Del Camino Equestrian
Enterprises, Inc.
Mailing Address:
3822 E. Sahuaro Drive, Phoenix, Arizona,
85028-3442 United States of America
Tel: 602-953-9347
A lesson scheduling
program goes beyond the whiteboard in the tack room or barn office. It is Faster: Spend less time scheduling appointments and more time focusing on customers. Quickly add or locate customers, find available appointment times, manage waiting lists, and schedule appointments in seconds.
It is Flexible: Customer Appointment Manager is designed to accommodate your unique needs. Use definable fields to store information important to you and your business. Export or print your appointment calendar and reports in various formats.
It is Easy to Use: An intuitive design makes Customer Appointment Manager easy to learn and use. Getting started is effortless and you'll be scheduling customers in no time.
View appointments by day, week, or month. Find open times quickly. Fill cancellations and avoid no-shows. Email customer appointment reminders. Create personalized letters and mailing labels. CAM works with PDAs and synchronizes with QuickBooks.
Only headings that contain information have links. Thank you for your patience. Visit regularly and you will see new material!
Bookmark this page using the button at the top.
Del Camino helps
small horse facilities, services, and independent horse professionals find timely information that
benefits their program and success. We want to see horse
sanctuaries and retirement stables grow and prosper. We would like
riding and boarding stables to be well-operated and fully supported by their local
communities. The benefits of involvement with horses to humans is a
well-established fact. The therapeutic benefits to individuals,
and cultural benefits to the wider society, mean every effort should be
expended to develop viable humane businesses that employ well-trained,
good tempered, well-seasoned horses. It can be done.
This page distills information from a variety of sources, as well as
our own experience, before sending you off on your own quest.
The descriptive paragraphs at the start of a section are there because
we believe they are important.
We update this section of our website fairly often, so we recommend
you return regularly. Why not add this page to your browser's
Favorites list? Doing so does not cause us to send you junk
mail.
The focus of the site is to be rich in content, and easy to read
onscreen. A majority of small horse businesses and horse
non-profits are on slow dial-up connections (cannot afford cable or
DSL) and using older versions of operating systems and browsers on
older computer platforms (usually donated by people who upgraded to
newer technology.) Therefore, you won't see tons of frames,
flash, page transitions, and multimedia effects here. We avoid
colored text on dark backgrounds, which can be nearly impossible to
read on a monitor. We even
keep the pictures small and to a minimum to facilitate page loading.
So if the visual effects are bland, you now know why! We don't
want our visitors to give up due to long page-loads and hard to read
color combinations and time-consuming bells and whistles - they just
don't have that kind of time.
Large sections acquire their own page, to keep the resources easy to read.
As we find a broken link, we remove it if we
cannot easily repair it. Please notify the webmaster if you
find one.
If you are a horse business
using a tool, resource, or website we haven't listed, we encourage
you to tell us about it (please provide URL) on our
feedback
page, so we can share it with others. Likewise, if you think a
listing is useless, let us know!
If you are a service provider or vendor with
something to offer horse businesses, please tell us about your
product, service, or marketing opportunity so we can share it, via
our
feedback
page.
Nominations for Special Recognition to equine
non-profit groups or horse product or service companies are
welcomed. Any entity (individual, business, or agency) that
has done or is doing something remarkable for the benefit of the
senior horse is eligible. Presently, the method to nominate
someone for Senior Horse Special Recognition is on our
feedback
page.
Del Camino does not endorse, approve, guarantee, warranty, or
otherwise recommend any product, service, vendor, book,
article, website, webzine, magazine linked on this page
Do you host special events such as cookouts, theme parties, weddings, reunions, conferences, etc. at your ranch? Do you put on horsemanship seminars or training clinics? If so, why not take a page from many non-profits and use convenient specially-designed software to automate many of the housekeeping functions? You
will make a much more professional impression, increase perceived value of the event, and collect more money while concentrating more of your time on the horse aspects of the event that require your expertise.
DoJiggy is easy, affordable online event and fund-raising software to help non-profits and community organizations hold auctions, silent auctions, golf tournaments, walk-a-thons, luncheons, conferences, and other fund-raising or awareness-raising events. It includes
scheduling, marketing, reservations, payment processing, reports, lists - everything you need to plan, market, manage and succeed with a first-class event.
EasyWare also includes an interface to PrintTix for integrating easy online at-home ticket purchase and print technology into your accounting software and website.
Cvent handles all aspects of a conference including: Online Registration Event Email Marketing Payment Processing
Travel, Housing & Budgeting Strategic Meetings Management. Major non-profits such as Goodwill, Salvation Army and NARHA use cvent services.
HorseShowTime designed for USEF compliant shows, offers online competitor registration, ring scheduling, results posting, USEF membership verification, High Point calculation and Rider of the Year calculation and management reports.
Hoofpicks designed for a wide variety of shows, clinics, workshops and special events — even lessons. Handles simple to complex types, from in-barn recitals, to local schooling shows, 4-H, Special Olympics Equestrian,
If you don't want to pay fees for internet-based services, or you do not think your show clientele can access the internet, there are programs you can use that provide all the forms and step-by-step planning.
Here's How You Can Quickly and Easily Have Your Own Horse Show!
It will be The Source of Fun and Excitement for Your Riders, and Riders from Your Local Area, plus More….
Without Struggling to Figure Out What to do Next! Have Your Own Horse Show.
Hodges Badge Company has supplied horse shows large and small with ribbons, numbers, banners, decals, forms, and of course, ribbons and trophies since 1920.
If you like to throw a party, or put together other social events, this combination of marketing and revenue-generation may be an annual event that brings in a substantial portion of your operating expenses or capital improvement dollars, and enables you to publicly recognize your major clients and employees.
A special event, whether a silent auction, horse show, trail ride or a party, is an opportunity to network with people. Attend the most successful special events you can in your town to learn what attracts individuals as well as businesses before planning your stable's event. Set goals and use a committee of talented people.
The easiest way to do that is to partner with an equine non-profit and donate some of the proceeds to that charity. Most of the good annual events for equine non-profits in Phoenix require the dedicated work of many people for nine months of the year - but produce as much as 25% or more of their annual funds. We know a great equine non-profit in Tucson that takes such pains over its annual black tie event that they even care how the napkins are
folded. Don't laugh - they are highly successful at capturing the hearts, minds, and pocketbooks of attendees!
Here's one aspect of special events where tables are sold as food for thought: Who will be your table captains? Perhaps you just assumed people will come from the company that purchased a table, and one person in particular will play "host" and fire up your dinner guests to participate in the Silent Auction or learn more
about the charity you are benefiting. Just because a local bank sponsors a table does not mean there will be people sitting in those chairs who bid on your items. If you are satisfied with selling all the seats and do not care how much the auction items raise, this is fine. If not, it is much better to recruit and educate someone from the bank to be the "table captain" and bring its
employees or guests and then engage them as participants during the party to get them interested in your mission and projects.
After your special event, follow up! Use e-mail and survey software to get attendee satisfaction with their experience. Zoomerang offers a free version of their service for simple surveys, and there are
templates you can easily customize, so this is not time-consuming and no programming is required. Want some help? Contact us.
The first things you need to begin marketing your equine-related
special event is your business plan and corporate identity, beginning with a color scheme and logo, with or without a tag line. From these come a marketing plan that tells you the optimal timing of a
show, clinic, camp or open house to get profitable results without sacrificing your main revenue sources or becoming overextended — an events calendar. It also shows you when and what type of publicity and advertising you should use to reach the most targeted audience at the least expense.
If you want to transition from constant travel to competition venues with your horses and clients, to stay-at-home events that also bring in high quality business, promote client retention, and elevate your farm's profile in your community, then in-house special events are well-worth considering. If you have been doing a small
clinic or workshop for your boarders and lesson or training clients for awhile, but have never put much effort into marketing it to a wider audience of horse people, the current recession may spur you to give it a try.
You are competing
today for seconds
of people's attention, and first
impressions are lasting. They tell
a great deal about your organization's culture, competence,
understanding of your market (the people you serve by the service you
provide with or for horses). If you don't know who your
audience, or client-base is, stop and ask yourself "who do I want to
write checks to participate in this event?" or "who do I want to
pay to advertise at or sponsor elements of this event?" or "who do I want to attract as a clinician or guest speaker or celebrity draw to this event?"
