2011 IBHA Convention highlights....

The IBHA Executive Committee and staff want to personally thank all who to attended this year’s National Convention. It takes a real commitment to serve on an IBHA committee, not only financially but also time wise. This year's convention started on Thursday morning with all committee workshop being held throughout the day. Many issues were brought up in these workshops and the committee members worked hard to arrive at the best solutions. Please take a look at the list of committees on the "contact" page and congratulate your fellow members for their support to you and IBHA. Pictured at left are IBHA Executives Mike Bade, Eugene Zimmermann, Richard Kurzeja, Ted Handle, Doug LaSota and Dolores Kurzeja with the 40th Anniversary cake.

After the workshops were over it was time to celebrate IBHA's 40th Anniversary. The Welcome Reception was held Thursday night and started off with the IBHA Queen Kim Maxwell leading the 2011 queen contestants to the buffet line....ladies first! IBHA President Ted Handel then welcomed everyone to the 2011 Convention. In honor of IBHA's 40th Anniversary the Youth Scholarship made hats to sell this night. Only 40 hats were made and, you guessed it, all 40 were sold! Congrats to the lucky 40 who have one of a kind hats. While the hats were being sold our president and current queen cut the cake and Kim got the first taste. The Hall of Fame committee also introduced their fundraiser bags which were a big hit. To the left is the logo for 2011. There are many different styles and colors to chose from. Contact Amy Wilhelm at wilhelm@myibocs.com or  go to the new Hall Of Fame page for more information.

Friday morning brought the open meetings for all members to give their input on the pending issues. After all committee meetings were finished the following changes will be made for the 2012 rulebook. 1.) Leasing of horses will now be allowed. IBHA will follow the AQHA rules regarding the leasing of horses for all classes. 2.) 5 point penalty for holding the saddle. This penalty will be listed to the class rules for trail and western riding classes, and to the general rules of performance classes. 3.) Pleasure Driving will now be eliminated as an IBHA class. Next the IBHA Queen introduced the charter club queens in attendance. Each girl gave a short bio on themselves as a way to introduce themselves to the membership. Watch the "queens" page for more information on the 2011 IBHA queen contestants this summer. The World Show and Sale updates were the final session of the day. This year will see both western pleasure and hunter under saddle offered as two year old Gold Cup Challenge classes. Also new this year is the $500.00 added to each of those classes! Thank You to Knight Protection Service, Macon Sims Jr.  for that sponsorship. The World Sale fees have been restructured to entice all sellers, especially those that are showing in the WarmUp Cicuit &/or World show. For more information on these items please go to their respective pages on this website.

The Registration Seminar that was instigated last year proved to be a success so on Saturday afternoon that seminar was repeated. Last year many charter clubs took advantage of this program and 21 people were certified to accept IBHA registration applications on the show grounds. This brought many new horses to the shows and provided additional points to the contestants. After a dun factor video and power point presentation on the registration acceptance and process, attendees were then tested on their knowledge. This year 6 more people passed the test to help their charters. Congratulations to Jennifer Boyd, Todd Foltz, Ann Grotzke, Stacie Riehl and Jeff Wood.

IBHA Past Presidents as well as 2011 Hall of Fame Inductees Chuck VanHorn and Dr Fred Northrop along with their wives Jo and Patty were the center of attention after the Registration Seminar. The convention attendees learned how each of these gentlemen became involved with IBHA and how their involvement helped to shape IBHA. Chuck was an original inspector for IBHA, served on the Executive Committee, and served as IBHA President for 6 years. He also did genetic research on Dun Factor and grulla colored horses in various foreign countries and researched the affect amino acids have in clarity of the dun factor markings. Dr Fred Northrop, a leading contributor to the IBHA charter club in Oklahoma, served on the IBHA Executive Committee and served six years as IBHA President. Dr Northrop served in many capacities such as interviewer on the Judge’s Committee, member of the ad hoc committees for the Queens Committee and Scholarship Fund. While it was the men who held office and are the inductees, the women are to be commended for their roles with their husbands and in their own rights on the charter club levels. Congratulation to all and thank you for your years of commitment to IBHA! Please watch for more information on all Hall of Fame Inductees as that page becomes available.

Saturday evening started out with the semi-annual Youth Scholarship Fund auction. Once again Tim Conlin generously donated his time to be the auctioneer for this event. Thanks Tim! Many wonderful baskets were donated by individual members as well as charter clubs, along with a wide range of items. The attendees were in the spirit and bid in good fun against each other. See the scholarship page for the amounts collected and this year's scholarship recipients. The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony began after dinner. Along with Chuck VanHorn and Dr Fred Northrop, the founder of ABRA and IBHR (now the IBHA) Bonnie Hendricks was also honored. Bonnie also donated a signed copy of her book "International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds" for the scholarship auction. Judge Service Awards were then presented (photos at left) to Doug LaSota for 30 years and Dr Laurie Kristoff for 15 years of continuous service as an IBHA Judge. The awards presentations then went on to acknowledge the Honor Roll and Reserve Honor Roll winners, Superior Event and Supreme Championship earners, the AQHA alliance trophies and the annual Claire Steppe award. The complete list of 2010 Honor Roll winners are on the "Point Standings" page, as are the Superior and Supreme awards. Congratulation to all members on their achievements in 2010! With the awards all handed out it was now time to celebrate. The DJ started the music and fun was had by all. Our party even outlasted the fraternity party down the hall! Another successful convention has passed and it will soon be time to start planning next years.