Joint Leadership Council Letter from the Presidents
Dear Members,
I hope you are all staying safe and healthy. We are experiencing threats to our health and economy that have not been experienced in this country for more than 100 years. It is a scary time for all of us and a threat to the horse industry we all love. The Joint Leadership Council, comprised of members from the American Hackney Horse Society, American Morgan Horse Association, American Road Horse & Pony Association, American Saddlebred Association, American Saddlebred Registry and the United Professional Horsemen’s Association, are working diligently developing and implementing a plan of action to aid our horsemen/women and instructors to navigate these turbulent times.
We recognize these difficulties are best faced when we work together. In this spirit of cooperation, we will use the UPHA Dewey Henderson Benevolent Fund (DHBF) as a platform for joint fundraising efforts. In particular, we are raising funds for a Joint Leadership Council Horsemen’s Relief Fund. This Relief Fund will be specially earmarked within the DHBF to be distributed to horse trainers and instructors who are financially distressed by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. One hundred percent of all donations will be distributed; no amounts will be paid for administrative costs or staffing.
Details regarding the application process, criteria and distribution will be made available by early next week. Of course, donations can be made at any time. Donors may visit the UPHA website at www.uphaonline.com, click the DONATE NOW button, and select UPHA Dewey Henderson Benevolent Fund from the “choose a cause” dropdown menu. A further subcategory for this Relief Fund will be added in the next few days, but rest assured any donation received now for this cause will be relegated to the Relief Fund.
When the Joint Leadership Council was created, we obviously did not foresee this crisis, but we have been impressed by how much more effective working together has been in joint matters. The whole of the trotting horse industry is much greater than the sum of its individual parts. Let’s continue to work together and make a difference.
Maureen Quackenbush, AHHS President
C.A. “Tony” Lee III, AMHA President
James Nichols, ARHPA President
Marty Schaffel, ASHA President
Sandy Currier, ASR President
Cindy Mugnier, UPHA President