Then design for that audience's respect and
interests so they will take you seriously.
We consult with horse businesses to improve efficiency and make it easier for clients, job applicants, and visitors to take action (pay monthly bills, sign up for a service, or apply for a job). Invariably, a glaring need exists to get paperwork under control. An absolutely necessary evil of commercial equine events,
paperwork such as applications, release forms, sign up sheets, timesheets, horse descriptions, show entry forms - you name it, have to be created, made available to the people who use them, completed, received by someone, used, and finally stored.
Are your basic client, camper, reservation, event entries, or job applications available on your website in obvious places? Are they in a form that does not require specific software, like a certain word processor or spreadsheet package?
If they are forms with sections (fields) for the applicant to complete, or boxes to check, did you type a line
or symbol, or create a database field that they can fill in without changing the form? If you created a form, can they download it, fill in the data on their computer, save the form, and send it back to you as a form rather than just a document, so you can import it right into your client management software and generate a report or make the information
available to an employee who does initial follow-up calls part-time from his home computer? If you are not using fillable forms online, YOU ARE WORKING TOO HARD and you are reducing the chance that the visitor to your website will TAKE ACTION by as much as 50%.
For help turning your spreadsheets and documents into fillable forms in .PDF or other formats, and making them available on your website, contact us for more information.
For online software to do it yourself, visit FormSite, an online web form builder and look at the sample forms, like the camp registration, and the features of the free plan as well as those that cost money to use.
There are templates for volunteer applications and other forms you might use.
Don't forget how important it is to make online payments, for board, training, lessons, carriage ride or dude ranch reservations,
and show or clinic entries, etc. easy to do on your website, and not just on a single page, but at various appropriate entry and exit points. An excellent example is on this page of
Equine Voices, a horse rescue in Green Valley, Arizona that specializes in PMU mares
Take advantage of
opportunities offered by horse suppliers to link to their products and
services enabling your clients to purchase. Of course, your website needs to receive high volume traffic for this to produce significant funds. All the more reason to have a great website with useful, attractive, compelling content, and be easily located with a few keywords via any major search engine! A link sitting on a never-visited site isn't going to put hay
in the mangers.
To effectively market your special event, everything you produce for print distribution discussed below (press releases, media kit, brochures, etc.) must be available in digital form on your website, too.
Don't forget the importance of clean, crisp, signage that carries your corporate identity and colors and all looks coordinated in the same fonts and as many as possible in the same materials.
TIP: A well-placed street sign promotes your event 24 per day, 7 days per week. About 18% of the neighborhood residents are new to your area. Well-worded, good quality signs can be used for years — they are one of the most economical marketing investments you can make!
Plenty of professional signage at the right height for your event will enhance your farm's professional image. Even if you must get a permit to put up a street sign, the cost of the sign and the permit may still be one of the best promotional investments you make in your stable's future.
You'll need signs:
At key intersections directing traffic to your event.
At your stable's entrances — both the ones spectators are to use, and the ones horse trailers or other vendors are to use —as well as any that are closed to the public for the day that redirect visitors to the proper entrances.
You may need arena banners
You may need booth backdrops or displays for the Registration Booth or Office
Various signs for Parking, Closed Barn, Food Court, Restrooms
Car magnets or window decals to get your name out there!
Liability Notices, Restricted Area, and Emergency signage
Possibly Reserved or Disabled Access signage, if appropriate
Today, online shopping solutions enable you to offer logo items without the initial outlay of cash for inventory to stock and resell. What was formerly only available to larger companies is now accessible, via printing on demand and drop shipping, to even the smallest home business and start-up.
Do not underestimate the value of a
coaster, calendar, mug, ball cap, refrigerator magnet, t-shirt, or mouse pad. Companies worldwide spend millions per year to provide permanent positive reminders to buyers, investors, employees, and, yes, vendors. Small service businesses like riding academies, bed and breakfasts, wedding carriage operators, and boarding stables have even more reasons to recognize clients
and staff and participants in clinics and special events like in-barn shows. See the Advertising and Marketing Resources page for resources and links for promotional items and logowear.
Master the art of the one-page press
release! Put together a media database to email press releases
and newsletters to. Then actually do it in a timely fashion!
Remember that "news" by definition is fresh. What to put in your
database, and how to keep it up-to-date with the actual names of
contacts, deadlines, special issue themes, special interest sections,
is practically an art form of research and organization. If
possible, you should have an employee with publicity or public
relations experience spend several hours on this aspect of marketing
your stable every month. You do not need to be putting on
Celebrity Events all the time to warrant publicity. Every
organization should plan to distribute at least eight press releases
per year. (See also Advertising and Marketing, Print Media)
Timing the publication of your public notices of your event is important.
Example: Del Camino offered a summer day camp for over a decade that was always sold out, usually by the end of April, with a waiting list for the most popular weeks of Memorial Day to July. Consequently, purchasing supplies and fine-tuning horse assignments and staffing was easy, and deposits were in hand to fund the expenses. Learn how we were
able to do it from the Boarding Stable Profits in 10 Easy Steps e-book.
Most local publications are happy to print
brief, well-written press releases accompanied by good photographs.
Also, many will discount advertising space to
new advertisers. If there is a newspaper or magazine that closely matches your target clientele in your area, you can probably get a feature article with photos about your event into an issue in which you advertise.
Do you need a press release written for your special event and distributed electronically quickly? Do you need a planned set of press releases for your next calendar year prepared and a list created of media to distribute it to?
Contact us for help.
We have referred to the media kit in disaster preparedness, crisis management, free publicity, and other marketing sections on the Advertising and Marketing page. Without a media kit you are in danger of missing many opportunities to get factual, positive information about your
event in front of the public in a timely way. If you need fast affordable help putting together an
up-to-date useful media kit for your stable, Contact us.
If you have taken photos of past events, and can list Who What When and Where on a 3" x 5" index card, you can take advantage of television, radio, and YouTube.
Several specialty cable and online television and radio networks focus on animals generally, horses specifically, sports, outdoor lifestyles, children's activities, or health wellness and fitness. Virtually all of them are voracious in their quest for programming content.
Regular state broadcast news channels frequently use community locations for background interest for Weather segments. Invite the weather producer to use your facility for a day of shooting, and know in advance what message you want to deliver in a one or two minute "sound byte" with representative activities taking place.
TIP: Virtually all of these shows have a "Current Events" or "What's Happening" section of their website and/or their broadcast that offers free listings of interest to their viewers and listeners.
If the press shows up at an accident during an event along with the paramedics or fire department, you are likely to be rightly focused on managing the incident rather than the microphone and camera turned on you. Having a media kit and a "just in case" generic statement ready in the show or barn office could be a blessing.
Plan in advance a paragraph that shows compassion and calm efficiency, without assuming or placing blame, that you could use as a framework for comments for just about anything from a loose horse to a rider fall to a barn fire. Don't let any over-eager reporter force you into commenting before you get to spend a few minutes reviewing your "notes".
Visit our Advertising and Marketing page for resources and tips on how not to get caught flat-footed and ensure you have peace of mind to handle any crisis with poise and professionalism.
NOTE: Don't forget to update your farm Emergency Procedures and Disaster Plan well in advance to allow for larger groups of people and horses at special events, and train staff to respond appropriately to a variety of situations.
Take action photos of various aspects of your event every year! When it comes time to promote your next show, clinic, trail trial, or camp, you need photos of participants having a great time enjoying horses.
Arrange to have a specific skilled person take the photographs who you have briefed on what you need. Ensure that person knows how to get good proportional photographs of horses, and understands safety around horses. You may even be able to use a professional horse event photographer who sells copies to participants via his or her own website.
If you really, really, cannot afford to us a professional videographer, then recruit an employee who is an experienced amateur and get busy. Be SURE to see samples of his or her work, before you commit to a project. You
can start by adding video clips to your website, media kit, and
sponsor presentation kit.
A terrific way to develop repeat participation in your special events, and promote them all year is to sell or give away farm calendars. Feature a photo of the event for the month(s) you offer it. If you hold a clinic every year at the same time, even if you invite different clinicians, a photograph of last year's clinic with
a caption promoting the coming clinic has a positive effect. Your Marketing Plan helps you design this calendar and choose the photos almost effortlessly. The hardest part is when you have too many really great pitures to choose from!
