TABLE OF CONTENTS
MEMBER PROFILE: Lance Clouse
AROUND THE WATER TROUGH
ART OF THE BRABANT
HEALTH & WELLNESS SECTION
MEMBER PROFILE: Lance Clouse
Our 2nd Quarter 2024 Members Meeting will be held April 15th at 8:00 p.m. EST. MJ Aylesworth of Spotted Ponie Therapies will be joining to provide equine emergency tips and tricks. Don't miss it!
HORSE ILLUSTRATED FEATURES THE EUROPEAN BRABANT
The April edition of Horse Illustrated recently hit the shelves and the European Brabant Registry of America scored a breed profile feature! On the cover is LowCountry Acres Floyd (REG# BS0009), owned by Brian & Kara Smith V0069 of Oklahoma. Little Floyd is chewing on the ear of his dam, Acorn Ridge Leah (REG# BS0005), owned by LowCountry Acres V0003 in South Carolina.
On the directory page and within the four-page "Breed Portrait" spread as a full-page image of imported blue roan stallion, Chris Uit Den Blommendaal (REG# EB0001), owned by All the King's Horses V0001 in Pennsylvania. Also within the article is Dea Martin of Big Wish Farm in Texas atop her mare, Bee. And on the very last page is filly Silver Meadow Havanera (REG# BS0007) owned by Dr. Hernando and Lisa Plata V0006 of Kentucky.
In total, the European Brabant "Breed Portrait" covers a whopping seven pages of this famous and widely distributed equestrian magazine. With over 200,000 readers nationwide from all disciplines of the equine world, getting this publication was a real feather in our caps!
Be sure to get your copies of the April 2024 edition of Horse Illustrated and get enough to share it with friends!
PRAYERS & SUPPORT FOR DR. HERNANDO PLATA
EBRA's dear friend, Founding Member, and Director Class III, Dr. Hernando Plata, DVM, has been an integral part of the European Brabant community and establishing this Registry. As a leading Theriogenololgist, he has advised and supported many of us when we've had troubles with sick foals, difficult mares and managing stallions. He's always lent us a hand, no matter the time of day. Now is the chance for us to return that kindness in his family's time of need. After receiving a challenging cancer diagnosis, Hernando is no longer able work and support his family by means of his private, single-vet practitioner business. We are asking for you to keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers during this challenging time. If you are able, please consider donating to his GoFundMe campaign to alleviate some of his financial stress, so that he may focus on healing.
BRABANT BULLETIN PODCAST
Did you know the EBRA has a podcast? Tune in to the Brabant Bulletin Podcast to hear draft horse centric content, Member's profiles and so much more. Simply search for the Brabant Bulletin in your preferred podcast app or click HERE. Don't miss out - SUBSCRIBE NOW!
EBRA WELCOMES JOE WORLEY AS PODCAST HOST
In an effort to raise the profile of the European Brabant draft horse and to promote the Registry, the Board of Directors voted to allocate advertising funds (capped $30 per month) toward the Brabant Bulletin Podcast in order to hire professional voice actor, Joe Worley. Joe is a disabled combat veteran who served as a Navy corpsman alongside Marines in the Battle of Fallujah, where his wounded. After recovering from his injuries, Joe began a career in commercial voiceover work. His talents typically earn him $350 per hour, but he has graciously offered to provide his services to the the EBRA at just $1 per minute. You can hear a sample of Joe's talents by tuning into the European Brabant breed history below.
The EBRA thanks Joe for his generosity and hopes to increase Joe's compensation by bringing on advertisers. Do you want to support the EBRA and Joe at the same time? You can! There are two ways you can help:
Become a podcast donor: For just $5 per episode, your support will go toward the research, development and production of podcast content and earn you a shout-out on your sponsored episode. You can donate any increment you like, be it $5, $25, $50, or $100.
Advertise your business or farm: EBRA will work with you to create a custom commercial spot, using Joe's talents of course, for your business or farm. Your ad will live on in perpetuity with the podcast episode(s) in which it's featured.
30 Second Ad: $60 will include the ad development, voiceover recording and placement in one episode. Additional episode placements can be purchased for $5 per episode.
