United Mountain Horse, Inc.

Answers to Some of the Most
Frequently Asked Questions about UMH

When was UMH started, and why?

There had long been an interest in having an exhibitors’ and breeders’ support organization for the Mountain Horses, and one was actually formed several years ago, but never became active. In the summer of 2000, interest grew among a wider group of exhibitors in having a show circuit and other activities that could augment the services of the breed registries in promotion of the three Mountain Horse breeds. A small group made an appointment to meet in Winchester, KY, word got around, and a crowd showed up! There was clearly a lot of interest and enthusiasm. After three days of non-stop meetings, an initial board was selected by consensus, and an independent Executive Director was hired to get the start-up process underway. Incorporation papers were approved and filed in September, 2000.

What type of organization is UMH?

A non-profit Kentucky corporation.

UMH is also now in the process of forming a separate organization called the Associates’ Fund that will qualify for IRS Section 503(c) charitable status, so that contributions to this organization are tax-deductible. The Associates’ Fund provides grants to Member Associates of UMH who have special needs due to uninsured accidents or other events, as well as funding scholarships and educational grants and programs. The Associates’ Fund has its own Board of Directors.

How is the organization structured? Does it have members?

There is a seven-member Board of Directors that sets policy and general directives. We have a professional, paid administrative staff to handle administrative matters, promotional programs, our website and the publishing of our magazine. A list of our staff and their contact information are set out on the About US Page in this website. Individuals join as "member associates" of the organization, who have a variety of privileges and benefits, including voting for regional representatives, serving on the committees that are directly responsible for our show programs and many other operations of UMH, and qualifying for Associates’ Fund benefits. Regional representatives are involved in the selection process for candidates for the Board. See the About Us page of this site for a complete reprint of the Bylaws of UMH, a listing of committees and the Regional Representatives.

Is UMH "competitive with" the existing breed registries?

The goal of UMH is to augment and support the existing breed registries, by providing supplemental avenues to promote the Mountain Horse breeds. Although the individual registry associations sponsor some promotional and exhibition activities, they are limited by their bylaws to supporting their breed alone. It is clear that there is an important role for an organization that is able to promote, and provide activites for, horses of all of the breeds, especially in areas where there are not enough horses of any one registry to make an event successful.

In order for UMH to achieve its goals, strong breed registry associations and programs are essential. We are not a breed registry, but an independent show sanctioning and promotional organization for the horses registered and certified by the existing organizations. We have attempted to tailor our activities and programs to supplement the programs of the breed registries.

The independent show program of UMH has several key differences from the programs of the breed registries, which allows us to offer something different to exhibitors who are benefited by our format. Experience tells us that these types of choices are good for any segment of the horse industry, and tend to provide stimulus to all of the associations which serve our Mountain Horses.

How are the UMH shows different, and how do they benefit the industry?

Registry associations are limited by their bylaws to the promotion of only their own registered horses. In most parts of the country, however, combined classes are needed and utilized in order to have enough horses to support classes at a show. These classes have been very popular, but prior to UMH, there was no vehicle for sanctioning these classes or providing high point awards. UMH provides a combined registry format and organized regional programs to recognize these classes with high point awards.

Perhaps the greatest innovation of UMH, however, is the orgazation of classes into “way of going” divisions for Trail Pleasure, Classic Pleasure, Park Pleasure and Western Pleasure. This is unique to UMH shows, and was a sorely needed development. This allows many more horses to be competitively shown, and helps to eliminate the pressure on trainers and breeders to breed only one kind of horse, or to force their horses into an arbitrarily-determined, narrow range of performance style. This ability to allow equal prestige and opportunities for the full spectrum of our horses’ natural abilities is vitally important to the effort to preserve these horses in our breeding programs, as well as to reduce the temptation to train horses with artificial training methods.

Won’t the addition of a Park class just lead you down the dangerous path to "big lick," sored horses? Won’t their action just get more extreme and artificial?

Just the reverse. We strongly believe that it will help us keep that syndrome away, and help preserve the natural horse. What had been going on prior to the way of going divisions, was that the most animated, "big moving" horse always won, or tied high. This is occurring even today with the strenuous efforts of the RMHA in its rules and judging program to curtail the placing of this type of horse. The medium action and trail-type horses continue to lose out, and will die out, if this is the only type of show provided. Even when a separate class for a trail type of horse is provided, it did not lead to a championship, and so had lesser prestige. So people are required to push their horse into that high-stepping box, whether the horse is that type naturally or not. This is what leads to abuses and artificially enhanced ways of going. What if you did not have to force your horse to go a certain way, because you have a place to show your type of horse that has equal rewards and prestige?