Communicate regularly with clients, last year's campers and lesson students, special event participants, and vendors through e-mail. With templates, signatures, and distribution lists, you can quickly produce and send e-mails to each group using features in robust user e-mail software like Microsoft Outlook.
If you want a more polished e-newsletter, with opt-in and opt-out subscription managed automatically for larger databases, the capability to conduct e-mail surveys and polls, and even event invitations, an online service stores your templates, address lists, and is able to import and export data, see our
Advertising and Marketing page.
Want some help getting started with one of these options? Contact us.
Will you have an announcer, or will you have to perform that role for your special event?
Or perhaps you are the expert conducting the clinic.
In either case, you may need to polish your public speaking skills. Just turning on the remote microphone is not enough! If you really want your event to succeed, how dynamic you are as a clinician or master of ceremonies has a real impact — how enjoyable it is and the perceived value for the fee for the participants,
and also for repeat business and full participation from word-of-mouth endorsements for next time.
“No Longer Feel Sick Through Fear And Panic…By Discovering The Secrets The World Champions Of Public Speaking Use”
Darren LaCroix shares all his Public Speaking World Champion secrets Click Here!
Corporate events
can be staged at your facility to bring you the benefits of their
professional paid publicity. Even a department picnic that is
covered in the company employee newsletter can help you. This is
called "co-branding." They get the benefit of getting their name
in front of people interested in your service, and creating community
goodwill. You get money, or the ability to do events you could
not afford to do otherwise.
Holidays, National Recognition Days, National Awareness Weeks, are excellent bandwagons to jump on to promote some aspect of your equine business. Benefits include:
Re-introducing a product or service for which revenue is falling off.
Capitalizing on other local state and national advertising about the theme.
Reminding existing and potential clients that your horse business is plugged in to the fabric of society and positive values to solidify goodwill.
Generating interest in a special event and attracting community business sponsors and advertisers to help underwrite it.
Supporting a conservation or safety rule or procedure of your horse business with marketing materials of a higher authority who endorses it as a "best practice".
Most stables hold an annual Christmas party, and some even advertise
gift certificates for riding lessons during the Holiday Season. Some have Independence Day picnics. Others that cater to children have Halloween playdays. But with a little imagination and investigation, you can do MUCH MORE to reach out to the clientele you want by tying in to OTHER days, weeks and months.
Do you have an annual Open
House, or offer a special series of classes, or invite a Big Name Clinician to your ranch each year? If so, how could you marry that service to a nationally advertised theme and double or triple the value of your promotion — perhaps even rate some free publicity?
Do you have logo
items commemorating the day or event available for purchase on your website?
If you give a clinic and do not even have T-shirts, sports bottles and visors with your logo associated with that event and a special occasion or public awareness message you may be stepping over dollars to pick up pennies. It is hard work to put on a
clinic, why not make it pay on several levels? Done properly, it is a more satisfying and professional experience for your clients and guests, not crass commercialism. Need some help? Contact Us
TIP: To take advantage of these opportunities effectively year in and year out, and keep news of your stable fresh and interesting, you need a Marketing Plan that maps out your shows, vacations, peak seasons, and the calendar IN ADVANCE.
Support our Troops - wear red on Fridays. If your clientele includes military on bases nearby, families of the deployed, or veterans, make Fridays special — and let the public know with regular
reminders.
Arbor Day varies by state, and each state honors the State Tree. Here in Arizona it is the palo verde, and we celebrate the last Friday in April.
The National Day of Prayer is the first Thursday in May, which is May 5th 2011. If you have a faith-based business and/or predominantly religious clientele, this might be an appropriate day to share The Artillery Horse's Prayer, The Horse's Prayer,
The Draft Horse's Prayer, The Farrier's Prayer, The Cowboy's Prayer in some memorable way.
Police Week: week which has May 15th in it includes Peace Officers Memorial Day: May 15th. (Federal, State, local officers killed or disabled in the line of duty)
National Trails Day is the first Saturday in every June, (June 4th in 2011) and part of
National Great Outdoors Month (see below). Even horse businesses that have no connection to trails,
like downtown tourist carriage ride concessions can find a historic trail in the vicinity that incorporates horse history, and participate. American Trails has many resources that also help educate the public on the value and impact of trails. The
National Trails Training Partnership (NTTP) has many resources as well.
In 2008 the AQHA assumed management of a program promoting equestrian participation called Trail Trotters launched by a non-breed Equestrian Land Conservation group in 2004. AQHA renamed it STEP, and launched a recognition award program. The way it works is that you come up with a project,
fund it, do it, promote it, and document the press coverage you achieve, and turn it in to the AQHA in time for them to claim all rights to publicity for doing it thereafter, in time for National Great Outdoors Month. Hmmm ... in exchange for filthy lucre, you let AQHA claim stewardship that you already did unaided by AQHA. But, at least AQHA recognizes the need to become more
involved in preserving the venues and lifestyles of its horse buying customers so horses don't become obsolete due to lack of places to ride them. It appears to be trying to buy "catch up" 20 years after the trail maintenance by users
voluntary movement began. If they don't get any takers, (only 8 trail riding clubs in America were recognized with the unspecified awards in 2008), perhaps a less predatory attempt at image polishing will be implemented for 2009, but as of April 22nd when it was promoted in the AQHA Earth Day e-news,
the web page had no 2009 enrollment information, no pictures of the 2008 winning team projects, and a few uncaptioned pictures from 2007. More evidence of an attempt at positive publicity without substantive concrete effort based on conviction.
National Picnic Day is June 18th. Any kind of horse business could hold a casual potluck complete with checkerboard tablecloths and horse treats.
National Barn Day is the 2nd Sunday of July, July 10th in 2011. See what National Barn Company did for one Missouri family and their horses with an extreme barn makeover. You can celebrate with your own day of maintenance with the horses turned out, followed by a
barbeque and old-fashioned barn dance with folk music and a square dance caller or country music and a line dance leader. If you don't know how, invite the professionals or amateurs who have dance clubs in your area to put on an informal exhibition that includes an easy introductory number they can teach to the audience. Here's one of many
You Tube videos of successful barn dances. Now, to actually dance in the barn, you need some open space, so with horse stalls filling most of a riding stable's barn, you may need to spill out into an adjacent corral. But in July, dancing under the stars may be cooler, and romantic.
The National Day of the Cowboy is July 25th, 2009. Perk up the summer doldrums at your barn celebrating with authentic attire, tack, music, poetry, games, food, activities, folklore and fun. Visit the National Day of the Cowboy Association . What a nice change of pace for a dressage or hunter/jumper
barn it would be, too!
National Parents Day is the 4th Sunday of July. Very special parents bring their children to horsemanship and riding lessons every week, or several times per week. Parenting is the most important job they will ever have, but to provide a stable family with met needs, parents juggle many jobs. Parents Day is a great
opportunity to honor the family member who pays the bill and drives the "kid taxi," or the parent who is deployed abroad and unable to watch the child ride. Have a special get together featuring the friendliest horses in your string just for the parents, with a supervised activity elsewhere on the farm for the kids so a babysitter isn't needed. Take pictures for the parents who
are unavoidably distant. Have an Open House for Single Parents. Brainstorm other ways to share the relaxing, renewing atmosphere of the equine world with these people who deserve their own break and a chance to connect with the appeal horses have for their kids. This can be a day to appreciate existing clients, or attract new ones.
Constitution Week is the week of September 17th. The United States Constitution (Constitution of the United States of America) September 17, 1787. Ratified on March 4, 1789. here is the preamble...
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
read the entire Constitution plus the Bill Of Rights
Here's a terrific day for any kind of farm, because you get to pick the day of the year that works best with your event calendar. Progressive Agriculture Safety Day™ is a complete day camp program that teaches farm safety to children. Children are the largest demographic injured in farm
accidents every year. Rural minorities are also among the largest demographic injured in farm accidents. Provide a public service by hosting a very professional Progressive Agriculture Safety Day™ at your stable. [Just be clear that it is apolitical, since "Progressive" is a specific, polarizing collectivist oligarchical political ideology, and
you do not want to politicize a genuine community service activity that benefits children.]
