by John Kelley
Happy Holidays to all USMMA Members!
2011 in Review!
It has been another busy year for the USMMA and the growth of the MM breed here in North America.
We held our first MM Gait Clinic in Texas. Many thanks to Megan and Colin Fallwell of Legacy Marchadors for sponsoring the event. Connie Claire plans to build on this tradition with an April 2012 Clinic in Ocala Florida. See the post on that for details.
I hope everyone has had an opportunity to visit our new USMMA website, which Colin Fallwell and Lynn Kelley created this year. Funding for this project was generously provided by Susan and Holm Neumann, Cascade Marchadors. Check out the section on the marcha gaits which includes video of Brazilian Marchadors correctly performing the unique Marcha Picada and Marcha Batida gaits. https://namarchador.org/breed/the-marcha-gaits/
We created our fun, online horse competition, based on the Brazilian Functional Test. We will continue this in 2012 and encourage everyone to try it doing the test with their horses! Check out the details on our website. Many thanks to Signa Strom and Theresa Longo for the ideas and development of this and to Ellen Farmer for translating. https://namarchador.org/shows-and-events/complete-horse-test/
In July, five USMMA members traveled to Brazil to celebrate the 30th National Competition of the MM. The ABCCMM MM generously invited US media to attend all or part of their 9 day tour to MM farms and the Show. As a result of this media effort, the Marchador was on RFD-TV several times – on RFD TV LIVE and also on THE HORSE SHOW with Rick Lamb. We will be getting copies of the broadcasts for our use. http://youtu.be/wfNjEjCuIxw
Our USMMA calendar is done for 2012, this time thanks to USMMA member Ellen Farmer. With broader participation, this fund-raiser should top $1,000 in monies we can use in 2012 to further promote the breed. The calendar also goes out to many friends, family, MM lovers and to Brazil helping us spread the word about the beauty and use of the Marchador Horse.
The new website has an on-line pedigree system of USMMA registered horses and Lynn is continuing to add videos and pictures for all horses and additional older pedigree information which goes back to our Brazilian historical roots. https://namarchador.org/registry/view-pedigree/#
Our Board of Directors also changed this year. Signa Strom resigned from the Board. We thank her for her many contributions and wish her the best in her future endeavors. Ellen Farmer, Lusonatica, has been appointed to the Board. The Board also appointed Derek Brown, Vista de Serra, to the Board and we look forward to both their contributions in the future.
The Board appointed Megan Fallwell, Legacy Marchadors to be the USMMA Registrar, effective January 1,2012. Lynn Kelley who was instrumental in creating our registry and working with the Brazilian Association to correct paperwork and establish a close working relationship, has worked closely with Megan over the last few months so that we will have a smooth transition. We have transitioned from the old HorseManager System to WikiHorseWorld, which will give the Registrar and the membership greater flexibility and access to Registry information in the future. WikiHorseWorld plans to add a Classified Ads section which will be an added benefit. Many thanks to my spouse for her contributions to the USMMA.
The Board also appointed Aline Oliveira Greene to be our Newsletter Editor. I am very happy that we found someone to restart this valuable communication tool for the membership. Aline will also help administer the USMMA Facebook and Twitter accounts to encourage contact among the membership.
I look forward to seeing many of you at our April Clinic in Ocala Florida!
John Kelley, USMMA President