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Contact: Christy Landwehr
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Certified Horsemanship Association Honored as a Finalist for Prestigious 2017 Equine Industry Vision Award
(June 2017) – The Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) has been honored as one of four finalists for the 2017 Equine Industry Vision Award, sponsored by Zoetis, which is presented annually in recognition of outstanding leadership, creativity, and meritorious contribution toward positive changes in the equine industry. According to AHP, “This distinguished award is a unique opportunity to publicly recognize ingenuity, originality, and effective innovation that exemplifies commitment, dedication, and service to this industry.”
“It is such an honor for CHA to be a Top Four Finalist out of 18 nominations for the Equine Industry Vision Award,” said CHA CEO Christy Landwehr. “The Certified Horsemanship Association is celebrating 50 years of promoting safe horsemanship through certifying instructors, accrediting equine facilities and producing educational manuals, events, and webinars, so this is a great year for our association to be recognized in this way.”
CHA CEO Christy Landwehr attended this year’s American Horse Publications’ Conference “Saddle Up for Scottsdale,” June 15-17 as an AHP Business Member. CHA has been an AHP Business Member for the past 15 years. Landwehr participated as a speaker on two panels, “Careers in Equine Media for Students” and “How to Position Your Brand as a Value,” on June 16.
“Our association benefits so much from our business membership with AHP,” says Landwehr. “The press releases we can send out each month and the networking and education at the conference are all great benefits for our staff and members.”
As the largest certifying body of riding instructors in North America, CHA has certified more than 30,000 instructors and accredited more than 2,000 facilities, such as riding lesson programs, camps, colleges and universities, boarding barns, show stables, dude ranches, trail ride operations, and rescues. CHA is grounded in education and safety in horsemanship, and CHA members help others have safe, effective, and fun experiences with horses.
CHA was up against three other finalists out of 18 original entries. The three finalists included: Tootie Bland, the creator, owner, and producer of the colt-starting competition called Road to the Horse; Dot Morgan, the executive director of New Vocations, which is the nation’s oldest and largest racehorse adoption program; and Sydney Knott, the president, CEO, and founder of Horses4Heroes, Inc., a national non-profit dedicated to empowering people and families by enriching their lives through health and wellness programs with horses.
American Horse Publications is a non-profit association that promotes excellence in equine publishing media and has united equine-related media, businesses, professionals, colleges, and students for almost 50 years. The AHP Board of Directors and a Zoetis representative judged finalists on their performance in relation to achievement(s) cited and their demonstration of the following attributes and abilities: 1) The vision and innovation of a true pioneer; 2) Leadership, commitment, dedication, and willingness to serve; 3) Original and effective ideas and/or products, services, and programs; 4) High moral, ethical, and professional standards.
Winners of the Equine Industry Vision Award include: Alexander Mackay-Smith in 2002, Don Burt in 2003, the American Quarter Horse Association in 2004, John Ryan Gaines in 2005, Stanley Bergstein in 2006, David O'Connor in 2007, Sally Swift in 2008, Charlotte Brailey Kneeland in 2009, John Nicholson in 2010, Robert E. Cacchione in 2011, Equine Land Conservation Resource in 2012, Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) in 2013, Patti Colbert in 2014, Gayle Ecker in 2015, Gary Carpenter in 2016 and Sydney Knott in 2017.
To learn more about CHA and its mission and programs, please visit http://CHA.horse.
CHA Instructors Change Lives Through Safe Experiences with Horses. The purpose of CHA is to promote excellence in safety and education for the benefit of the horse industry. CHA certifies instructors and trail guides, accredits equestrian facilities, publishes educational manuals, produces educational horsemanship DVDs and YouTube Safety shorts, and hosts regional and international conferences. For more information on the largest certifying body of riding instructors and barn managers in North America, Certified Horsemanship Association, please visit www.CHA.horse or call 859-259-3399. To find a certified horseback riding instructor or accredited equine facility near you, visit www.CHAinstructors.com.
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