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is the third Monday in January. Can American horses help us remember, celebrate, and act on the values of a great American who envisioned a time when character, not color, would define how we measure a person's worth?
Yes. Because unless your horse
business is about breeding horses for color traits primarily, horses are valued for how they move, their temperament and their training, and their abilities as social animals to uniquely partner with people.
Their complete honesty in response to humans is observable, and produces epiphanies in horsepeople every day. Americans, including African-Americans, and Hispanic Americans, were
predominantly rural and connected in some way to horses until The Great Depression, The Dust Bowl, and The New Deal drove the small American farmer and farm worker into the maw of the city and ground individual enterprise into anonymous large-scale projects.
Many great African Americans were famous jockeys, horse trainers, stunt cowboys, equine veterinarians, breeders, mounted rangers,
farriers, harness and saddle makers, and teamsters as recently as the early 1900's. Their biographies as respected community leaders and American horse people have been surfacing in newly uncovered memoirs in recent years.
Especially for
today's children, nearly 40% of whom are people of color, including the 70% of African American children who are being raised without a male parent, our horses can make a difference. They can provide a fun and wholesome connection to an American heritage in which most of America's men of all colors worked hard to provide for and protect their families, and more often than not
that meant being a good "hand" with horses or mules. In emphasizing the victims of societal and economic wrongs, historians and teachers often overlook the quiet heroes and ordinary families who succeeded by the standards of the day, and shared the same hardships regardless of their ethnic background, that applied to the country as a whole. This is
unfortunate, because it is the example of their strength, hope, and courage in the face of adversity that illustrates the content of their character, and teaches all Americans how to judge a person by his actions, not his appearance. So the stories of these men are inspirational and educational to all American children, not only children of color.
The Dust Bowl and the New
Deal stripped Americans of their land, their heritage, and their pride. The manmade ecological disaster that came during the Great Depression, and the crushing New Deal taxes, price and wage controls, lending manipulation and crop meddling by government "solutions" uprooted families from local mutual support networks, and introduced dependency on government bureaucracies that
sprang up at a breakneck pace. The cities had electricity and indoor plumbing for all but the slums, but were efficient
hubs for both creating conditions that prevented self-sufficiency, and for distributing the skewed government largess to a dependent city poor and for organized labor. This enabled opportunistic politicians and featherbedding bureaucrats to exacerbate, rather than reduce, racial and special interest group competition for resources and opportunities. The policies of the New Deal, combined with the effects of The Dust Bowl, fanned the great migration
that had begun with the Great Flood. This helped to achieve the political goal to create "voting blocks" of aggrieved groups, instead of a country of people with shared principles, dreams, and problems to overcome. Growing up during that time of movement into new, albeit intangible chains, a young MLK became a minister, husband, father, and courageous visionary. At no time did he
demand debilitating entitlements that would doom his people to subsistence lifestyles. He knew only too well that the man or government that feeds you, clothes you, and gives or withholds your medicine, gives or withholds your education, gives or withholds your transportation, gives or withholds your jobs, is, without question, your master — not your benefactor, not your friend.
Today, b
lack farmers are still struggling to regain land lost then with the help of the then newly formed USDA. Despite decades of governmental preferences in the 90's to today, designed to "right" those wrongs of the 30's and 40's, black farmers still face the federal government's market manipulations and regulations that are relentlessly driving all small farmers off their
lands in favor of agri-business monoculture that has partnered with government and politicians for non-agricultural political goals.
Today we have an America full of urban youth of all colors who are disconnected from the land that sustains them, the generations that made that possible, and the soil and animals they are being taught to romanticize, anthropomorphize, and worship from afar as abstract concepts. Your horses can help bring today's children back out of the role of political pawn, and into the
world of self-confidence, pride of heritage as Americans, and respect for the black man who put food on the table for his wife and children by his horsemanship.
It has been 105 years since a black man has ridden to the roses in the Kentucky Derby, a prized laurel in an extreme sport, America's first national sport, once dominated by black talent.
The horsemanship of the black trainers and grooms who managed the careful collection, care, and embarkation of tens of thousands of American horses for England in The Great War languishes in an historical backwater.
Do we really need to import unskilled laborers who cannot speak our language, nor read or write their own, much less English? A few miles from stables housing the most cherished family horses and valuable sport horses in the world, the most unemployed, yet able-bodied young men in America are African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans who can speak English and read and follow the written
feeding, exercise, and supplementing instructions of their trainers, veterinarians and owners.
These are young men who are not going to wire their earnings out of the country, but spend them here. Many of these youths are young men who have a heritage, but do not know it, of nurturing, and earning the trust of an animal that requires a leader who is responsible and dependable. Those habits of their forefathers, if revived, spill over into human relationships, studies, and
are part of, oh yes: character. The American horse stands waiting in his pasture or stall, calling to the youths on the street corners with his giant heart. "Come back to our partnership. We need each other. Don't you remember the ancient wisdom? When you ride a horse, you borrow freedom. There is nothing so good for the inside of
a man, as the outside of a horse. I am here, waiting patiently. Where are you?"
Politicians glibly admonish these cynical, despairing youth whom they incessantly refer to as victims to do "community service." A man who respects himself after a hard day's work earning an honest day's pay taking care of vulnerable half ton animals and has the respect of the trainers,
owners, veterinarians and farriers needs no cajoling or bribing with "stipends" to serve his family or neighbors. For him it is a way of life. It is the content of his character.
Middle class black and Hispanic parents want healthy character-building outdoor recreation for their kids. Sharing in the American horse culture and discovering that their forefathers did so with distinction helps those children realize that many people of color contributed to this important and unique aspect of our country. The American horse is not a product and possession of
"white America." It is a legacy and national treasure of all of America.
If the content of our character is what we should be judged by, horses uniquely help us discover and shape what the content is; but to children, it is just magical fun.
Give a kid an iPod and watch it get lost or
broken. Teach a kid to move safely around a horse to be able to gain its trust and show it affection, and watch a moment of discovery about himself and the natural world that can last a lifetime.
Publisher's Description: "Beautiful Jim Key -- the one-time ugly duckling of a scrub colt who became one of the most beloved heroes of the turn of the century -- was adored not for his beauty and speed but rather for his remarkable abilities to read, write, spell, do mathematics, even debate politics. Trained with patience and
kindness by one of the most renowned horse whisperers of his day -- former slave, Civil War veteran, and self-taught veterinarian Dr. William Key -- Jim performed in expositions across the country to wildly receptive crowds for nine glorious years, smashing box office records, clearing towering hurdles of skepticism and prejudice, and earning the respect and admiration of some of the
most influential figures of the era, from Booker T. Washington to President William McKinley.
This is the remarkable true saga of a truly exceptional animal -- and the no less exceptional man who led him to greatness."
Valentine's Day — February 14th. Do you promote special gift certificates or gift packages that include items you sell beginning in late January? According to the National Retail Federation's 2008 survey,
Men are expected to spend an average of $163 on their ladies.
Ladies are expected to spend $85 in return.
Valentine's Day total expenditures forecasted to reach $17 billion.
People give Valentine's Day gifts to their four legged loved ones.
17% of consumers planned to spend money on their pets, with total sales estimated at $367 million.
Mardi Gras is March 8th in 2011, but will be in late
February in 2012. Mardi Gras, or Carnival is a Roman Catholic holiday just before 40 days of Lent begin. Revelers consume meat and other luxuries prior to fasting and eating fish. French New Orleans, Louisiana celebrated so well that under Spanish rule Mardi Gras was forbidden. It returned with gusto when Louisiana became part of the United States. Jazz, beads,
trinkets, parades, King Cake and masks are hallmarks of the revelry. Southern breeds such as Tennessee Walkers and Missouri Foxtrotters can easily get into a Mardi Gras spirit for an Open House or Play Day.
St. Patrick's Dayis March 17th. his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years. On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families
would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.
In the middle half of the nineteenth century, more than one-half of the population of
Ireland emigrated to the United States. From 1820 to 1870, over seven and a half million immigrants came to the United States — more than the entire population of the country in 1810. Nearly all of them came from northern and western Europe — about a third from Ireland.
