Industry Info
• Racing Advisory- The com-
mittee heard updates from
committee members on the
following topics: Sports betting
legislation; Guest Worker Visas,
H2B; Horseracing Integrity
Act; Three Year Depreciation of
Racehorses; Advance-deposit
wagering (ADW) account hold-
er credit card funding transac-
tion declines and Google adver-
tising by ADWs. Remi Bellocq
of the North America Riding
Academy presented the concept
of Workforce Development
apprenticeship or certification
program to train US citizen to
work in the equine industry.
• Equine Welfare - Bruce Ritten-
house from the Bureau of Land
Management provided an up-
date to last year’s presentation
on the Wild Horse and Burro
Program. The Committee also
heard presentations from inside
and outside of the AHC on
industry welfare efforts includ-
ing United Horse Coalition &
Equine Welfare Data Collective;
ASPCA “Good Welfare for All
Equines” campaign; AQHA
Welfare Commission Update;
NRHA Welfare Issues Update
and HSUS Domestic Equine
Welfare Legislative Efforts.
• Horse Show & Competition
Committee- The committee
heard several legislative updates
and welcomed guest speakers
Penny Brown from Cowgirls
of Color and director with the
STAND Foundation. Brown
provided an inspiring presen-
tation on their afterschool and
summer camp riding programs
which uses activities to discov-
er, understand and master the
rider’s abilities, skills, and man-
nerisms for the training, riding,
and managing of horses as well
as training their own behaviors
and managing their own mind-
sets. The committee also heard
updates from Cozen O’Connor
PLLC regarding ”Protecting
Young Victims from Sexual
Abuse and Safe Sport Authori-
zation Act”.
National Issues Forum
The morning session kicked off
with a panel discussion entitled
“Celebrating our past and envi-
sioning our future” – moderated
by AHC President Julie Broadway.
Panelists included Matt Iuliano
of the Jockey Club, Billy Smith of
American Paint Horse Association
and Olivia Tordoff of American
Quarter Horse Youth Association
who shared their insights on indus-
try accomplishments over the last
50 years, ways the industry is mak-
ing a difference, and their vision of
the future.
Jim Gagliano of the Jockey Club,
and current AHC Board Chair,
provided a “State of the Industry”
highlighting overall economic
impact and strong indicators for
growth. AHC President, Julie
Broadway, provided a “State of
AHC” – sharing 2018 accomplish-
ments and victories. Bill Scebbi,
Chair of the CSHC shared observa-
tions from the state horse councils
and encouraged attendees that
didn’t have a state horse council to
investigate establishment.
Rick Mack of the Association of
Chief Executives for Sports (ACES)
provided background on ACES and
focused on the key pillars of their
work with National Governing
Bodies (NGBs).
Bill Knauf, VP Operations at
Monmouth Park and Jessica Feil of
IFRAH Law PLLC shared the latest
updates on sports betting, and great
anecdotes about the positive impact
of sports betting at Monmouth Park.
Jennifer Sirangelo, President
and CEO of National 4 H Coun-
cil, launched the afternoon session
highlighting ways to engage youth
and build next generation of leaders.
Jeff Jensen, Olympic and Breed-
ers Cup horse trainer, shared his
thoughts on the use of CBD and
hemp products for horses.
Eric Hamelback of HPBA, Alex
Waldrop of NTRA and Remi Bel-
locq of the North America Racing
Academy lead a panel discussion
which tackled workforce develop-
ment and immigration. Rep. Paul
Tonko (D-NY), Co-chair of the
Congressional Horse Caucus, also
attended and spoke.
Brian Leaders of the National
Park Service (NPS) provided an
overview of the Rivers, Trails and
Conservation Assistance Program
and shared some wonderful exam-
ples of multi-use trails. Of note was
that NPS offers 27 horse camping
locations and 73 horse riding/trek-
king locations!
Dale Moore of Farm Bureau
closed the day with some great
ideas about promoting agriculture
life and ways to build grassroots
support to move legislation in a
positive direction.
Slides and recordings of Tuesday
presentations will be accessible
to AHC members from the AHC
website, www.horsecouncil.org in
the coming weeks.
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