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ASHA Executive Director's Message to Members

Dear ASHA Friends, 

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this unprecedented time. Who could have predicted the loss of life, concerns about health and the economic uncertainty that we are facing today? Yet, even through this adversity, we are seeing something amazing happen. We are coming together in new ways to support each other and our industry. As we start on the path to reopen our barns and horse shows, I want to share with you the ways ASHA has been supporting our employees and association, along with serving our members and industry, during the pandemic. 

Supporting Our Employees and Association 

    Keeping our staff safe and healthy always has been a priority for ASHA. Before the governor closed non-essential businesses in Kentucky, we installed a remote log-in system, so staff could safely work from home. All employees are now working remotely and those that have to come into the office for minimum basic operations are following strict CDC guidelines for the workplace. 
    Before Congress passed the CARES Act, we started working with our bank on a Paycheck Protection Loan to ensure our staff would continue to get paid during this crisis. The forgivable loan has since been fully funded and will pay salaries for the next eight weeks. The loan also will benefit the American Saddlebred Registry. Since all employees work for ASHA, the Registry will get a credit from ASHA for employees that work on Registry business, which will help both organizations get through this uncertain time. 
    With an anticipated drop in revenue caused by the pandemic, the ASHA Board of Directors approved budget cuts of about $125,000 through the end of the year. Some of the cuts that will be most noticeable for our members include a reduction in salaries, marketing, travel and printing. We have delayed filling our open Programs Manager position until the office reopens, leaving us with four equivalent full-time employees on the ASHA side of the business. I have taken a reduction in my pay to ensure that we have money to pay other employees. We have reduced our participation in promotional events through the end of the year, many of which already have been cancelled, such as Breyerfest, Equine Affair and Hats Off. We are eliminating printed membership cards, which will save a considerable amount of money in printing, postage and labor. Even with these cuts, we are still able to serve our members and mission to promote, improve and protect the American Saddlebred. 

Serving Our Members and Industry

    Keeping our members engaged during the pandemic has been another priority for ASHA. We launched our National Select Series through a virtual horse show format with the help of our sponsor State Line Tack. We are offering Saturday Night Stake Night where members will be able to watch past championship nights from the WCHS through the generosity of Richfield Video. We have created bonus episodes of our popular Trot Talk podcasts.  We launched our Instagram Takeover series and ramped up other social media content. We are currently working on other online and virtual opportunities for members as we work towards reopening our industry.  
    ASHA has been actively working with the Joint Leadership Council (AHHS, AMHA, ARHPA, ASHA and UPHA) to help support our members in need.  Support is being offered through the JLC Horsemen’s Relief Fund and social media initiatives such as Tip Your Groom, Feed Your Favorite Lesson Horse, Buy a Round for the Barn and Support a Horse Show Super Hero. A dedicated website has been created (JLCcares.com) that provides additional resources and ways to help. 
    Getting our barns and horse shows back open is another priority for ASHA. We have been working through the Joint Leadership Council, Arabian Horse Association and USEF to come up with recommended best practices to reopen barns and horse shows. The JLC will release recommendations for horse shows, along with survey results, this week.  Recommendations for barns will be released next week. The best practices will be shared with decision makers in individual states, all of which have different timelines and guidance for reopening businesses. As a reminder all barns and horse shows must comply with applicable federal, state , and local law requirements.

During this time of adversity, I am inspired about how we have come together to support one another.  I want to personally thank all of you. We will get through this together! 

Warm regards,

  

David Mount, Executive Director and CEO

American Saddlebred Horse Association