May 24-June 2nd

This letter was sent out by Laurie Klassen, USMMA Secretary

To Marchador Breeders and Owners:

The USMMA does not require inspection of Marchadors for registration.  

However, we believe the ABCCMM inspection process is a valuable tool in evaluating and preserving the quality of the Marchador breed, especially for breeding animals.   A number of breeders and owners carry both the USMMA registration and the ABCCMM registration on their horses.   The ABCCMM registration process is more complex than ours, requiring the following steps:

• Report of Breeding by the mare owner and confirmed by the stallion owner
• Report of Birth by the mare owner
• Name of the foal by the mare owner
• DNA
• Physical inspection of the foal by an ABCCMM technician  (provisional registration)
• At age 3 or later, physical inspection of the adult Marchador for conformation, temperament and gait. (definitive registration)

If the paperwork is up-to-date, the process is straight forward.  If the paperwork is lacking, the ABCCMM process is quite onerous and costly with late fees.

The USMMA has worked with the ABCCMM to obtain a lower annual membership fee for Marchador owners.  (Marchador breeders would still pay the higher fee of $540R per year. )   Once a member, the ABCCMM on-line Registration System provides the vehicle to submit all communications to them for report of breeding, birth etc.   The ABCCMM will provide an inspector to visit the US twice a year, and the ABCCMM will pay for the transportation to the US.

Our first inspection in 2014 will be planned for May if enough horses and owners say they are ready for inspection.  The second inspection will be planned for late September/October 2014 following the annual Marchador Clinic.

Attached is a report of Marchadors we believe are eligible for ABCCMM inspection.  If there are more horses you want to bring to our attention, please let us know.    In some cases, the paperwork may not have been submitted to the ABCCMM and that paperwork would need to be completed or fixed before the inspection is scheduled.

You do not need to become an ABCCMM member, but the paperwork fees are doubled for non-members.  In some cases, the BREEDER may need to sponsor the inspection or sign off on paperwork, if the ABCCMM paperwork is still in their name.   Either before or after inspection, the registration paper can be transferred to the new owner.  

The cost of the inspection is $500 per day for the inspector, plus ABCCMM membership and registration fees, plus the cost of airfare to get the inspector to your farm.   Housing, meals and transportation for the inspector should also be included in your planning.  Most people just have the inspector stay with them.     For some areas, like Florida, it would be possible to share the inspector for a day and split the fees.

We estimate an inspection could take an hour per horse and perhaps 15 minutes per foal.  If there is time remaining, you can use the inspector to help you with your riding, Marchador gait training or questions, recommendations for breeding and more.  You do not need to keep the inspector for a full-day either and perhaps the daily rate can be split with another participant.

The inspector will be Kate Barcelos, DVM, an accomplished rider, trainer, vet and ABCCMM inspector.   

Please let Lynn Kelley (futurefoal@gmail.com) or Megan McClarney Fallwell (meganmcclarney@gmail.com) know of your interest in participating in the ABCCMM inspection.   We will then send out a follow-up, more detailed schedule and instructions to the Marchador owners that wish to participate.