Washington Foundation Quarter Horse Club is an
affiliate of the
National
Foundation Quarter Horse Association (NFQHA). The
NFQHA was formed in 1995 and was founded on the philosophy
that the more Quarter Horse blood a horse carries, the more
Quarter Horse traits it will exhibit. The horse is
judged on it's performance without all the glitz and glitter.
The NFQHA is growing and expanding into many states. Our
club focuses on preserving and promoting the original
versatile bulldog foundation Quarter Horse.
Horses may only be registered with the NFQHA if
they are registered AQHA and have at least 80% Quarter Horse
blood. Horses that qualify may participate in shows to earn
points that will qualify them for the end of the year finals
show. The NFQHA focuses on a versatile animal that can do
anything from pleasure, trail, to chasing a cow. That makes
the shows fun and exciting, as well as a great learning
experience for both horse and rider. Everyone is encouraged to
participate in all classes, even if you have no experience.
The best way to learn is to do.
Lots of 2008 Events coming your way including
an NFQHA point earning show and a WaFQHC horse sale! Please
contact one of our Board Members for more info!
Contacts:
President Greg Akehurst, Ellensburg, WA.
longhorn@kvalley.com
(509)962-8610
Vice-President Cecelia Van Epps
dive@kvalley.com
(509)962-5826
Treasurer Sally Taylor
TaylorDS@starband.net
(509)485-3002
Cheryl Chance
rcbar@fairpoint.net 509.962.6818
Show Manager Maynard Larson
mmlarson@elltel.net
(509)968-4802
LEGISLATION THAT YOU NEED TO
KNOW ABOUT!
Vehicle License Fee Bill SB6900
here is a bill that the Washington State Legislature is trying
to pass
in
Olympia that, if successful, will directly add huge
costs to our
vehicle license fees. Everyone needs to know about so this
situation so
that you can contact your representatives and voice your
objection.
The bill is SB 6900 and it adds an "engine displacement" fee
to the
vehicle license tabs upon renewal.
The fee has a varied amount depending on the size of the
vehicle's engine:
Engine Size (liters) Rate Schedule
Up to 1.9 $0
2.0 - 2.9 $70
3.0 - 3.9 $225
4.0 - 4.9 $275
5.0 - 5.9 $325
6.0 - 7.9 $400
8.0 or over $600
For each car & truck that you own, calculate the rate by
matching the
engine size in liters to the dollar amount. Add the amounts
for each
vehicle and you'll see that the average two car family will be
paying
$500+ every year in "displacement fees" on top of the normal
license
fees. If you have three vehicles, you'll be paying even more.
The average family is already struggling with the high cost of
gasoline,
electricity, food and everything else, and our lawmakers want
us to pay
more, thinking we have unlimited deep pockets. This will do
great damage
to the budgets of retirees on fixed incomes as well.
Now is the time to be very vocal against this bill.
I have contacted all of our representatives, and I would
encourage
everyone reading this to do the same.
Here's the web page for the bill where you can read the text:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6900&year=2007
Here's the link for contacting your representatives:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx
An interesting note on
the Horse Slaughter Bill:
The other day, it occurred to me that if Congress manages to
block all routes to slaughter for horses intended as food, the
U.S. horse economy would become the first in history to
operate without
> food-salvage value as its floor. Basically, this also would
make horses the only form of livestock WITHOUT per-pound
salvage value, having the effect of turning horses from assets
into liabilities.
> In turn, this would alter the horse economy's infrastructure
so profoundly as to force a new one into being, to replace the
one society now finds repugnant.So, for what it's worth, here
are some of
> the things I can see coming as a result:* An annual tax per
head on every horse we own. This is how the government will
seek to fund the equine holding facilities,
"re-homing" operations, and
> disposal stations it will see a need to build as the
unwanted-horse crisis continues to build. The Seattle Post
Intelligencer just ran an editorial calling for this very sort
of
> tax:http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/347789_erbe18.html*
Mandatory microchipping of every horse. These ID chips will be
used for multiple purposes, including ability to track down
and
> fine/prosecute any owner who abandons a horse. As the rate
of abandonment accelerates, this will come to pass sooner
rather than later.* Mandatory facilities registration,
accompanied by inspections.
> Horse owners will pay fees toward these measures, too. This
already has a name: NAIS, for National Animal Identification
System. The general public will buy into this as a way to
protect itself
> against a form of
bioterrorism, among other justifications:http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/index.shtml*
Mandatory application for and payment of a "transport
voucher," any time you wish
> to move a horse to or from your property. This will be used
as a way of funding reinforcement of a federal ban against
transporting a horse for the purpose of slaughter, once that's
been made
> illegal.* Federally built, regulated, and funded equine
euthanasia/disposal stations (see my first point). Whether
people care to acknowledge this or not, every horse eventually
ends up as a half-ton
> carcass that needs to be disposed of somehow. If not turned
into usable meat/hoof/hide byproducts, it comes
garbage--buried or composted on private property, rendered,
dumped in a landfill, or
> dragged off for wild animals to feast on. I just read a
statistic, published in the
New York Times, stating that 138,000 fewer horses were
processed in the U.S.,
Canada, and
Mexico in 2007 compared
> to 2006:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/us/11horse.htmlIf
all 138,000 head were "humanely put down" instead,
that'd add up to around 75,000 TONS of horse carcasses to be
dealt with in some
> manner. A year. With somewhere around 100K of those in the
U.S. How long do you suppose our "not in MY
neighborhood!" society will put up with that before
getting the government involved?
> Especially when you consider that the carcass of a horse
killed with barbituates is increasingly considered to be a
threat to the environment?* As an answer to the toxic-carcass
problem, a new
> service provider will appear: The person willing and able to
euthanize your horse by gunshot. In my area, such a service is
already available, if you know the numbers to call. However,
those who
> provide the service will be forced underground, once those
in the general public get wind of it. "My God--people are
allowed to SHOOT horses?! This must be stopped!"* Federal
taxation on
> every breeding. I don't think I need to explain this one.
Just see all the above.* A resulting horse economy--for good
or for bad--that will be unrecognizable to us within 10
years.--Juli Thorson
The WaFQHC had a very good sale
in Ellensburg at the Rafter cc Ranch. Lots of items were
donated, as well as stallion breedings that were raffled off
for the benefit of the club.

Robin Dillin waiting for class
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Darcy Wright waiting for class |

youngest rider KC Laub
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