The Virginia Horse Center has hired Jennifer Donovan recently joined the Virginia Horse Center team as development consultant with the center’s goal to create a permanent, full-time development officer role. Donovan was recruited from The Nature Conservancy after serving 4 years as Associate Director of Philanthropy.
Prior to fundraising for The Nature Conservancy, Donovan was the co-founder, principal and visionary for Equestrian Services, LLC and Equestrian Management, LLC for
13 years.
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The Roanoke Valley Horse Rescue has taken in seven starving horses from Franklin County. On Feb. 25, staff from the horse rescue assisted Franklin County Animal Control to investigate a case of four to five neglected horses.
The Roanoke Valley Horse Rescue says four mares and one colt were found in a field, emaciated with body scores of 1 to 2, with no access to water or hay.
The horse rescue said that after being told by the owner there were no other horses on the property, they continued to investigate and found two more horses — a stallion and a mini — locked in small stalls and left standing in wet manure. Those two horses also had no access to hay or water, the rescue said.
The 7 horses were signed over to the county and removed immediately from the property and brought to the horse rescue for care.
The horses will be seen by a vet to be evaluated for any medical issues.
With the additional horses, the horse rescue is now caring for 62 horses. If you like to help these horses these are the items that the horse rescue needs:
Virginia Tech’s annual Emily Jane Hilscher Memorial Show has been scheduled for April 22-23 at the Alphin Stuart Arena in Blacksburg. The show is held in memory of Emily Jane Hilscher, a Virginia Tech equestrian team member and animal and poultry sciences freshman who was killed in the April 16, 2007, shootings at Virginia Tech.
The Roanoke Valley Horse Rescue will hold its second annual Save a Horse, Taste a Bourbon fundraiser at the City Market Building in downtown Roanoke on Saturday, April 9. The event will include a silent auction, dancing, door prizes and, of course, bourbon.
The event is $30/person for advance tickets or $40/person at the door. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
The Robin S. Cramer hall is one of the largest indoor college arenas in the nation at 120 feet by 300 feet. Photo by Sweet Briar College
Sweet Briar College will host its Winter Show Feb. 21 at Sweet Briar College. Ellen Shavella will judge the show for hunters and jumpers. The show starts at 8:30 a.m. in the indoor arena and includes classes sanctioned by SWVHJA. Fax entries To: (434) 381-6457 by 3 p.m. Friday. Entries the day of the show will be charged a $10 office fee.
The horse center is hosting a variety of events this weekend including Saddlebreds, a Jumper Derby and dog agility for jumping of a different sort.
Jacobs Run Equestrian Center hosts its Winter Blues Horse Show on Feb. 28 at Jacob’s Run Equestrian Center in Forest, Va. Shelby Turner Rader will judge the Blue Ridge Horse Force- sanctioned open show that includes classes for English, Western, Games, Equitation, Minis and Ranch. All hunter classes are on the flat.
After months of rumors, canceled rides and angry members asking where ACTHA (American Competitive Trail Horse Association) had gone, the organization has finally broken its silence on the financial crisis it is facing.
In the magazine, ACTHA Monthly, a two-page spread titled “What’s Going On? The Real ACTHA Crisis” outlines the organization’s troubles, the first time the members have been addressed on the crisis even though staff members had been laid off weeks earlier, leaving the offices empty and phones ringing when members tried to contact the group.
In the article, ACTHA first offers some background. “The real truth is ACTHA has been struggling for a long time.” The article alludes to funding that didn’t come through, and investment in a new website that also didn’t materialize. It doesn’t go into any further detail on those two points. It also issues vague blame on “eccentric leadership” and “managerial frustrations” for the organization’s inability to “flourish.”
The article admits that the organization had “some financial loss” it was working to overcome and went into the winter with very low reserves. For the first time it was unable to pay its ride hosts.
Then on Dec. 6, 2015, the ACTHA donation page was hit by a series of credit card donations. “They donated $1, $2, $20, and so on, until thousands of donations had come in totaling over $60,000.” The organization says it started paying bills and felt “rescued” and “relieved.” But then fraudulent claims started to come in. The donations turned out to be fraudulent charges made to stolen cards, and the organization was facing $15 charge back fees on those $1 donations. ACTHA’s accounts started to fall into a “bottomless abyss of disappearing funds.”
As of Jan. 1, 2016, all staff was laid off. A few continued to work as volunteers. Two people manned the customer service phones and email. That remains the situation at this time. “Our volunteers managing Facebook cannot answer questions regarding refunds, ride closing, etc., so while it seems like they are ignoring those questions, they don’t have access to those answers.
As to its future, ACTHA says it will not give up fighting and lists some of the people that are working to revive the organization: “a volunteer professional with experience with non-profits” a “highly active new board member … with a professional background in the corporate world” an attorney, two CPAs and state offices. “We are fighting the good fight and will not give up easily!”
The organization says it is looking at several options including Chapter 11 bankruptcy, although “that is certainly not a first choice.” ACTHA insists that its first priority is paying its ride hosts.
ACTHA is restructuring its policies and procedures “to provide an environment of accountability.” The organization plans to create “executive teams in the areas of IT and finance, rather than having those areas controlled by one particular person.” Positions such as president, vice president, etc., will be eliminated and replaced by teams.
Rides on the schedule for February will all be canceled and refunds given while the changes to the organization are implemented. ACTHA has obtained ride insurance and it will be activated once necessary IT changes have been made, hopefully by the end of February. Rides are expected to be able to continue by March 1.
A big-stakes western pleasure class will be at the Virginia Horse Center on April 9 as part of the Virginia Quarter Horse Association’s Virginia Classic Horse Show.
The Hylton Maiden 3-year-old and Over class takes place each year at the AQHA show and provides an incentive to wait for outstanding pleasure prospects to mature.
In 2015, the Hylton Maiden paid out $91,500. This year, $50,000 in added money will be put into the jackpot, making the projected payout for 2016 to be $31,500 to the winner, $11,570 for reserve and $8,455 for third. When calculated on a 20-entry average, even 10th place will recoup the $1,500 entry fee. (Click here to download an entry form for the 2016 Hylton Maiden. Click here to use the new online entry system for the 2016 Hylton Maiden.)
In addition to the jackpot, a $6,000 bonus will be awarded to the Highest Placing Intermediate Rider in the class and a $4,000 bonus will be awarded to the Highest Placing Limited Rider.
Judges for the Virginia Classic are Casey and April Devitt, Brad Kearns, Jeff Allen, Rick Christy, and Ryan Kail.
Entries are due by March 12; however, horses may be entered up until Friday, April 8 at 5 p.m. for a $500 late fee.
Past champions have included Taft Dickerson with Made By J (2015), Randy Wilson with Certainly On Sundi (2014), Jay Starnes with Zip By Machine (2013) and Kristy Starnes with Zippin Hot Machine (2012).
Clean out your barn and make some cash by selling your used tack and apparel at the Botetourt County Horsemen’s Association annual Tack ‘n’ Trade sale March 26 at the Daleville VFW along Route 220 near Fincastle, Virginia.
Sell or market your equine service including training, lessons, stabling, breeding, equine sales, etc. Or perhaps sell items you make yourself that would appeal to the equine enthusiast like jewelry, apparel and more.
The cost is $10 a table. Space is limited and tables must be registered by March 19.
The sale is free and open to the public for shopping from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For more information contact: JoAnn Dester 540-473-1422 or email whisperingoaksranch@yahoo.com.
A student of Ray Hunt and Tom Dorrance, Brannaman now teaches clinics worldwide and this fall he will be in our region for two clinics.
Roanoke Equestrian 