This
book, The Way Of An Irish Horseman
recounts the work of a dedicated Irish American to save the genetically true Spanish Mustang.
In Ireland almost half of the population lived on farms that produced little
income. Because of their poverty, most Irish people depended on potatoes for food. When this crop failed three years in succession, it led to a great
famine with horrendous consequences. Over 750,000 people starved to death. Over two million Irish eventually moved to the United States seeking relief from their desolated country. Impoverished, the Irish could not buy property. Instead, they congregated in the northeastern United States cities where they landed. Because they would work for extremely low wages
to survive, anti-Irish and anti-Catholic hostility arose. Signs that read NINA — "No Irish Need Apply" — sprang up throughout the country. Ethnic and
anti-Catholic rioting occurred in many northern cites, the largest occurring in Philadelphia in 1844 during a period of economic depression. Protestants, Catholics and local militia fought in the streets. 16 were killed, dozens were injured and over 40 buildings were demolished.
Today, Ireland has just half the population it did in the early 1840s. There
are now more Irish Americans than there are Irish nationals. Boston and New York City boast the biggest St Patrick's Day celebrations.
A festive day to honor the contributions of Irish Americans and Irish Draft Horses, Hunters and Jumpers, and Steeplechasers to the American horse culture. Visit The Irish Horse for a good overview. Don't feed horses clover, but green ribbons, saddle pads, polo wraps, and photos of famous Irish horses and riders are in order, along with some cheerful
folk music for arena games.
Have you ever held an
Easter Egg Hunt at your farm? It is a time when families are able to be together for joint activities. Spring and new beginnings are in the air and on people's minds. Feature an egg hunt as part of a Family Day at the Ranch with demonstrations, education and lots of safe fun for small children.
Mother's Day. Promote your Gift Certificates, or offer a special Day at the Ranch for the mothers.
During the week before Mother's Day (the 2nd Sunday of May) have students allow time when they come for lessons to make a horse-related craft gift for Mom before they leave. Mother's Day is a time when families open their wallets.
When the United States congress approved Mother’s Day in 1914, they designated it for the second Sunday in May, and required that the President proclaim the Holiday every year shortly prior to its
commencement. A recent example of a presidential Mother’s Day proclamation can be seen here. While the president proclaims the event, some mothers who lost a child use it to protest against war.
In the United States Mother's Day continues to be highly commercialized. Even in
2011, with a sluggish economy, high unemployment, and high food and gas prices, people plan to spend real money to pamper Mom. According to the National Retail Federation, consumers will shell out $1.6 billion on gift cards and $1.2 billion on personal services such as a trip to a day spa.
Their survey found that of the 83.1 percent celebrating Mother’s Day this year, most will
shop for their mom (59.9%), while others will buy gifts for their wife (19.6%), daughter (9.6%), grandmother (8.0%), sister (8.4%), friend (7.3%) or godmother (1.8%).
Men will spend an average of $168.84 on the women in their life this Mother’s Day, compared to $114.01 women will spend.
Additionally, adults 25-34 years old will spend the most ($191.35), followed by
18-24 year olds ($183.38) and 35-44 year olds ($155.97).
Cinco de Mayo on May 5th celebrates the victory of the Battle of Puebla, Mexico in 1862 when an invading French Army of 6,500 was soundly defeated by native forces of about 4,500. The commander of the small victorious Mexican Army, General Zaragosa, was born in Texas. A highlight of the battle was the performance of the Mexican cavalry under Colonel Porfirio Diaz, who
later became President (and dictator) of Mexico, against the French dragoons (type of cavalry.) It is NOT the Mexican "Independence Day," which is September 16th. This battle occurred during America's Civil War, complicating international trade and politics for the Confederate States. The Union was sympathetic to the native Mexicans who did not want Archduke Maximillian of Austria installed by Napoleon III as their ruler due to non-payment of their debts. Cinco de Mayo is a regional holiday in that part of Mexico, and in Southwestern American cities, especially Los Angeles.
Spring weather and bright blooms lend themselves to a fiesta. Break out the sombreros and serapes, hang a donkey piñata for the children, cook traditional Hispanic food and play cheerful Latino music.
It is a fitting occasion to highlight the contributions of the vaqueros and caballeros to the American horse traditions. It is possible to honor the centuries of Hispanic American hard work and horsemanship on this day, just as we honor the contributions of Irish Americans on St Patrick's Day. It is an excellent opportunity to share with newer Hispanic
immigrant employees and clients the American heritage of Hispanics, from Florida to California, since pre-Revolutionary days, without allegiance to Mexico's troubled political and socio-economic history. Over the centuries, Hispanic citizens of the U.S. have achieved success and prominence, and at the same time, endured segregation and discrimination. All along,
Hispanics contributed enormously to the melting pot of knowledge, skills, and innovation that became the great American horse culture. Of course, one of their first, albeit unplanned contributions, was the reintroduction of the horse to North America, its original home. In doing so, they provided the basis for the Native American horse culture of the Great Plains, as well as
affecting Southwest and Pacific Northwest tribes and later American breeds.
Middle class
Hispanic American parents want healthy character-building outdoor recreation for their kids. Sharing in the American horse culture and discovering that their forefathers did so with distinction helps those children realize that many people contributed to this important and unique aspect of our country. The
American horse is not a product and possession of "white America." It is a legacy and national treasure of all of America. If we want to preserve it, we must include and educate all Americans about their heritage. What can you and your horses do to help?
Kentucky Derby Day is Saturday, May 7th in 2011. Many stables have a party, complete with extravagant ladies' hats, mint juleps, stew, roses, a rousing sing-along rendition of "My Old Kentucky Home", stick horse races for the small children, sack races for the bigger "kids", and your own "Millionaires Row" of seats in front of a big screen to watch the "Run
for the Roses." Sport's "fastest 2 minutes" in a 10 furlong competition of world class three year old thoroughbreds and jockeys has created stirring legends. The Derby is the first race of the Triple Crown, followed two Saturdays later by the Preakness in Baltimore Maryland at Plimlico, and the Belmont in June in New York. The race has been held at Churchill Downs in Kentucky since 1875, making it one of the oldest continuous American sporting events, with
Triple Crown winner Secretariat's record time in The Derby still unbroken. Over 40 contenders for the garland are entered in the 137th running this year.
Memorial Day is the last Monday in May (May 30th in 2011). Originally this U.S. federal holiday was called Decoration Day and honored the fallen of the Civil War. It is a perfect time to honor those who have given their lives in service to our country
— human and equine. American horses and mules served in our Revolutionary War, Civil War, the Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, World Wars I & II, and serve today honoring our fallen and helping to heal our wounded. See our Military Horse page for historical facts about the contributions of the American horses and
mules to our freedom and the liberty of millions in Europe and Asia.
Flag Day is June 14th in 2011. This is the anniversary of adopting the "Stars and Stripes" as the flag of the United States of America in 1777 during the Revolutionary
War. For information on our flag and proper flag etiquette, visit the National Flag Foundation.
With enough advance notice, your local Boy Scout District Office could arrange a Scout Flag Retirement Ceremony by a local troop for worn flags of clients and neighbors. Most American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts also conduct annual Flag Retirement ceremonies on this day.
You can play "Capture the Flag" or "Hide the Flag" games.
School horses can wear patriotic browband "slipcovers" and/or saddle pads and polo wraps or boots.
CAUTION: If you decide to fly any flag or banner in the vicinity of your horses, remember to desensitize them well to its presence on calm and windy days before any event. The sudden appearance of a flag near or above them,
especially one that waves and makes snapping noise is spooky until the horses become used to it.
See also National Picnic Day, June 18th, above.
ARMY birthday is also June 14th This is an excellent day to honor for stables in the vicinity of forts and bases. The rich history of our horses and mules in the army is highlighted on our
Military Horses page.
Father's Day is the 3rd Sunday in June, June 19th in 2011. Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington came up with the idea of Father's Day, while she listened to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who was left to raise his six children on a farm. A day in June was
chosen for the first Father's Day celebration — 101 years ago, June 19, 1910, proclaimed by Spokane's mayor because it was the month of Smart's birth. The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Father's Day has been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard Nixon
signed the public law that made it permanent.
