In This Issue

Congratulations to CIRT Executive Director
We at NARHA congratulate Judith Kruse, executive director of Central Illinois Riding Therapy, who was recently featured by Hediger & Meyers in The Marketeer, Central Illinois' business-to-business journal. Judith began as a volunteer with CIRT and has held numerous state and national positions with NARHA. Congratulations, Judith, on this recognition!

May 4, 2010

Disaster Relief for NARHA Centers
NARHA has a disaster relief fund to assist NARHA centers with an immediate need in funding expenses not normally covered by operating insurance after natural or man-made catastrophic disasters. This includes disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, floods, fires and drought. You can find the Disaster Relief Fund guidelines and application on NARHA's homepage.

Join NARHA's Click4Cash

We are having a lot of fun and generating public interest for the EAAT industry through NARHA's partnership with Equestrian Collections. Nearly 100 NARHA centers are enjoying receiving their proceeds checks in the mail for the purchases their communities have made through their websites. To keep the fun rolling, Equestrian Collections will give one lucky center a $100 gift certificate for joining the NO COST program. They will announce the recipient in the June 2nd edition of NARHA News. Click here and follow the steps to join.

We have created a shopping area on Equestrian Collections for EAAT-focused products, but your shoppers can shop the entire site, maximizing the potential revenue for your center. All you have to do is get shoppers to click on your Shop & Change a Life button before they do the regular shopping they would do anyway. Once you have signed up, you will receive an email with step-by-step instructions for how to retrieve the Shop & Change a Life banner to place on your center's website.

Any questions? Please email Nina and reference CLICK4CASH in the subject line.

Contest: Guess the National Conference Luncheon Speaker!

Thank you to all who have participated so far in our "Guess the National Conference Luncheon Speaker" contest. We've had some great guesses, but no one has guessed correctly yet. We will be giving you hints in NARHA News over the next several weeks or until someone guesses correctly. The first person to correctly guess who our luncheon speaker is will win a $25 gift certificate to Equestrian Collections. Email your guesses to Cher Smith.

This issue's hint: While he is best known for movies and television (and one character in particular), he was also a boxer and boxed with the Coast Guard's team, posting 201 wins out of 217 matches.

Deadlines Approaching for NARHA National Conference

Nominations for NARHA's 2010 Awards Program are due by May 14, 2010. Click here to download the 2010 criteria and nomination forms.

Please send all nominations to NARHA, Attn: Tara McChesney, PO Box 33150, Denver, CO 80233 or email them to [email protected].

There is still time to register early for the 2010 NARHA National Conference and Annual Meeting and save! Click here to register.

Click here for hotel reservations.

Click here to check out the conference web page and check back often to view conference updates as they're unveiled.

Sponsored by: Purina Mills, Markel Insurance Company, American Quarter Horse Association, Triple Crown Nutrition

NARHA 2010 National Conference Scholarship Application

NARHA continues to work diligently to grow the number of sponsors underwriting scholarships for NARHA's National Conference and Annual Meeting. As leaders in the EAAT industry, we are committed to providing our members educational opportunities for professional growth and center sustainability.

Click here to download the scholarship application. Applications are due by June 28. Submit completed applications via email to [email protected], via fax to (303) 252-4610, or via mail to NARHA, P.O. Box 33150, Denver, CO 80233, attn: Sandy Artichoker.

Attention NARHA Instructors: Continuing Education Credit Through CHA Conference
Get continuing education credit hours October 21-24 at the CHA International Conference at The Oaks Equestrian Center in Lake City, FL. Visit the CHA website to view the current flyer, tentative schedule of speakers and sessions and registration form. Cost is only $350 for the entire conference, not including lodging. This is the CHA member rate but is extended to all NARHA members as well.

EAAT Community Loses a Friend

The American Hippotherapy Association asked NARHA to inform its members of the death of Barbara Heine, physical therapist, on March 30, 2010. Barb had been diagnosed with mantle cell cancer in August 2009 and has been battling the disease since that time.

Heine also served as education chair for AHA and for three years as AHA's President. She developed a manual for Australian therapists on hippotherapy and is credited with training, establishing and credentialing Australian hippotherapy programs.

Heine was one of the founding members of the American Hippotherapy Certification Board. In honor of her superior and vast equine skills, AHA had established the Barb Heine Horse of the Year award.

For the hippotherapy and the EAAT community, the loss of Barb will be a void impossible to fill. Our condolences to her family.

New Book Offers Parents a Guide to Riding Lessons

In October, Storey Publishing released its latest equine volume, A Parent's Guide to Riding Lessons: Everything You Need to Know to Survive and Thrive with a Horse Loving Kid by Elise Gaston Chand. The book starts with the basics, giving parents a solid foundation of horse knowledge. Of particular interest to NARHA members is chapter four on finding a therapeutic riding center for children with special needs and the section about NARHA. An expansive list of resources concludes the guide, giving parents a realistic way to nurture their children's dreams of horseback riding.

A Parent's Guide to Riding Lessons retails for $14.95 and can be ordered from most major bookstores or ordered online.

Impending Tax Changes Will Affect Nonprofits

On May 16, 2010, the IRS will begin revoking tax-exempt status from nonprofits that failed to file three consecutive annual returns (Form 990-N, 990-EZ, 990, or 990-PF).

GuideStar, the leading source of nonprofit information and the source of Charity Check, which verifies charitable status, estimates that 350,000 to 400,000 nonprofits are in danger of losing their exemptions. A large number of these organizations are smaller nonprofits that previously were not required to file an annual return because their gross revenues were $25,000 or less. These nonprofits now must file Form 990-N, which the IRS created in response to the Pension Protection Act.