Don't forget to start rounding up your friends before your first big show this year and get your RYTT team together. Start by 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!

So far, we have only 19 Recognized and 6 Non-Recognized Teams that have proven they want to win this year by getting a head start and submitting their entries early! Time is a waisten'! Get your entry in today!

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!

May 1st Regional Youth Team Tournament entries are due.
June 1st AHYA Creative Contest entries are due.
June 1st AHYA Convention delegates eligibility deadline.
June 15th AHYA Officer Candidate applications due to AHA.
June 25th AHYA Convention delegates forms due to AHA.

We are letting the cat out of the bag! We have some really great new fundraisers planned for Youth Nationals this year. So practice your musical talents, clean out those closets and warm up your throwing arm! For more information on any of the fundraisers below, email us!

Are You Ready To Rock? Mark your calendars and plan on stopping by the Little Whinny Café on Tuesday, July 29th in the afternoon for the new Guitar Hero Tournament Fundraiser. Guitar Hero is a rock guitar simulation game that gives you the opportunity to become music legends! $10 entry; single elimination tournament style; no experience necessary. Winners will receive CASH prizes and all proceeds benefit AHYA and Youth Programs.

Britches getting too small? Old show clothes collecting dust in the trailer? Work with AHYA to sell those old show clothes and maybe find some new digs while you're at it. Stop by the Youth Office during Youth Nationals to place your items for sale. AHYA will work a 60/40 split to help sell those old clothes for you! It's not limited to youth clothes so feel free to have your trainers clean out their dressing rooms as well!

"Here Little Piggy! Here Little Piggy! Sue-eeee!" They're Back! Purchase your little piggies for a chance to throw them at a target in center ring during Youth Nationals. If you hit the target, you win the jackpot! Pigs are $2 each or three for $5. Pigs will fly on Tuesday, July 29 and Thursday, July 31. You can purchase your sounder of pigs from the AHA Booth or in the Youth Office at the show.

This year the 2007-08 AHYA Youth Board will be preparing Regional Gift Baskets to be auctioned off in a silent auction to benefit AHYA. The baskets will be on display all week near the Show and Youth Office. They are sure to contain some very unique items from each region. Come take a peek, pick your favorite, get a bid number from the Youth Office and bid for your basket!

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.

We want YOU to cover Youth Nationals Activities! Enter the 2008 Youth Journalism contest by submitting a writing sample (details below). If you win, you'll be one of several kids to become journalists for Youth Nationals. Your work will be featured in official Youth Nationals coverage, and on the AHA website. Wow!

Winning youth journalists will work with an AHA staff member to write accounts of activities, get interviews, and take fun photos! If you're interested, make sure you'll be in Albuquerque, New Mexico for at least a few days of the upcoming Youth Nationals. Winners must be able to write their own stories and attend activities. Check Out the youth website for more details.

We got your piggies, your stick horses, hippology and more planned for the 2008 Youth National Arabian and Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show. Your AHYA Board is looking for activity and t-shirt sponsors. Think it would be cool to have your barn listed on all of those qualifier t-shirts? Or maybe your family would like to sponsor the Ice Cream Social? Download a Youth Activity Sponsorship form today from the AHYA website by clicking here.

The Horse: Your Guide to Equine Health Care is looking for two strong journalism/equine science interns to round out its editorial staff for the summer. These individuals will earn valuable experience in both print and electronic editorial production at the country's premier equine publishing house, Blood-Horse Publications.

Interested college students or recent graduates should send a résumé, work samples, and references to The Horse: Your Guide to Equine Health Care, c/o Kimberly S. Brown, Editor-in-Chief, 3101 Beaumont Centre Circle Lexington, KY 40513. You can e-mail the information to kbrown@TheHorse.com.