You could celebrate the dads and grandfathers who often do not get to see their children ride with a special Dad's and Kids BBQ with games and a recital by the students, and a horse-related craft gift they have made for the most important man in their lives.
How many American fathers are there? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 70.1 million. Of those, 25.3 million fathers were part of married-couple families with children younger than 18 in 2010.
22 percent were raising three or more children younger than 18 (among married-couple family households only).
3 percent lived in someone else's home.
What about the single dads? America had 1.8 million single fathers in 2010; 15 percent of single parents were men.
Nine percent were raising three or more children younger than 18.
About 46 percent were divorced, 30 percent were never married, 19 percent were separated, and 6 percent were widowed.
39 percent had an annual family income of $50,000 or more.
What kind of gifts dominate Father's Day? Clothing, hardware, sporting goods, sporting event tickets, auto accessories and electronics, are the most popular, with barbeque meals traditionally the focus of the
celebration. Consumer spending for Father's Day was around $9.8 billion, or $94 per person in 2010. According to the National Retail Federation, nearly 40% enjoyed a meal out, about 36% received clothes, with electronics, greeting cards and tools following.
Canada Day is July 1st. It is a celebration of Canadian nationalism, heritage and pride. Canada became self-governing on July 1st, 1867, with the passage of the British North America Act (BNA Act) in the British Parliament. The holiday was originally known as "Dominion Day". It was changed to Canada Day by the Canadian
Parliament on October 27, 1982.
Independence Day, July 4th is the centerpiece of summer in the United States of America. On this day we honor the act of the Continental Congress, dated July 4, 1776, unanimously declaring the independence of the thirteen states,
thereafter called "The United States of America". Here it is, if you wish to print a copy.
From "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" and the famous ride on the 3rd of July, 1776, of Caesar Rodney from St. James’ Neck, below Dover, Delaware, to Philadelphia, in a driving rain storm, for the purpose of voting for the Declaration of Independence, (Poem "Rodney's
Ride") to the great war horses of Washington and other rebellious patriots, to the steady heroes pulling artillery and supply wagons, horses played significant roles in the American Revolution. In the resulting free America, the prominence of the horse in exploration, agriculture, commerce, and daily life surpassed its heritage elsewhere, giving
rise to hardy new breeds and American cultural icons. Every American horse farm has cause to celebrate this day with gratitude. For those with childrens' summer camps, there are many fun games and crafts. Everyone can enjoy a picnic followed by patriotic and folk music under the stars.
National Ice Cream Day is the 3rd Sunday of the month, July 17th in 2011. Get ideas at ice-cream-recipes.com for 20-40 minutes of fun making ice cream before the refreshing pleasure of eating it. For those watching their calories you can make sugar-free ice cream, and for those who avoid dairy, try easy and delicious fruit sorbets
— even the horses might try some of these! Here's a 2 quart Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker
you can start with for a nominal investment.
National Day of the Cowboy is in late July each year; The Seventh Annual one is July 23rd, 2011. Visit nationaldayofthecowboy.com for the full Congressional Resolution. Here are a few assertions and facts it
cites:
Pioneering men and women, known as cowboys, helped establish America’s frontiers;
The cowboy archetype transcends gender, generations, ethnicity, geographic boundaries, and political affiliation;
The cowboy embodies honesty, integrity, courage, compassion, and determination;
The cowboy spirit exemplifies patriotism and strength of character;
The cowboy is an excellent steward of the land and its creatures;
The core values expressed
within the Cowboy Code of Conduct continue to inspire the pursuit of the highest caliber of personal integrity;
Cowboy traditions have been part of the American landscape and culture since 1523, and today’s cowboys and cowgirls continue to strive to preserve and perpetuate this unique element of America’s heritage;
The cowboy continues to be an important part of the economy
through the work of approximately 656,500 ranches in all 50 States,
Annual attendance at rodeos exceeds 30,000,000 fans worldwide,
Membership and participation in Single Acton Shooting Society, Working Ranch Cowboys Association, Cowboy Mounted Shooters Association, American Quarter Horse Association, Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, Championship Bull
Riding, Women's Professionl Rodeo Association, National Day of the Cowboy, and other organizations that encompass the livelihood of the cowboy, continues to expand nationally and internationally;
The cowboy and his horse are a central figure in literature, art, film, poetry, photography, and music, and
The cowboy is a true American icon occupying a central place in the
public’s imagination.
Cowboy Code of Conduct
A cowboy never takes unfair advantage - even of an enemy.
A cowboy never betrays a trust. He never goes back on his word.
A cowboy always tells the truth.
A cowboy is kind and gentle to small children, old folks, and animals.
A cowboy is free from racial and religious intolerances.
A cowboy is always helpful when someone is in trouble.
A cowboy is always a good worker.
A cowboy respects womanhood, his parents and his nation's laws.
A cowboy is clean about his person in thought, word, and deed.
A cowboy is a Patriot.
Buffalo Soldiers Day is July 28th. They helped tame the West. Twelve of them earned the Congressional Medal of Honor. And they were proud to be called "Buffalo Soldiers."
They were the black troops of the Ninth and Tenth U.S. Cavalry and the 24th and 25th U.S. Infantry. Led by white officers, the four regiments were comprised entirely of African-American soldiers.
In the late 19th Century, they patrolled the turbulent Western frontier from Arizona to Montana, and distinguished themselves in campaigns against the Apache, Cheyenne and Sioux.
It was the Cheyenne who first referred to these hard-fighting black men in blue as "Buffalo Soldiers" — reportedly because their hair resembled that of the revered bison. To the Plains Indians, the buffalo was a symbol of strength and courage — characteristics easily identified with the black troops of the West. Proudly adopted,
the name became a highly respected American legacy — Buffalo Soldiers of the West.
Besides
Thanksgiving, Fall brings many opportunities to hold theme events or promotions for your horses.
September is "Back to School" for youth. For some horses, it is
back to training for the competition season. For children, it is time
to resume after-school activities.
Labor Day is Monday, September 5th. It is well suited to highlight how the horse throughout history
has contributed its labor to that of mankind, forming an enduring
partnership — in the fields and forests, along the canals, in the mines,
conveying goods and people to spread culture and technology.
Patriot Day a.k.a. 9/11 or September 11th (Sunday in 2011) Our observance to remember those who were injured or died during the terrorist plane attacks in 2001 on the World Trade Center, Pentagon, other targets.
Grandparents' Day [first Sunday after Labor Day] September 11 (Sunday):
Constitution Day & Citizenship Day September 16, 2011 (Friday): Observed September 17th If it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it is observed on the work day closest to the 17th.
Oktoberfest
on October 6th is a great holiday for Dressage, Hunter/Jumper and Driving barns to opportunity to showcase horses of German
extraction, or tie the traditions of German equestrian skill to your
town's German ancestry. Many American towns were founded
by German immigrants. The most heavily imported horses to America over the last two decades are German Warmbloods. Visit The German Horse for excellent overviews of these icons of the Sporthorse world.
On October 6, 1683, thirteen Quaker families from Krefeld arrived in Philadelphia. From the outset, their settlement on the northern outskirts of Philadelphia was called Germantown. From then on, the tolerant Quaker colony of Pennsylvania served as a beachhead for the immigration of pietistic and other Protestant minorities, notably dissidents of the Reformed and Lutheran
persuasion, and the Menonites and Amish. When the first American census was taken in 1790, Pennsylvania's German population was put at 225,000 which amounts to a third of the state's entire population. When we add those Germans who in the course of the 18th century settled in the English colonies of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and South Carolina, especially those from the
Palatinate, Baden and Wurttemberg, and include their children, then Americans of German origin were about 9% of the total population of the youthful United States around the close of the 18th century.
The first Sängerfest competition, held in Cincinnati, publicly championed the strength and vitality of the Germans. In 1900 in Brooklyn, over 6,000 singers from 174 singing societies poured into the city for a Sängerfest lasting
several days. In 1983, on the Tri-centennial of the first German Quaker families' arrival, German-American Day was celebrated nationally for the first time since World War I. German-American Day closely tracks Oktoberfest in Munich, the world's most famous beer festival, which takes place every year in September and
October; here are the dates of Oktoberfest when over 30 huge Oktoberfest beer tents and fun rides are open. 2011: September 17 - October 3, 2012: September 22 - October 7. Oktoberfest is the world's largest fair and one of the
best festivals in Germany. Every year, over 6 million visitors from all over the world go to Munich to drink beer, eat sausage and join together in song. Oktoberfest is famous for its huge beers in heavy steins, yodelling, Bavarian bands, traditional costumes of dirndl skirts and lederhosen, and a
good helping of German food and hospitality.
