5:15 | AHC Show & Competition Committee | Hampton Ballroom | Billy Smith – committee chair | Donkeys & Mules are equine too – creating equality from the clinic to the show arena | Dr Amy McLean, PhD Univ of California, Davis |
| 6:00 – 7:00 | AHC Foundation – Welcome Reception | Julie Broadway- AHC President | Meet our 2025 Scholarship Winners |
Tuesday, June 24
| Time slot | Sponsor | Location | Moderator | Topic | Speaker |
| 8:00 – 1:00 | Registration desk open | ||||
| 8:00 – 9:00 | cont. breakfast | Sliced melon, pineapple, grapes, seasonal berries, passion fruit yogurt sauce; Mini doughnuts, muffins, croissants, Danishes; Fruit preserves, jams, and sweet butter; Individual cereals with 2% milk and soy milk; Irish oats, steel-cut oatmeal, light brown sugar, golden raisins | |||
| 8:00 – 8:30 | AHC Marketing Alliance | Hampton Ballroom | Julie Broadway AHC President | Hear the results of the recent surveys and the next steps | |
| 8:30 – 9:30 | AHC Recreation, Trails & Land Use Committee | Hampton Ballroom | Randy Rasmussen – committee chair | Recent Impacts on Public Recreation | Whitney Potter Schwartz, SVP at Outdoor Recreation Roundtable |
| 9:30 – 10:30 | AHC Regulatory Committee | Hampton Ballroom | Tom O’Mara – committee chair | Labor/Workforce Challenges | John Boatwright, Dir Govt Affairs American Farm Bureau Federation |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Break | ||||
| 10:45 – 11:15 | AHC | Hampton Ballroom | Julie Broadway AHC President | Agency & Congressional Office Orientation | Julie Broadway & Brigid Shea |
| 11:15 – 1:00 | Lunch on your own | ||||
| 1:00 – 5:00 | AHC | Hill Visits | See your personal schedule for offices and locations | ||
| 1:00 – 3:00 | AHC | Hampton Ballroom & Governors Room | Agency Meetings | ||
| 3:00 – 3:45 | AHC Racing Committee Meeting | Hampton Ballroom | Joe Wilson | closed session | |
| 3:00 – 3:45 | AHC Welfare Committee Meeting | Governors Room | Kathy Alm | closed session | |
| 3:45 – 4:30 | AHC Regulatory Committee Meeting | Hampton Ballroom | Tom O’Mara | closed session | |
| 3:45 – 4:30 | AHC RT&LU Committee Meeting | Governors Room | Randy Rasmusen | closed session | |
| 4:30 – 5:15 | AHC Health Committee Meeting | Hampton Ballroom | Dr Katie Flynn | closed session | |
| 4:30 – 5:15 | AHC Show & Competition Committee Meeting | Governors Room | Billy Smith | closed session | |
| 6:00 – 8:00 | AHC Board of Trustees Meeting | Governors Room | Marilyn Beterea | closed session |
Wednesday, June 25
| Time slot | Sponsor | Location | Moderator | Topic | Speaker |
| 8:00 – 9:00 | breakfast | egg & cheddar cheese filled croissant; turkey sausage, cage-free egg on buttermilk cheese biscuit; fried egg, smoked gouda cheese on GF bagel | |||
| 8:00 – Noon | AHC Foundation, AQHA Foundation, and Equine Network Foundation | Hampton Ballroom | Julie Broadway, Melissa Kitchen & Chris Sitz | Grant Funders Summit | Stephen Belenky, Co-Founder of Hiddn |
| 8:00 – Noon | Agency & Hill Visits |