Representatives of state horse councils and the American Horse Council will meet in Kansas City October 28, 29 & 30th for their annual fall meeting. All state councils are encouraged to have representation at this meeting. The continued effectiveness of the Coalition of State Horse Councils rests on all its members.
As this years’ host, the Kansas Horse Council has assembled an exceptional range of speakers to address pertinent topics related to: forming effective non-profit boards and dealing with compliance issues such as the “Do’s and Don’ts to Maintain 501c3 Compliance;.” a four person panel discussion of “What’s ahead for equine owners?” presented by Drs. Davis, Blevins, Lutter and Beard of the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine; and a multi-user panel discussion with representatives from federal and state land management, Back Country Horsemen, hiking, biking and ATV users, to discuss multi-user trail issues and how we can better interface as groups to do trail maintenance work, host multi-user functions, and better respect one another.
To provide a genuine Kansas experience there will be several presentations unique to Kansas including:
- An exhibition by the Fort Riley Commanding General’s Mounted Color Guard
- A review of the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility, which is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s foremost animal disease research facility. The $1.25 billion facility being constructed in Manhattan, KS is a biosafety level-4 laboratory and will replace the aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York.
- The Bureau of Land Management – Kansas Wild Horse Program. Through a unique partnership with the Kansas Department of Corrections and Kansas Correctional Industries, the BLM offers gentled wild horses for adoption at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility. These are animals that have been halter- or saddle-trained by inmates in a rehabilitation program.
- For some interesting equine history, Friday evening Rob Kornacki will provide the thoroughly engrossing story of “Comanche, Famed Equine Survivor of Custer’s Last Stand”, who is on display at the Kansas University Natural History Museum.
If you haven’t received the full schedule and registration materials please contact the AHC office: ahc@horsecouncil.org. A lot of planning has gone into making this a valuable learning opportunity which isn’t easy considering the vast experience level of state horse council representatives.
The host hotel is the Hyatt Place Kansas City Airport which has a free shuttle available. The link to book a room at the CSHC rate of $79/King bed or $84/Double beds is: https://kansascityairport.place.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html?corp_id+g-kshc. Catered meals will be provided for lunch and dinner on Saturday thanks to a donation from Merial.