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Grandin among scientists, experts and horse industry leaders at 2nd International Summit of the Horse
United Horsemen will host the 2nd International Summit of the Horse April 2 to 5 in Oklahoma City, Okla. This second historic gathering of the horse industry featuring scientists, experts, and stakeholders is focused on "Building a Better Future for Horses and Horse People." The Summit will open April 2, with a reception, performance, and dance featuring Wylie and the Wild West at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. The Opening Reception will include a fundraising auction facilitated by TotalHorseMarketing.com who will also be providing live webcasts of the entire Summit proceedings for interested people unable to attend in person. The bulk of the Summit will be held at Embassy Suites at Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City. Trent Loos, well known radio personality and advocate for production animal agriculture will once again serve as the Master of Ceremonies and moderator for the entire Summit. On April 3, the proceedings will be kicked off with a keynote address from former U.S. Congressman from Texas, Charlie Stenholm, "Politics of Land and Horses," taking a fresh look at the significant changes that have occurred since he provided the same perspective at the first Summit of the Horse that was held in Las Vegas in early January of 2011. Stenholm will focus on the political landscape as we move forward. Following Stenholm's address will be The Horsemen's Forum featuring a number of horse industry leaders from diverse disciplines all speaking about what is necessary, from their perspective, to build a better future for the horse world. On April 3, will be a block of time devoted to a look at "What is Necessary to Responsibly Manage Wild Horses on Tribal, State, and Private Lands," addressing the problems associated with horse management that is not the responsibility of the federal Bureau of Land Management. Jason Smith, Chairman of the National Tribal Horse Coalition will be among the voices speaking to this issue. The afternoon will also include a panel that includes the perspective of ranchers and range managers dealing with the chronic and excessive inability to maintain appropriate management levels on federal horse management areas. Chuck Sylvester will be talking about problems on the Granite Mountain Allottment in Wyoming, Dave Robertson from Colorado, and John Falen, rancher and current Chairman of the Public Lands Council will round out the panel which will also include Callie Hendrickson from the Colorado Association of Conservation Districts. The keynote address April 4, will feature renowned scientist, Dr. Temple Grandin of Colorado State University speaking about "Humane Horse Handling." Dr. Grandin's participation is once again being generously sponsored by Rhodes River Ranch. The rest of the morning will be dedicated to the introduction, explanation, and demonstration of a suite of technology solutions that are being implemented throughout the re-emerging horse processing industry to ensure continuing high standards of humane handling of horses at every stage, as well as food safety and quality with scientifically valid testing, inspection, and third party monitoring and audit systems. On April 4 during the after noon, events will be dedicated to strategies and tools to effectively communicate with and inform policy makers and the public, as well as how horse owners can protect themselves from animal activist attacks. The afternoon begins with an address from Kevin Murphy, Food Chain Communications, talking about the "Moral-Ethical Implications of the Horse Processing Debate--How it Will Be Framed to the Public--How You Can Respond." Also included in the afternoon will be Mindy Patterson, president and co-founder of The Cavalry Group speaking to "Defending Your Private Property Rights and Going on the Offensive Against the Animal Rights Movement." The 2nd International Summit of the Horse will conclude by noon April 5. The morning will include addresses from Dr. Mykel Taylor, assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University on her research, "The Impacts of Policy and Macroeconomic Conditions on Horse Markets," which has evolved out of her initial work, some of which was incorporated into the GAO Report on "HORSE WELFARE: Action Needed to Address the Unintended Consequences of Domestic Slaughter Cessation." The GAO Report was an eighteen month nation-wide study of the direct consequences of U.S. horse plant being closed that clearly documented the steep decline in horse welfare, and the severe negative economic impacts to the overall horse industry that resulted. Also speaking on Thursday morning will be Olivier Kemseke, General Manager and International Sales and Production, Chevideco, a multi-national third generation family business that is a leader in the European horse meat industry. Kemseke will be providing an overview and a worldwide economic outlook for the horse harvesting industry. Summit attendees will hear from other horse and agriculture industry leaders in the morning April 5, and wrap up with a recap and the trail forward message based on the proceedings of the Summit by Steve Kopperud. Kopperud is the coordinator of the Farm Animal Welfare Coalition, and is the head of the new Washington, D.C. office for the International Equine Business Association.
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