Information and Volunteers Needed for UPHA Meet the Stars
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
The UPHA is gearing up for the Second Annual "Meet the Stars of the Show Backstage" at the 2012 World's Championship Horse Show. In 2011 we allowed visitors of the Kentucky State Fair to come behind the scenes and meet our wonderful horses. It was a HUGE hit with the visitors of the Kentucky State Fair!!!
Every day there were two to three "horse" ambassadors waiting to greet visitors from all over the country. This allowed the people to learn about how personable American Saddlebreds and Hackney Ponies are as a family breed. On the first day the booth had over 1,000 visitors!
Daily during the show Nealia McCracken headed up behind the scene barn tours. Groups of 25 people gained privileged access to the stabling area and they learned about how our star athletes are cared for on a daily bases. The tour groups met with horses, trainers, veterinarians and blacksmiths. Every question was expertly answered by Nealia McCracken and the other outstanding professionals of our industry.
Due to the success of this program in 2011, there will be more barn tours offered this year, headed again by Nealia McCracken. Additionally we are working on having a designated area in Freedom Hall's lower level during the morning and afternoon sessions where a few fair visitors at a time can watch 3-4 classes. Then, complete a short "yes or no" survey which will help us gather feedback from the general public about their impression and interest in the equine industry. This valuable information will give us insight as to how we can encourage more spectators to come to horse shows
We will also distribute Equestrian Life Lesson Program coupons for a free riding or driving lesson, to individuals in your participating area.
What we need from each of you are brochures and flyers about your particular program so we may give these out as well.
Please remember there will be over 600,000 fairgoers from across the country at the Kentucky State Fair and thousands of them will stop by to visit the horses and people at the UPHA Meet & Greet stalls. We will be happy to distribute your program information to the interested individuals relative to their particular area of the country, so please send all brochures or flyers you may have on hand to the UPHA office at 4059 Iron Works Parkway, #2, Lexington, KY 40511, by August 15th, 2012.
Most important, we are looking for volunteers to help work in the UPHA Meet & Greet area, as wellas during the morning and afternoon sessions to sit and watch the show with the fairgoers, answer their questions and collect the surveys.
If you can volunteer for this project or know anyone willing to donate their time to this worthy cause, please contact the UPHA office at 859-231-5070 or [email protected].
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