Over 25 years ago in February 1988, AHP members gathered at
the Sheraton-Charleston Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina. There were 33
attendees who represented 23 publications. I was there as executive editor of Eastern/Western Quarter Horse Journal. Not
one of the 33 is at the same publication today. Many have retired, some have
moved on to pursue other interests, and sadly a few have passed away. However,
there are several who are still actively working in the horse industry, me
included. Dean Hoffman recently moved to Arizona to take a position at the University
of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program, Charlotte Kneeland continues to head
the American Riding Instructors Association, and Mark Simon was recently named
editorial director at the Daily Racing
Form.
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| One of the field trips at the 1988 seminar was to historic Middleton Place. |
The AHP members, who come to Charleston in June 2014, will
be much larger in numbers, but the demographics haven’t changed. Then, as now,
they represent a cross-section of equine breeds and interests. The late Peter Winants,
who served as AHP president in 1988, wrote in the newsletter, “They were tied
together by the desire to further their expertise in the publishing industry,
which was accomplished through seminars presented by fellow AHP members,
outside speakers, and two field trips.” Matter of fact, Dean Hoffman, then
editor of Hoof Beats, and I served on
a panel discussion together titled, “Reshaping a Magazine’s Image,” along with
Darrell Dodds, then editor of Appaloosa
Journal.
There have been many changes in equine publishing between
Charleston 1988 and Charleston 2014. Yet, the AHP seminar is still a gathering
of professionals involved in the equine publishing industry, who meet to
network, learn, and experience a great destination. Our attendees now include
representatives of print publications, digital media, businesses and
organizations, as well as freelancers and students.
You might be wondering about the February date, but from
1983 to 1995, AHP also held a winter seminar every year in addition to the June
event. The February seminar was discontinued due to lack of growth in
attendance, however the winter dates were the reason we could afford to meet in
Charleston back then.
With Charleston being a number one destination site (named
Top U.S. City by Condé Nast Traveler 2013 Readers’ Choice Awards for the third
consecutive year), why has it taken AHP so long to return? The answer is price.
Over the years, we tried several times to secure reasonable
room rates for our group, but they were always well over $200. In 2010, when we
were researching locations for the 2012 seminar, several Charleston properties,
including the Francis Marion Hotel, sent us a proposal and Judy and I did a
site visit. While Colonial Williamsburg ended up as the 2012 site, our contact
at the Francis Marion remained in touch and in 2012, they offered AHP a group
rate of $169. It was too good to pass up, especially after our members had
selected Charleston as their favorite city by a wide margin in a survey.
I hope you will come to Charleston for its southern charm
and history, for the face time and education with fellow members, and
especially to join AHP for the second time around.
