The AHP Ride Into History Seminar is now a part of Colonial Williamsburg history, or at least its 21st century history.Over 140 people attended the annual AHP event which was held May 31 to June 2 at the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel and Conference Center located in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
Attendees were not deterred from having a wonderful experience despite one very rainy day and poor cell phone service. Evaluation survey results show that 67% of the 78 respondents rated the overall seminar as excellent with 31% as good. Among the favorite experiences, networking was mentioned the most often. The welcome reception at the Colonial Williamsburg Stables was a clear favorite heading the top of the list along with the opportunity to visit Colonial Williamsburg.
The two top ranking special events were the welcome reception with 4.6. (5 being the highest score) and the Awards Banquet and Presentations (4.56). However all of the events and activities received ratings above 4.0.
Ratings were averaged based on actual attendance. The sessions on Friday and Saturday offered a wide variety of topics from analytics to social media, writing to design, and marketing to digital publishing. While attendees ranked all sessions 3.35 and higher, the top sessions were “Online Marketing Tools and How to Use Them” with Matt Bailey, SiteLogic Marketing (4.65) and “Better Story Crafting” with Jody Jaffe and John Muncie (4.55).
Whether you attended or wish you had, we have gathered many of the speaker handouts and posted them to the AHP website. VIEW LIST OF AVAILABLE SEMINAR SESSION HANDOUTS
One of the more interesting new additions to the seminar was the Yoga Break with Kim Fisher, Trot Magazine. Attendees took an afternoon break to stretch their muscles surrounded by bamboo and the soothing sounds of Ben Brown.
And the most valued take-home item: the model of the American Cream Draft Horse donated by Breyer Animal Creations as awards banquet centerpieces. Huzzah to the 2012 Award Winners!
ELCR recognized for its vision to preserve land for equestrian activities.
 |
| Photo Credit: Daniel K. Lew |
READ ALL ABOUT IT
A Colonial Fife and Drum heralded the start of the AHP annual awards presentations held on June 2, 2012. Participation in this year’s contest represented 90 AHP members and 686 entries. A total of 167 awards were presented to the finalists for first, second, third place or honorable mention. The 2012 Awards Program and the Awards PowerPoint Presentation are available online at www.americanhorsepubs.org under Awards. READ ALL ABOUT IT
Danielle Moritz won 2012 AHP Student Award.
Dani is a student at William Woods University majoring in Communications Journalism & Public Relations and Equine General Studies (Equine Media).
 |
| Kate Light, Sarah Jacobs and Dani Moritz Photo Credit: Daniel K. Lew |
The other two finalists were Sarah Jacobs, who attends Rice University majoring in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with a double major in English, and Kate Light, a recent graduate from the University of Maryland, who also works full-time as content manager of EquiSearch.com.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Lua Oas Southard, Robert Banner, and Stacy V. Bearse join AHP Circle of Champions.
The 2012 AHP Champion Award inductees were announced on June 2, 2012, during the Special Awards Luncheon. To view the 2012 AHP Champion Presentation (movie mp4 file - 7:30 minutes) on YouTube. http://youtu.be/zTfckiMw4WY
Pat's got spirit. Yes, he does.
Pat Trowbridge was named the 2012 AHP Chris Brune Spirit Award Winner. There are few members who don’t know who Pat Trowbridge is. That’s not only because of the publishing titles he’s earned, but more for his enthusiasm for the horse publishing business, his willingness to assist wherever needed, and his friendliness to all. Pat joins the other previous AHP Chris Brune Spirit Award winners that include Chris Brune, Lua Oas Southard, Barrie Reightler, Ellen Kiser, Daniel Lew, Christy West, Becki Pitcher and Doug Hayes.AHP celebrated horses and students with colonial flair.
 |
| AHP balladeers, Jean Abernethy and Ben Brown |
In Colonial times people met in taverns, where they drank, ate, and were often entertained by traveling balladeers.
It was not uncommon for colonial gentry to have animated discussions about politics and their horses, often matching them against each other in a race. The 20th annual Student Fund silent auction and 2012 Student Award Party were held on Friday, June 1.
The theme of this year’s event was “Huzzah for Horses and Students” and to capture the political spirit of 18th century Virginia, members were asked to nominate their favorite Great American Horse based on the following criteria: the horse was deceased, born in America, and had a major impact on the horse world.
Five horses were named finalists in the competition – Justin Morgan’s Figure, Man o’ War, Rugged Lark, Secretariat, and Wimpy P-1. Supporters and fans campaigned on Facebook and Twitter prior to the event as well as during the seminar, but in the end, attendees voted Man o’ War the winner.
Shopping the Student Fund silent auction is always a fun activity for seminar attendees and this year’s event offered a wide variety of over 80 items. The silent auction raised $2,795 and raffle sales added $360 for a total of $3,155.
“If you want to meet the needle-movers in equine publishing, this is a must-attend event. Not only can you harvest new, corrective ideas, but receive affirmations that you are approaching the business the right way. Networking alone is worth the price of admission.”Jeremy McGovern, American Farriers Journal
READ WHAT MORE ATTENDEES HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE WILLIAMSBURG SEMINAR
Huzzah! and thanks for riding into history with AHP in 2012.
Join us in Colorado Springs, Colorado on June 20-23, 2013.
Had a FABULOUS time and can't wait until 2013! Lisa
ReplyDelete