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PRESIDENT REPORT 2024
RICKY GLEN - PRESIDENT
Dear AQHA Members ,
Its gives me great pleasure to present the 2023 / 24 AQHA Presidents report to you .
I was supported by the board to take on this position last October and let me say , it truly has been an interesting 12 months , after being on the board for 27 odd years , the President ’ s position is a lot different and very time consuming but it ’ s not unlike being on the board and if you ’ re not prepared to give it your time , then don ’ t do it .
This board of directors I must say has been a privilege to work with , I wanted a transparent board which the membership has asked for in the past and I think over the last 12 months , the communication to the membership has been good with reports in the magazine and regular FB posts to keep the membership informed which has gone very well by the reports coming back to me and I must say , we have stuck to the rule book and this has been a good thing so there has been no grey areas which could come back later on to haunt us , the support of the board to ensure this has happened is very appreciated .
We saw the 2024 Nationals one of the best ever with huge entries across the events and I must say , a lot of happy competitors . I had the privilege to attend the opening dinner and it was nice to see and meet a lot of members which I had not had the pleasure to do so in the past and it was a happy crew that I witnessed there . The board has agreed to increase the prize money for the nationals and of course a second judge to ensure all of the classes are catered for with USA judges .
We have just had the new rule book printed and this will be mailed out to all members as well as the online version available as well , rule changes are not done add hock so to speak , if there is a change it is listed on the web site for the membership to see and then printed in the next rule book to follow .
Its ’ been encouraging to get calls from members direct with questions and have been able to follow up for them to try to answer their concerns , again , we are elected by the membership and we are all open to members questions directed to us as board members , remember that we are voluntary and all have day jobs so if the contact back to you is not straight away , it will happen and in case of a lost email or voicemail , give us a follow up please .
The Portfolio holders have some great ideas and programs coming up , the youth had a successful auction at the nationals followed by the recent stallion auction and funds from both of these will be used 100 % to fund youth programs coming up . The Amateurs have had successful clinics held in each state of Australia which have benefited all of their members and they are planning clinics for the 2024 / 25 year as we speak . The National show committee are working on a bigger and better nationals for 2025 , the Stud Book is working to maintain the integrity of our breed to ensure we are up with any new genetic tests which may come up . The Marketing committee has been very active which is reflected by the updates you all get on FB and other social media sites . Cattle and Timed events are still a major part of the AQHA and goes from strength to strength and this is reflected in the sale prices our breed are achieving at auction .
Non Traditional have videos coming out to cover their portfolio and the Judges have just had another successful Judges Seminar held in Victoria . Affiliates are working together in the most with show dates ect which is encouraging to see happen and the Pro Horseman are ensuring our professionals maintain their education with clinics ect funded by their portfolio , in all a great result for 2024 .
I personally thank each and every portfolio holder for the effort they have put into their portfolios .
I would also like to thank the office led by Gemma Clarke for all of their effort this past year to ensure we get things done on time .
To the membership , thank you for your support as well and lets make this coming year bigger and better .
With Thanks Ricky Glen AQHA President
2024 AQHA ~ SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER ISSUE