From 1820 to 1870, over seven and a half million immigrants came to the United States — more than the entire population of the country in 1810. Nearly all of them came from northern and western Europe — almost a third from Germany. From 1845 to 1855, more than one million Germans fled to the United States to escape economic hardship.
They also sought to escape the political unrest caused by riots, rebellion and a revolution in 1848. The Germans had little choice — few other places besides the United States allowed German immigration.
Though the poorer immigrants worked off their passage in three to five years of indentured servitude, unlike the Irish, many Germans had enough money to journey to the Midwest in search of farmland and work. The
largest settlements of Germans were in New York City, Baltimore, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Milwaukee. Many Hannoverians, Oldenburgers, and Braunschweigers traveled by way of New Orleans to Ohio and Missouri. Most of the Mecklenburgers journeyed by way of New York and then by railroad and ship across the Great Lakes to Chicago and Milwaukee. At least a third of Wisconsin's population
in 1900 was either German-born or had at least one parent who was born in Germany; in both Minnesota and Illinois, Germans were more than a fifth of the population.
The first permanent German settlements in Texas date back to the early 1830's, and the upsurge in German immigration in the 1840's resulted in such towns as Fredericksburg and New Braunfels. By the mid 1850's, the populations of San Antonio, Houston, and Galveston were about one-third German.
Several thousand revolutionaries left after the failed German Revolution of 1848, most of whom at first considered themselves asylum seekers rather than emigrants. Likewise, Bismarck's Anti-Socialist Law (1878-90) caused quite a few Social Democratic activists to move to New York and Chicago to continue their class struggle. The next wave of politically-motivated emigrants
consisted of groups marked for annihilation by the National Socialist dictatorship between 1933-45, among them Social Democrats and other opponents of the regime, and above all Jewish Germans and other Europeans threatened with mass murder and genocide.
Among the German immigrants who started new lives as farmers and ranchers in Colorado were the parents of Bertha Kaepernik Blanchett, born in 1883 (died 1979). Her father put her on a horse when she was five and Bertha took to it. She was the first woman inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame, in 1975, for
her championships as a Saddle Bronc Rider and Steer Roper.
After World War I, the age of unlimited European immigration to the United States ended. New immigration quota laws in 1924 and 1929 limited immigrants from the "Weimar Republic" to only 25,957 per year. Because of the world-wide economic crisis of the 1930s, this quota was never lifted, not even to rescue Jewish refugees from Nazi terror. For the entire decade of the 1930s,
the statistics show only 119,107 legal immigrants from the German Reich -- among them thousands of intellectuals, writers, artists, actors and musicians, making this a real "brain drain" for Germany that contributed to Adolph Hitler's resentment of America and view that it would be the Third Reich's global rival. After World War II, generous exceptions were made for "Displaced Persons,"
German war brides and others who could no longer envision a future in Europe. This amounted to a considerable number of postwar emigrants and brought about another "brain drain" of highly qualified persons during the 1950s and 60s. During these two decades, 786,000 Germans crossed the Atlantic to find a better standard of living and to experience the professional advancement they could not
achieve in the hidebound structure of West German science and industry, prior to the sweeping cultural liberalization of the late 1960s.
Columbus Day October 10, 2011 (Monday): (observed, most regions)
Boss's Day (National Bosses Day) October 16th [every year]: . If it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it is observed on the work day closest to the 16th. October 17, 2011 ( Monday): Boss's Day (National Bosses Day) Observed.
Halloween can be fun for the whole family with mounted and dismounted games, crafts, and wholesome treats. October 31 [every year] (Monday in 2011).
Boston Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773 to protest the Tea Act (tax imposed on tea by England). The modern day Tea Party (TEA - Taxed Enough Already) is not a political party. They are individuals and organizations who resemble our forefathers who protested that tax by England. Trying to force people to pay that tax was a big catalyst
to our independence and becoming The United States Of America. Read about the Boston Tea Party and consider how similar it is to today's situation.
Hanukkah (Chanukah Chanukkah)is December 21-28, 2011.
March isWomen's History Month. The majority of family decisions about spending are made by women in America. Women dominate recreational horseback riding in America. Chances are, your clientele includes many women. Inspire them with historical role models throughout March. There are many women in the history of American
horsemanship whose stories can enrich your barn's events, eNewsletters, blog, social media page or provide a theme for a clinic. From pioneers to entertainers, from top breeders and trainers to top international competitors, artists, authors, and conservationists — there are phenomenal American horsewomen whose contribution to your breed or
discipline deserve honoring and who your clients would enjoy learning about.
Some fascinating American horsewomen include Sylvia Harris, a modern African American jockey, succeeding in a man's world who conquered her bi-polar disorder through her passion for racehorses. Also the women rodeo champions, trick riders, and performers Bertha Kaepernik Blanchett, Lucille Mulhall, and others who, until the 1920's, competed in what are today
exclusively male rodeo events — and won.
April is National Humor Month, and kicks off with April Fool's Day. With all the horse humor and cartoons that most horse people collect over the years, it should be a snap to lighten the mood of adult taxpayers and bring laughter to children among your clientele.
June is National Great Outdoors Month, with many events for volunteering to clean, repair and maintain trails in our communities, and on county, state, and federal lands, including parks and preserves. Many equestrian organizations, from Back Country Riders to the AQHA, to your local breed or
trail club will host events to showcase how horsepeople can be good stewards of our resources and make the benefits to mind and body of outdoor recreation accessible to everyone — including people with disabilities who would not otherwise be able to participate.
While you might not want to celebrate it for thirty days, June is National Candy Month. It could be fun to spend a few hours one afternoon making salt water taffy or another easy treat like gumdrops, lollipops, candied fruit, fudge or spin some homemade cotton candy.
July is National Ice Cream Month, which has been celebrated since 1984. Boarders and campers may enjoy making ice cream to eat and share on a hot summer day. Get ideas at ice-cream-recipes.com .(See also National Ice Cream Day.)
This is also National Recreation and Parks Month and the purpose is to showcase and invite community participation in quality leisure activities for all segments of the population. In other words, it is a time for people and their families who do not regularly do
so to get outside and enjoy the sunshine by visiting our nation’s beautiful National (and State and Local) Parks! Horse farms near these parks can host events, educational seminars, or volunteer activities.
National Farriers Week isJuly 10th to 16th. Experienced horsepeople know how important it is to have a skilled, humane, reliable farrier come care for their horses hooves. Many new owners however, do not. This is the week to offer special seminars or clinics about Hoof
Care and trimming and shoeing and to show special appreciation for your farm's farriers. Visit our Footing Page for some helpful resources.
September is National Preparedness Month. As a senior horse owner or as a horse business, are you ready to cope with
an emergency? Prevention is as important as response for accidents. Summer weather can cause anything from sudden storms to power outages to heat stressed clients or horses. We can help. Get large animal and pet preparedness information to share as a public service from the Del Camino Emergencies Page full of links. Also visit:
If you need help organizing, marketing, and costing a dynamic, profitable camp for your stable, we can help. If your camp is underperforming, or you just need this year's press release written and
distributed quickly,
Contact Us.
KidsCamps.com directory where you can advertise children's day or overnight camps including camps for children with special needs, or Spanish language camps in the U.S.
GrownUpCamps.com directory where you can advertise adult and family day or overnight camps, retreats, clinics and special events. Includes fantasy camps, recreational adventures, volunteer & enrichment vacations for the adult traveler. Also check out
ResortCamps.com.
From the trainer at Red Horse Ranch, this DVD contains "a printable CD book. It can be used as a beginner's horsemanship course or as a complete Camp Package. Start making money right away. This is a two CD set containing a complete camp book for single day or multiple day camps plus a supplemental document that has registration forms, release of liability forms, timelines,
suggested crafts and camp activities.
Use our Red Horse Ranch format or use the additional Microsoft Publisher format to edit any or all content for your stable.