In fact, most Mountain Horses fit the Classic or Trail Pleasure category, and not the Park category, and this has been demonstrated by the popularity of these classes at UMH shows. But having a class where the natural Park horse can strut its stuff without penalty is also important to these breeds. UMH is totally committed through its rules, stewards and judging program to ensuring that all of the horses in our shows remain natural and true pleasure-type horses.

Are there other differences between the UMH sanctioned shows and registry shows?

One goal for our independent organization, is to insulate Mountain Horse showing from some of the political issues and inevitable swings of fad and fashion in defining how the horse should look and perform, which are endemic to breed registries, and which inevitably cause problems for breeds when there are no alternative show venues.

We also believe that very competent judges are a major factor in the success or failure of any show circuit. UMH is working to ensure a high quality of professional judging at its shows, by requiring all judges to be independently licensed as well as completing UMH training requirements.

An additional difference is our emphasis on higher paybacks and prizes at UMH shows, and encouraging show managers to offer higher paybacks. UMH shows receive points based on the level of paybacks, and we have a high point award category for the highest money earning horse.

How does UMH and its promotional goals fit in with the current interest in "preserving the horse"? Is promotion in the absence of preservation in the best interests of the Mountain Horse?

There are really two answers to this question. The first is that "preservation" of a breed is, and must remain, the strict province of a breed association, in its exclusive functions of defining, registering and certifying the horse. There will always be many other ancillary organizations surrounding a successful breed, but only the registry should be defining what is the breed standard to be preserved.

Once a horse is as defined, registered, and certified to show and to breed by its registry, which represents the breed association’s judgment that this is a horse that is worthy of being preserved, promotion of that horse by the breed association and the various ancillary organizations such as UMH is what helps to preserve it.

On another level, we believe that having separate classes for the different ways of going is the best way to preserve the original Mountain Horses. The approach of trying to narrow the definition of the acceptable way of going for the horse, as a way of trying to promote a particular type or style as "preferred" and thereby preserve that style, simply does not work as a practical matter. You do not end up accomplishing your basic goals, as judges always tend to reward the most athletic horses, and you risk limiting the gene pool of the breed. A single type or style is also always at risk for fluctuations in fads, fashion and swings in what is "politically correct" over the years, and this has almost ruined some breeds at different times. As the AQHA has discovered, over-all breed stability is best achieved by providing horses of each type and style naturally occurring within the normal range, with an event in which to show.

How will judges in UMH shows be selected?

By the individual show managers, as they are in the breed association sanctioned shows now. UMH will not dictate the use of judges from any particular licensing organization. At the three shows organized and hosted by UMH itself, including the Spring Premier, the Summer Celebration and the World Show, judges are selected from the approved judges' list by the show manager, with input from our Trainers’ and Exhibitors’ Committee.

You have stated that UMH will not have the same political issues as the breed associations. How will you insulate yourself from politics, and is this a good idea? And what safeguards are there so that the board members do not just design things to benefit themselves?

We have an overriding philosophy in this organization that represents a very simple but often overlooked truth: If something we do benefits one of us, it almost always benefits all of us. But if we design a show program in which you can be successful, that is what benefits us the most. What our Board knows is that to successfully promote a breed and to grow, you need to provide a first-class, completely honest and unbiased show environment, which has the highest reputation. What the founders of UMH wanted was for the Mountain Horse community to grow. We want to attract more good trainers, more good breeders, more honest and enthusiastic owners. This is the basic goal of UMH. This is what benefits us. To do this, we must design things to provide equal opportunities for everone.

Our organization facilitates this by providing for an independent Board, carefully selected to be individuals who have these interests and goals and an understanding of how they are best achieved. Our membership participates by serving on committees that instruct the Board as to how they desire the show programs to be run and the rules to be written. This structure is working very successfully, with the recommendations of the committees generally passed by the Board as a matter of routine.

The ultimate safeguard for the exhibitor is that we are not the only game in town, and we will have to successfully carry out these goals for people to join us and participate in our programs.

Come give us a try! Our motto is "UMH is the place for you to show your kind of horse."

UNITED MOUNTAIN HORSE, INC.
POST OFFICE BOX 640
CLAY CITY, KENTUCKY 40312

PHONE: 859-842-0270 FAX: 859-842-0884

EMAIL: UMHORSE@KYMAIL.COM

OFFICE HOURS: 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. EST Monday - Friday