Candice Burger
09-13-2006, 01:02 PM
Here's what gets me. And I get angry about it every year and won't participate. It's the stallion breeding auction. Now pfha.org has a pdf file to download. Ok, but my PC at home works just fine for my needs but is outdated to download and open the more recent documents. So I wait for a TIMELY issue of PFHW about the stallion auction. I get the August issue in September open it up and what do I read? 'Lo and behold if I'm not attending the Nationals I have to get my bid in by Sept. 9 by mail?????
So, like why do people have Nationals have the advantage? Tell you what, I'll pretend to go to Nationals and have a friend plop a bid down for me. How's that?
I'll try not to shout--AND then it says in the August issue that MORE stallions will be added at Nationals????? Because of publication deadlines?????
What happened to following deadlines? And I really get peeved because I feel like some crazy crusader for the "little" people--us small breeders. So, if you don't get your PFHW magazine BEFORE Sept. 9 AND don't attend the Nationals, you are (ok I'll try not to curse either), out of luck. And then if you don't attend Nationals you'll never know if there is a NEW stallion added that you might afford and want to breed to.
I don't even want to look at the notebooks that are supposed to be filled with CURRENT information about the stallions. Last time I did that, I tore up my bid.
As far as contacting stallion owners for horses I might be interested in, well forget it! There's a horse I "might" want to breed to, only a few hours away, but now I don't have time to look at him nor get a video from the stallion owner in time to bid if I wanted to! How am I suppose to do all of my research in less than a week? Now I try to research years in advance and if the horse comes up in the stallion auction, I'll bid. This is what I'm doing this year.
Then the rule changes about the bidding process--I'm totally lost again on that one. I missed something along the way; when did that happen?
Every year I rant. Now I realize that people are busy, the breed is small, time is precious, etc. But it's a YEAR people, a full YEAR to get a list of horses for the stallion auction. Have the deadline for nominations NOW when the breeding season winds down. And really mean it. How can I bid on a stallion when:
1. I don't have time to contact owners for information or do private research? No time to review contracts either?
2. Don't have the COMPLETE list of stallions available? Can you imagine getting your 2nd or 3rd choice to find out later that IF you had been at Nationals you could have gotten your 1st choice?
3. The information given is haphazard from each stallion. I need CLEAR and CORRECT contact info. I've done enough cold contacts using the stallion auction booklet to know that it's dated material. Why bother putting it in there?
4. Where's the stud fee? Where's the information about live cover, AI, etc.?
Now I did download the pdf file off of pfha.org using a different PC and compared it to the published list in PFHW August issue. Needless to say they are different. But who cares? It'll be different anyway at Nationals.
And every year I say the same thing. I'll PAY for a good stallion auction booklet that has a picture of the horse, his pedigree, his stud fee, contact information. I'd like to get this months before Nationals NOT have to go to Nationals for a booklet and then write down the added stallions in the back of the book. Last year (actually every year that I've been going) several horses were added and the ONLY way I knew is I saw the bid board with the horses' name written down. That's NOT FAIR.
And every year I say this as well. The concept is great. It can be a win-win for everyone. Small breeders get a chance at discount stud fees whether they show or not. PFHA gets money to fund the Breeder's Sweepstakes classes. People who show have an opportunity to get prize money. Stallion owners get excellent exposure through a marketing tool that could be nation-wide at a ridiculous nomination fee. And the best is, more paso babies are born that protect our gene pool.
As it stands now, I look at the event more as a brokerage with biases depending on who the stallion owner is, with no protection and no oversite seriously offered facilitating private contracts. And to me that is NOT an event that PFHA should be involved in.
I'm not asking for some control freak like me to make it impossible for discretionary latitude. I'm simply asking that PFHA recognize that if this is truly a NATIONAL activity QUIT assuming that the people who want to participate will be at the championship show every year. And QUIT assuming that I know all these stallions or stallion owners like we grew up together. Quit assuming all I have to do is call my buddy and get a contract deal I'll bid on.
So, like why do people have Nationals have the advantage? Tell you what, I'll pretend to go to Nationals and have a friend plop a bid down for me. How's that?
I'll try not to shout--AND then it says in the August issue that MORE stallions will be added at Nationals????? Because of publication deadlines?????
What happened to following deadlines? And I really get peeved because I feel like some crazy crusader for the "little" people--us small breeders. So, if you don't get your PFHW magazine BEFORE Sept. 9 AND don't attend the Nationals, you are (ok I'll try not to curse either), out of luck. And then if you don't attend Nationals you'll never know if there is a NEW stallion added that you might afford and want to breed to.
I don't even want to look at the notebooks that are supposed to be filled with CURRENT information about the stallions. Last time I did that, I tore up my bid.
As far as contacting stallion owners for horses I might be interested in, well forget it! There's a horse I "might" want to breed to, only a few hours away, but now I don't have time to look at him nor get a video from the stallion owner in time to bid if I wanted to! How am I suppose to do all of my research in less than a week? Now I try to research years in advance and if the horse comes up in the stallion auction, I'll bid. This is what I'm doing this year.
Then the rule changes about the bidding process--I'm totally lost again on that one. I missed something along the way; when did that happen?
Every year I rant. Now I realize that people are busy, the breed is small, time is precious, etc. But it's a YEAR people, a full YEAR to get a list of horses for the stallion auction. Have the deadline for nominations NOW when the breeding season winds down. And really mean it. How can I bid on a stallion when:
1. I don't have time to contact owners for information or do private research? No time to review contracts either?
2. Don't have the COMPLETE list of stallions available? Can you imagine getting your 2nd or 3rd choice to find out later that IF you had been at Nationals you could have gotten your 1st choice?
3. The information given is haphazard from each stallion. I need CLEAR and CORRECT contact info. I've done enough cold contacts using the stallion auction booklet to know that it's dated material. Why bother putting it in there?
4. Where's the stud fee? Where's the information about live cover, AI, etc.?
Now I did download the pdf file off of pfha.org using a different PC and compared it to the published list in PFHW August issue. Needless to say they are different. But who cares? It'll be different anyway at Nationals.
And every year I say the same thing. I'll PAY for a good stallion auction booklet that has a picture of the horse, his pedigree, his stud fee, contact information. I'd like to get this months before Nationals NOT have to go to Nationals for a booklet and then write down the added stallions in the back of the book. Last year (actually every year that I've been going) several horses were added and the ONLY way I knew is I saw the bid board with the horses' name written down. That's NOT FAIR.
And every year I say this as well. The concept is great. It can be a win-win for everyone. Small breeders get a chance at discount stud fees whether they show or not. PFHA gets money to fund the Breeder's Sweepstakes classes. People who show have an opportunity to get prize money. Stallion owners get excellent exposure through a marketing tool that could be nation-wide at a ridiculous nomination fee. And the best is, more paso babies are born that protect our gene pool.
As it stands now, I look at the event more as a brokerage with biases depending on who the stallion owner is, with no protection and no oversite seriously offered facilitating private contracts. And to me that is NOT an event that PFHA should be involved in.
I'm not asking for some control freak like me to make it impossible for discretionary latitude. I'm simply asking that PFHA recognize that if this is truly a NATIONAL activity QUIT assuming that the people who want to participate will be at the championship show every year. And QUIT assuming that I know all these stallions or stallion owners like we grew up together. Quit assuming all I have to do is call my buddy and get a contract deal I'll bid on.