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 in any of our totally awesome activities! So poke, prod and bug the "rents" to remember to send in your membership renewal this year!

Former 2006-07 AHYA Vice President and 2007 Youth of the Year, Kirsten Kimbler of Aberdeen, SD, was honored at the 2008 USEF Convention. Kirsten was the recipient of the USEF's Sportsman's Award as well as the recipient of the USEF's Jr Equestrian of the Year Award. Kirsten was selected among applicants from 18 other affiliated breeds and disciplines with USEF. That is quite an accomplishment!

Kudos also goes out to former 2005 AHA Youth of the Year, Monica Christian. Monica is the Arabian representative for the USEF Youth Council. At the Sportsman's Charter Dinner this year, Monica was presented as the new Chair of the USEF Youth Council.

AHA & AHYA could not be more proud of their youth members! Way to go girls!

2008 Creative Contest theme is '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. It's never too soon to get started on all of those awesome projects we receive each year!

If you think that you might be interested in running for AHYA office, 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 get to know you before Convention in July!
For election procedures and more information on 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.

The 2007 results are in!!! We had a total of 83 teams that competed from 13 Regions this year! Way to go Region 11 who had the most youth teams competing this year! They had a total of 22 teams signed up! A special congratulations to team AAHABC Team 1 from Region 17. AAHABC Team 1 racked up the most points this year earning a whopping total of 293 points. To check out all of the final results log on to the website by clicking HERE. Awards are on their way!

Does this look like fun? You too can put together a team by gathering up your friends, grabbing an entry form off the website, filling it out and sending your $10 team entry fee. Contact your Regional Youth Team Tournament Secretaries or AHA for more questions!

Your 2007-08 AHYA Youth Board will be meeting early in March in Denver, CO. The agenda is packed with Regional discussions, committee work, youth activities for Youth Nationals and planning for the 2008 AHYA Convention in Albuquerque, NM. If you have a topic you would like considered for discussion by the Youth Board feel free to email us at Youth@arabianhorses.org.

Stepping into the latest technology (okay so we know we're about five years behind the game) AHYA now has a MySpace account. We would love to be your friend! Check us out at myspace.com/arabianyouth. We want to help connect all our Arabian youth! In addition, you can become a fan of AHA on FaceBook with AHA. Check it out by clicking HERE.

Have you ever seen those statues of a horse and rider in parks, cities or in pictures of magazines? Sure you might not know who the statue is or why it was placed in your town's park, but did you know there is a history lesson with those old statues just by looking at the rider's horse? If a statue features a horse with both front legs in the air, the person riding the horse died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes. That's just one more lesson our favorite four legged animals can teach us!

HUMOR: Humans possess a thing called 'a sense of humor'. This is a delightful emotional sensation that is caused by the sight or sound of things that are out of the ordinary. You can facilitate this by providing unusual situations to trigger the laughter response. On the first day of a three day weekend, when your attendant shows up with some of his turn-out buddies, fart loudly, then fall to the ground and stick your tongue out. The sights and sounds you provide will stimulate the necessary laughter response.

MARRIAGE: Your personal human attendant may also have a spouse, who professes non-equinity. Whenever your attendant brings the non-equus spouse to visit, you are to lavish unimaginable amounts of charm on the non-equus spouse, and more importantly, you must act fearful of your personal human attendant. This process must continue until such time as the non-equus spouse converts to full equinity, or 'teases' your attendant with a 2X4, as a prelude to the mating ritual.

NEIGHING: Because you are a horse, you are expected to neigh. So neigh a lot. Your owners will be very happy to hear you protecting the barn and communicating with other horses. Especially late at night while they are sleeping safely in their beds. There is no more secure feeling for a human than to keep waking up in the middle of the night and hearing you, "Neigh, neigh, neigh..."
Now you know why your horse acts like he does...