On behalf of everyone on the AHYA Board, AHA Staff and Youth Programs, we would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year! We have a jam packed year for all our Youth Members! We're talking Creative Contests, Youth Nationals activities, Regional Youth Team Tournament and more! So grab your horses, grab your friends and stay connected via email, the website, and check out every issue of Modern Arabian Horse magazine! 2008-It's gonna be G-R-E-A-T!

December and January are the two largest months for membership renewals! We really enjoy having you as a member of AHYA and we would hate for you to miss a single monthly Broadcast Email, issue of Modern Arabian Horse magazine, or chance to participate on any of our totally awesome activities! So poke, prod and bug the "rents" to remember to send in your membership renewal this year!

The 2008 AHYA Convention theme will be Christmas in July!!! We are talking palm trees with twinkle lights, gifts galore, a brand new breed of Half Arabians- Reindeer Arabians, and more! As always, the AHYA Convention theme tends to trickle into the barns all week. Your AHYA Board thought it would be so great to see the barns in Albuquerque alive each night, glowing in lights!

Have you ever walked into the AHYA Convention knowing you would have to vote on a bunch of candidates you have never even met before? You listened to the candidate's speeches and thought to yourself, "Gee they seem nice enough." And then POW, you had to make your decision right then and there. This year, the AHYA Board would like to give all of the officer candidates some exposure BEFORE they ever get to the AHYA Convention. We want all of our youth delegates to get the chance to learn about the candidates BEFORE voting time. As applications come into the AHA office, you can check out your candidates by going to the website at ArabianHorses.org/youth. Just click on AHYA Events to read all about them. We will be sending out reminders as new candidates come rolling in!

If you think that you might be interested in running for AHYA officer, please submit your AHYA officer candidate application today! Technically, candidate applications aren't due until June 15, but if you would like to start your campaign now you can submit your application and be posted on the website so that delegates all over can read about you and get to know you before you go to Convention in July!
For election procedures and more information on the AHYA, refer to the AHYA Constitution, Chapter 25 of your AHA Handbook, before submitting your application.

American Horse Publications awards an all-expenses-paid trip to their annual seminar to a student pursuing a career in equine publishing. This program increases awareness of the equine publishing industry in the college community. You are eligible if you are a senior in high school or an undergraduate college student pursuing a career in equine publishing during the 2007-2008 school year, with at least one semester remaining before graduation. Entry deadline is March 14, 2008. Click here to find out more and download an application.

2008 Creative Contest theme 'My Gift- The Arabian Horse.' Enter unlimited categories for just $10. Compete in Creative Writing, Art, Photography, Computer-Generated, and Audio-Visual. Entries are due by June 1st. You can download your form and read all about the Creative Contest rules on ArabianHorses.org/youth.

AHA would like to thank all of you who participated in the Youth Survey that went out in December! A recap of the Survey will appear in the Feb/Mar issue of Modern Arabian Horse magazine so check it out! And Congrats to Kristen Hudelston, who won the coveted Ariat vest. She was chosen randomly out of all of you who responded! Look for more surveys soon for your chance to be heard AND to win prizes!

HorseJobsOnline.com went live on December 8th!!! Never before has there been a site dedicated exclusively to uniting the horse industry. They are matching those looking for work in the industry with those looking for help.

• Full time horse jobs
• Part time horse jobs
• Internships
• Someone to clean stalls and saddle horses at an upcoming horse show

Now when people ask "where do I go to find a horse job?"…there's a GREAT answer… www.HorseJobsOnline.com

What does it have to do with horses?
The term "horsepower" was created by James Watt, an engineer who lived from 1736-1819, famous for his work on improving the performance of steam engines.
Watt was working with ponies lifting coal out of a coalmine, and he decided to come up with a measurement that would describe the amount of power that one animal could pull. He found that an average mine pony could do 22,000 foot-pounds of work a minute. He then increased it by 50% and called that 'one horsepower': 33,000 foot-pounds of work in one minute.
Basically, a horsepower means this: According to Watt a horse can do 33,000 foot-pounds of work every minute. A horse pulling coal out of a mine, exerting 1 horsepower, will raise 330 pounds of coal 100 feet in one minute, or 33 pounds of coal 1,000 feet in one minute.
Fun fact: A horse producing 1 horsepower would burn 641 calories in an hour if it were 100% efficient.
Today we see the horsepower measurement used in vehicles, lawn mowers, chainsaws, and other motors. It's another example of how the horse has influenced our way of life.

All right, here's what I want you to do while sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand.
Your foot will change direction and there's nothing you can do about it!

DOORS: Any door, even partially open, is always an invitation for you and your human to exercise. Bolt out of the door and trot around, just out of reach of your human, who will frantically run after and chase you. The longer it goes on, the more fun it is for all involved.
FARRIER: The farrier is an object on which you can take out your frustration without danger of limiting your food supply.
FRESH BEDDING: It is perfectly permissible to urinate in the middle of your freshly bedded stall to let your humans know how much you appreciate their hard work.
HOLES: Rather than pawing and digging a BIG hole in the middle of the paddock or stall and upsetting your human, dig a lot of smaller holes all over so they won't notice. If you arrange a little pile of dirt on one side of each hole, maybe they'll think it's gophers. There are never enough holes in the ground. Strive daily to do your part to help correct this problem.
Now you know why your horse acts like he does...