Stevens, Paula: MI Horse Expo

By Paula Stevens | Graduate MSU Horse Management Program The 2022 Michigan Horse Expo came and went like a hurricane of fun and educational events. Clinicians such as Bill Thomas, Julie Goodnight, Brandt and Emily Clark, Trevor Walton and Guy McLean all put on clinics and events over the course of three days, that are still being talked about today. Other clinicians and trainers such as Bill Brown of W. Brown Performance Horses and Chase Lake Equine Center also held demonstrations for the Equine Assisted Training Leadership Program that they offer; not only did they do that, but they had several riders from their barn and their horses that rode in multiple clinics throughout the weekend. Michigan State University had their booths set up to discuss their Horse Management Program, and Veterinary Medicine program. Michigan Horse Council member, Julie Vruggnik and instructors and volunteers ran the Youth Area this year. Children and high school students and even a few college students, all visited the youth area to participate in a “Passport Adventure.” Once checked in, they got a passport and visited various tables where they learned about horse body parts, careers in the horse industry, saddle parts and horse breeds around the world. Their final stop was at the stalls of two horses from the Lansing Equine Center for Learning, Lance (a Haflinger gelding) and Yogi (a Norwegian Fjord). After each destination, the children received a stamp to show they were done, and then came back to the youth area to turn in their passport and received a raffle ticket for a Breyer horse stable. Vendors all came and put their best foot forward as they brought all their best products to be sold and business info to be handed out. Thousands of people showed up for the High School Rodeo on Friday night. It was standing room only! The same thing occurred again for the Mane Event on Saturday night, if you did not claim seats early, you were probably going to wind up standing. Guy McLean, all the way from Australia, put on demonstrations on colt starting and did liberty demonstrations with three of his four horses that he had with him. Trevor Walton taught newcomers how to rope and Julie Goodnight discussed an introduction into the lope while Brandt and Emily Clark covered various areas of Dressage riding and what to look for in a potential Dressage horse. I think the main thing that stuck out to me about this year's expo (I traveled from Oklahoma to work the careers table in the Youth Area) was the amount of people who came and the amount of people new to the horse world who showed up. I talked to a lot of children and high school students who had just entered the world of horses and were looking for guidance on where to go next after their lessons. I talked to high-schoolers who knew they wanted to work with horses, but just were not sure how to make that happen as a career. We discussed the importance of internships and job-shadowing and all the different career options that the equine industry offers. The main thing we discussed was the fact that a lot of children and high-schoolers and even parents, did not realize there was more to the horse world than the farrier, vet and a horse trainer. Once they realized there was more and that there were ways to get hands-on experience in each area, it was like a lightbulb came on for them. This year's expo made up for the lack of an expo in 2021, and Michigan's equine enthusiasts all showed up and did not disappoint. It was educational and fun for everyone, clinicians all put forth valuable and helpful information, new horse people learned a lot, and seasoned veterans in the industry had a chance to share and do what they love. I very much look forward to what next year's expo has to offer. Paula Stevens graduated from MSU, manages blog and Facebook page CitifiedCowgirl, and manages and operates CitifiedCowgirl Photography. She currently works at Silver Spurs Equine in Oklahoma.

MISS MI RODEO QUEEN 2021/2022 Hoi Haley