Our Shows
AMHA Director and NYSMHS member Kate Kirsh has been working with AMHA to ask USEF to lobby the NYS Governor's Office to allow horse shows at state-owned facilities in 2021.
Unfortunately, the USEF is not willing to reach out other than to provide the attached materials as their not-for-profit status forbids lobbying. However, they are adamant that these materials were used in other states, like KY, that were not permitting shows and all states that reviewed the materials ultimately permitted USEF shows to take place. We believe that the shows that did take place in other states in 2020 were safe for all participants and did not result in any COVID-19 outbreaks in the horse show community. Certainly 4H shows, which generally have much greater attendance than our shows, were permitted in NYS in 2020 .
We need to get these materials out to our state leadership as soon as possible to begin the dialogue about permitting horse shows in 2021. Please use the attached materials to reach out to county and state representatives with regard to both the Western NY and NY Regional shows.
You can find contact for your state Assembly member at https://nyassembly.gov/mem/search/.
Find your state senator at https://www.nysenate.gov/senators-committees.
It would also be helpful for everyone to contact the Agriculture Committees for both houses. https://nyassembly.gov/comm/?sec=mem&id=2 AND https://www.nysenate.gov/committees/agriculture
Also, PLEASE PASS ON the attachments to everyone you know who shows horses in NYS. The more breeds and disciplines speaking on this issue, the more likely that we will be heard.
Materials:
1. Letter from Bill Maroney to the states:
https://www.usef.org/forms-pubs/ORFnN5oegdw/explaining-usef--licensed-competitions
2. Entire Toolkit:
https://www.usef.org/media/covid19-toolkit
Coby Holowacz, President NYSMHS