If you are interested in running for AHYA office, please submit your AHYA officer candidate application today! Candidate applications are due June 15 and applications will 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.

AHYA Convention is just around the corner! Are you interested in being a voting delegate for your Region? What's a delegate? Delegates represent their Region and help make the decisions for AHYA. As a delegate, you get to vote for the next AHYA President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. Contact your Regional Youth Coordinator or your AHYA Youth Regional Director for more information on how to become a delegate for your Region!

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 during the upcoming Youth Nationals. Winners must be able to write their own stories and attend activities. Check Out the youth website for more details.

June 15th AHYA Officer Candidate applications are due to AHA.
June 18th Youth Nationals Entries are due!
June 25th AHYA Convention delegate forms are due to AHA.
July 25th AHYA Board of Directors Meeting
July 25th AHYA Convention

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!

The first foal sired by a cloned stallion is now nearly a month old. The filly, named Pierazade du Vialaret, is the first get of stallion Pieraz-Cryozootech-Stallion, a clone of two-time World Champion endurance horse Pieraz. The original Pieraz is an Arabian gelding. He was cloned so that his exact genes could be perpetuated.

The new filly was born May 5, 2008. She is out of a mare named Dziupla, a foundation broodmare mare owned by Christian Genieys of Elevage du Vialaret, an endurance breeding program in Campagnac, France.

Attention all college or high school students living within 200 miles of Austin, Texas. If you have significant horse experience and a strong interest in equine medicine, you can win free admission to the Healthy Horses Workshop. The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) is proud to present the Healthy Horses Workshop Saturday, July 26, 2008 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., an educational day designed just for horse owners. This full-day event will feature seminars of practical, cutting-edge information led by AAEP-member veterinarians. The morning will also offer the opportunity to listen to world-renowned "The Man Who Listens to Horses," Monty Roberts, as he speaks about his past experiences and horsemanship skills "From My Hands to Yours." For more information and to enter to win go to www.aaep.org

Are you close to Denver, CO and also show 4-H or FFA on your registered Purebred/Half/Anglo Arabian? Wouldn't it be cool if there were ALL Arabian classes offered at 4-H, FFA, or Open Youth shows?!?! Well get ready if you live in Region 8! Colorado State University and the National Western Stock Show are proud to be hosting the first ever Top of the Rockies Horse Show on August 14-17! It's the first ever 4-H, FFA, and Open horse show to also hold breed specific classes as well as offer educational activities throughout the show. We are talking English, Western, even Speed Events! There will be FIVE ALL-ARABIAN CLASSES offered at the show! Not to mention they will be handing out some awesome trophies, awards, and even scholarship money!

So grab your registered Purebred/Half/Anglo Arabian horse and head to Denver! We will see you there! For more information got to www.TOTRshow.com or email them!

Are you a stall-bound horse? Want to amuse yourself and your human? Well, here are some fun activities for you!

Artistic Wood Carving
Become a wood carver. Use your teeth to chisel the wood of your stall into a beautiful piece of art! At first, you can start with simple shapes such as the half-moon bite shape and as you become more advanced you can try different forms (big curve shape or multiple bite shapes). Your human will really appreciate this. Some humans will actually remove your artwork from the stall, and put up fresh, new, un-chewed boards encouraging you to develop your artistic abilities with a fresh, new canvas!

Grain Spilling Game
Try to dump out all of your grain from your grain bucket/container, by turning it over with your nose. It is a fun game. You can even continue to flip the container to be sure that all the grain is dumped on the ground. Then, using your delicate muzzle to guide you, try to pick up all the grain, sorting through the bedding and poop. Amusing, and it makes your grain last longer. Your human will appreciate it too-- he/she may even bring you a new bucket of grain, or challenge you to become better by using more difficult containers.