We've thought of everything so you don't have to! Questions or problems are no problem, just call or email us anytime for support.
Everything you need to start making money NOW with Kids' Horse Camps. "
In some states regulations on camp facilities, staffing, food service, sanitation and activities for children may apply to horsemanship camps, whether they are Day or Overnight format. Inspections and licensing may be necessary. The proposed or enacted regulations may result in higher costs for Summer Camp Insurance Supplements for Equine Liability policies, or
cause the insurance companies to stop covering equestrian camps.
Here is an example from New York state. New York was also in the national news in March and April, when the state proposed adding
special regulations for conducting several traditional children's games such as tag, red rover, kickball, and capture the flag, which they deem too risky. Major protests following news coverage caused New York's Health Department to "reconsider" adding these activities to those
already labeled "dangerous" and subject to extra camp registration fees, rules and oversight in their 2009 law — horseback riding, scuba diving and archery. According to The New York Daily News, the 2009 NY law was backed by the New York State Camp Directors Association. In states like New York,
where activities for children are highly regulated, it may be worthwhile to become a member of an organization that offers camps training, policy and procedure guidelines, and accreditation, such as the American Camp Association - New York which requires horseback
riding instructors to possess certification from one of several nationally recognized organizations.
A favorite of riding instructors and therapeutic riding instructors alike. Games on Horseback includes what the game teaches, the appropriate rider skill level for the game, diagrams, materials needed, safety precautions, etc. A large selection of games to choose from.
Example: Del Camino offered a summer day camp for over a decade that was always sold out, with a waiting list for the most popular weeks, weeks before the first session. Consequently, purchasing supplies and fine-tuning horse assignments and staffing was easy, and deposits were in hand to fund the expenses. Learn how we were
able to do it from the Boarding Stable Profits in 10 Easy Steps e-book.
From the trainer at Red Horse Ranch, "Becoming Partners is a complete course for either individual use or as tool for Turn Key Adult Horsemanship camp. This is not a run time DVD-it is a printable CD book.
Becoming Partners is a course devoted to creating a lasting understanding and relationship with your horse through ground training exercises.
Use this book for Adult Horsemanship lessons or Camps. Start making money now as an Adult Camp. Suitable as day sessions or multiple day sessions.
If you have a stable you can start making money NOW with this program. Comes in PDF AND Microsoft Publisher format so you can edit for your individual stable use.
Support is always available at no additional cost. Just call or email the author.
This is a printable CD, not a run time DVD. View on your computer or print it out. Becoming Partners with Your Horse is a complete course for either individual use or as a Turn Key Adult Horsemanship Camp. The philosophy is simple and effective, both the exercises and the reading are fun. As a Camp, this is all you need to start making money at your stable. Becoming Partners
is a ground work course devoted to helping Everyday horse enthusiasts create a better, more meaningful relationship with their horses."
The Del Camino
Horse Owner
Products and Services catalog offers some
horse products of interest to owners of senior horses, and horses
being retrained or rehabilitated.
Mounting ramps and blocks for persons with disabilities, waler and gait belts, breakaway stirrups, bareback pads, therapeutic riding surcingles, reinbow reins, instructional aids for therapeutic riding
programs.
If your company offers a discount to
horse businesses, or offers them a service or co-marketing
opportunity, please let us know. Presently, the best way to do
that is by
e-mail with a contact name and
website address.
Thanks
for visiting and come back again soon! Add us to your browser's
Favorites list so you can find us easily. You are also invited to evaluate our website by Clicking Here
Want us to keep you
informed of great ideas for your horse business?
Del Camino helps
small horse facilities, services, and independent horse professionals find timely information that
benefits their program and success. We want to see horse
sanctuaries and retirement stables grow and prosper. We would like
riding and boarding stables to be well-operated and fully supported by their local
communities. The benefits of involvement with horses to humans is a
well-established fact. The therapeutic benefits to individuals,
and cultural benefits to the wider society, mean every effort should be
expended to develop viable humane businesses that employ well-trained,
good tempered, well-seasoned horses. It can be done.
Here's How You Can Quickly and Easily Have Your Own Horse Show! 
Master the art of the one-page press
release! Put together a media database to email press releases
and newsletters to. Then actually do it in a timely fashion!
Remember that "news" by definition is fresh. What to put in your
database, and how to keep it up-to-date with the actual names of
contacts, deadlines, special issue themes, special interest sections,
is practically an art form of research and organization. If
possible, you should have an employee with publicity or public
relations experience spend several hours on this aspect of marketing
your stable every month. You do not need to be putting on
Celebrity Events all the time to warrant publicity. Every
organization should plan to distribute at least eight press releases
per year. (See also 
If you have taken photos of past events, and can list Who What When and Where on a 3" x 5" index card, you can take advantage of television, radio, and YouTube.
Prepare for the Unexpected
Take action photos of various aspects of your event every year! When it comes time to promote your next show, clinic, trail trial, or camp, you need photos of participants having a great time enjoying horses.
Communicate regularly with clients, last year's campers and lesson students, special event participants, and vendors through e-mail. With templates, signatures, and distribution lists, you can quickly produce and send e-mails to each group using features in robust user e-mail software like Microsoft Outlook. 
Support our Troops - wear red on Fridays. If your clientele includes military on bases nearby, families of the deployed, or veterans, make Fridays special — and let the public know with regular
reminders.
Many great African Americans were famous jockeys, horse trainers, stunt cowboys, equine veterinarians, breeders, mounted rangers,
farriers, harness and saddle makers, and teamsters as recently as the early 1900's. Their biographies as respected community leaders and American horse people have been surfacing in newly uncovered memoirs in recent years.
Especially for
today's children, nearly 40% of whom are people of color, including the 70% of African American children who are being raised without a male parent, our horses can make a difference. They can provide a fun and wholesome connection to an American heritage in which most of America's men of all colors worked hard to provide for and protect their families, and more often than not
that meant being a good "hand" with horses or mules. In emphasizing the victims of societal and economic wrongs, historians and teachers often overlook the quiet heroes and ordinary families who succeeded by the standards of the day, and shared the same hardships regardless of their ethnic background, that applied to the country as a whole. This is
unfortunate, because it is the example of their strength, hope, and courage in the face of adversity that illustrates the content of their character, and teaches all Americans how to judge a person by his actions, not his appearance. So the stories of these men are inspirational and educational to all American children, not only children of color.
If the content of our character is what we should be judged by, horses uniquely help us discover and shape what the content is; but to children, it is just magical fun.
Give a kid an iPod and watch it get lost or
broken. Teach a kid to move safely around a horse to be able to gain its trust and show it affection, and watch a moment of discovery about himself and the natural world that can last a lifetime.
This
book, 
When the United States congress approved Mother’s Day in 1914, they designated it for the second Sunday in May, and required that the President proclaim the Holiday every year shortly prior to its
commencement. A recent example of a presidential Mother’s Day proclamation 
CAUTION: If you decide to fly any flag or banner in the vicinity of your horses, remember to desensitize them well to its presence on calm and windy days before any event. The sudden appearance of a flag near or above them,
especially one that waves and makes snapping noise is spooky until the horses become used to it.
you can start with for a nominal investment. 
The first Sängerfest competition, held in Cincinnati, publicly championed the strength and vitality of the Germans. In 1900 in Brooklyn, over 6,000 singers from 174 singing societies poured into the city for a Sängerfest lasting
several days. In 1983, on the Tri-centennial of the first German Quaker families' arrival, German-American Day was celebrated nationally for the first time since World War I. German-American Day closely tracks Oktoberfest in 
Though the poorer immigrants worked off their passage in three to five years of indentured servitude, unlike the Irish, many Germans had enough money to journey to the Midwest in search of farmland and work. The
largest settlements of Germans were in New York City, Baltimore, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Milwaukee. Many Hannoverians, Oldenburgers, and Braunschweigers traveled by way of New Orleans to Ohio and Missouri. Most of the Mecklenburgers journeyed by way of New York and then by railroad and ship across the Great Lakes to Chicago and Milwaukee. At least a third of Wisconsin's population
in 1900 was either German-born or had at least one parent who was born in Germany; in both Minnesota and Illinois, Germans were more than a fifth of the population. 