The USEF just announced in February that a fourth discipline, Reining, has been added to the North American Junior/Young Rider Champions (NAJYRC). Competitors from seven geographical regions and five associations will compete on teams of four in a CRI-Y competition held under FEI rules in Parker, CO July 30- August 3, 2008. The Arabian Horse Association is one of the associations eligible to send a qualified team to the championship competition. Selection for the Reining portion of the NAJYRC will be held at the NRHA Derby on June 28th in Oklahoma City, OK. If you are between the ages of 16-21 and interested in representing the Arabian Horse Association in Reining at the NAJYRC competition please contact Angela Mannick or click here for more information.

So we have already made a lot of new friends on MySpace since the January launch! If you haven't checked us out, do so today! We have lots of blogs posted, great info on AHYA activities, and you can even watch the AHA commercial if you haven't already seen it! We would love to be your friend! Check us out at www.myspace.com/arabianyouth.

That's right! Check us out now on Facebook. The Arabian Horse Youth Association is lookin' for you to be our new, BIGGEST Fan! We hear that the AHA page has almost 700 fans! We can do better than that! We will see ya there!

They call it the sport of kings. In just a few short weeks, the 134th Kentucky Derby will run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. In the world of sports, there is not a more moving moment than the one when the horses step onto the track for the Kentucky Derby post parade. Even grumpy old hardboots get misty-eyed when they hear the first notes of "My Old Kentucky Home". From the fantastic to the sublime, there are no rules or limits to the parade of ladies' hats that are worn on Derby day. With a Mint Julep in hand and humming the tune of "My Old Kentucky Home", it's race day in Kentucky.

So pick your favorites to Win, Place and Show. Gather round the television on the first Saturday of May. For on May 3rd, twenty hopeful contenders planning to take their place on this very prestigious track will make their Run for the Roses!

• The Derby has been run as two different distances: 1 ½ miles from 1875 to 1895 and 1 ¼ miles from 1896 to present.
• Eddie Arcaro is the winningest jockey including Triple Crown wins on Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1948.
• Calumet Farms is the leading breeder and owner in Derby history
• Twelve Derby winners have sired Kentucky Derby winners
• The winningest post position is #2 with 29 winners. Twelve winners won from post #1, and ten winners each from posts #4 and #5. None have won from post #15.
• The largest number of horses to start the race was 23 in 1974.
• The smallest number to start was 3 in both 1892 and 1905.
• There have been a total of 1,688 horses to start in the starting gates since 1875.
• The track and stakes record for 1 ¼ miles is 1:59.40 set in 1973 by Secretariat.
• Kentucky winners by color: Bay - 60; Chestnut - 39; Brown - 17; Gray - 6; Black - 4; Roan - 1.
• Only three fillies have ever won the Kentucky Derby out of the 38 that have been entered. The winners were: Regret - 1915; Genuine Risk - 1980; Winning Colors - 1988 which was also the only Roan horse to ever to win.

SHOTS: Humans are characteristically nervous when providing veterinary care for you. In order to soothe your human, raise your head, immediately after the injection, turning the lead rope into a handy tool with which you can swing your human. Genetically predisposed, humans are comforted by swinging back and forth on the lead rope while screaming primeval noises.
STOMPING CATS: When standing on cross ties, make sure you never -- quite --- stomp on the barn cat's tail. It spoils all the fun.
SNORTING: Humans like to be snorted on. Everywhere. It is your duty, as the family horse, to accommodate them.
IMPROPER SHOES: Your human attendant will often risk his safety by wearing shoes that might not provide full protection from hazardous ranch situations. You can correct (not punish) this behavior by applying pressure to the unprotected foot. Humans are known to move away from pressure, but only after making loud noises. Keep pressure applied until your human responds correctly to this cue.
VISITORS: Quickly determine which guest is afraid of horses. Rock back and forth on the cross-ties, neighing loudly and pawing playfully at this person. If the human backs away and starts crying, swoosh your tail, stamp your feet and nicker gently to show your concern.
Now you know why your horse acts like he does...