May 13, 2005


Dear AHA Members,

Last month, I was able to give you an important positive update on one of two lawsuits pending against our association. Today, I am pleased to tell you that our remaining lawsuit involving the South American breeders who have sought recognition by the Arabian Horse Registry, now AHA, has been settled. You know that I have a strong belief in sharing information with you, the members of our Association. I wanted to give you the facts of the case so that you will have an understanding of what has transpired with this settlement and what it means.

I will give you a brief background of the suit in order to put the settlement into perspective. Twenty individuals, four corporations and three partnerships, all from South America, filed a lawsuit against AHA in late 2004. The lawsuit was based on a 2001 agreement between the Arabian Horse Registry and four South American Arabian associations. The basic issue was that these entities were seeking registration recognition of four disputed foundation horses, allowing their offspring to be registered and recognized by the Registry. Following the merger of the Registry and the International Arabian Horse Association, any Registry obligations arising from the agreement became a responsibility of the new organization, AHA.

Effective immediately, the Arabian Horse Association agrees, with minor exception, to accept offspring of the four horses. Provided that the normal requirements for registration are met, those horses are deemed purebred for all purposes under the Association's rules. These horses will be identified as coming from the foundation horses, and owners can decide if they want to include these offspring in their breeding program. The offspring are free to compete in any AHA event as purebred Arabians. The decision to resolve this dispute was based on the recommendation of the Purebred Registry Commission members. In the settlement, AHA obtained agreement that all Arabian horses from the four South American countries involved will be included in the AHA Registry and Data Source, which will then contain more than 70 percent of the world's purebred Arabian horses, as well as the largest registry of Anglo-Arabian and Half-Arabians. I want to point out that this agreement contains certain business benefits for our Association while enhancing the timely data we can make available to all breeders.

The decision was based on the recommendation of the three Registration Commission members representing purebred Arabian horses with the approval of the Purebred Arabian Trust and the Arabian Horse Association. The successful conclusion of this lawsuit is significant in that it settles a long-standing dispute between two camps of members, both passionately devoted to the good of the breed. It recognizes the reality of both sides of the argument. I want to thank those members of the Registry Commission for their tireless efforts in reaching this settlement. Our Arabian horse community truly owes them a debt of gratitude.

I know that these Registry Commission members approached this issue focused on what is best for Arabian breeders and for the Arabian horse. It took many hours of deliberation, discussion and soul searching to make this agreement a reality. By reaching this decision, we have eliminated the possibility of a court dictating to us what we must do or not do.

I am sure there will continue to be discussion about the settlement and the merits of the agreement as this issue has been a divisive one for a long time. I realize that for many of you, this settlement will have little impact. For others who might be impacted, I ask you to view it as what is best for all breeders and for our association as a whole. As your president, I view this successful conclusion as a milestone in our history. For the first time in many years, we have no lawsuits to drain our time and energies, and most importantly, our financial resources. We can now get to the issues ahead of us, grow our breed, focus on strengthening our association and working together as a team for the betterment of the Arabian breed.

My communications to you are intended to make sure you remain informed and involved in our Association. Open communication with all of you is important as it stresses the importance of honesty, truthfulness, and an openness that is essential in the success of any organization. I remain committed to my pledge on meeting these objectives. As always, if you have questions or concerns, I remain available to discuss them.

Sincerely,