60 Second Ad: $120 will include the ad development, voiceover recording and placement in one episode. Additional episode placements can be purchased for $10 per episode.
The Brabant Bulletin Podcast is just 1 of 13 equestrian-based podcasts amongst the current 4.3 million podcasts available, and we are 1 of just 2 draft horse related equine shows. With 80 million people tuning into podcasts in the USA, there’s a great opportunity for us to help you reach your target audience. Our audience has grown 250% on podcast apps in the last 30 days alone and we gain more listeners by the minute. Plus, our podcast is published on our EBRA YouTube channel where our 1.8 million viewers have tuned into a combined 34,000 hours of EBRA produced content.
To become a podcast donor or to advertise simply click on the button above or email info@europeanbrabant.com to get started today.
A Note From The Registrar
2023 was an exciting year for the EBRA, as we reached 150 registered horses! We added 50 horses to the books over the year, including 22 foals born in 2023. We had 53 members supporting our mission of preserving and promoting the European Brabant draft horse. Not yet renewed for 2024? Sign up HERE
Beyond the numbers, we had Breed Ambassadors traveling the country to spread the word, hosted the first EBRA Virtual Show, and expanded our reach to offer services to international Brabant owners who don't have a registry in their home country. We look forward to seeing more growth in our herd book, programming, and member initiatives throughout 2024. Be sure to join us for the adventure!
Board of Director Nominations! It's time to start thinking about elections for the EBRA Board of Directors this fall and nominations are now open. Board candidates must be a current EBRA Stakeholder Member owning at least one EBRA registered, purebred European Brabant horse or QM approved European Brabant Stock Mare. They should have a passion for the breed and desire to spread awareness and a positive message about the European Brabant. Board members attend quarterly meetings, help to chair EBRA committees, and provide insight and feedback on proposed policy updates. If you, or someone you know, qualifies and would like to run for a Board of Directors position you can contact Rebecca Courtney at registrar@europeanbrabant.com for full details and a Nomination Form.
Be sure to check out the new "Talking Registry" segment on the Brabant Bulletin Podcast where I talk about all things EBRA with host, Stacy Pearsall.
2024 VIRTUAL HORSE SHOW SURVEY RESULTS
We asked, you responded!
We recently surveyed EBRA Members about what classes they would like to see offered for the 2024 Virtual Horse Show. Based on the survey results above, the Halter Class and Trail Class were the highest scoring disciplines. Coordination and planning for the 2024 Virtual Horse Show Series is now underway. If you would like to join the Show Committee, please email info@europeanbrabant.com.
EBRA IS ON YOUTUBE
The EBRA's YouTube Channel is growing like wildfire! Above, you can see that we've hit 11.5 million impressions, 1.8 million video views, and grew our subscribers by a whopping 123% in the last year alone. People want to see our horses and we want to help you get them seen too! If you have videos on your phone or computer, share them with us. They can be anything from the mundane happy-snap-type videos to the informative and educational.
REEVALUATING THE EVALUATION SYSTEM
For the last several weeks, Evaluation Committee Chair, Olga Pushkareva, has been reevaluating the EBRA's Breed Standard Evaluation system. Proposed plans to overhaul and improve the process were submitted to the Board of Directors, who voted to enact the changes. These changes will not only improve evaluation result times, but minimize expense for horse owners.
Here's what you need to know about the new and improved Breed Standard Evaluations:
"Breed Up" and Qualified Mare Breed Standard Evaluation application fees have been lowered from $100 to $25 for EBRA Members.
Evaluators will now be comprised of Stakeholder Members who are formally trained in European Brabant breed standards, conformation, soundness and movement.
NOTE: An evaluator must recuse themselves from the evaluation process if they have owned, or are the breeder of, or have a stake in the horse applicant.
An applicant has ninety (90) days to contest the Evaluation Committee’s ruling. If the applicant formally contests the ruling, they have an option for a re-evaluation of the initial submission by a third-party expert evaluator at the Owner’s expense.
NOTE: A third-party expert evaluator is an individual with extensive, widely recognized experience with the European Brabant breed, such as one of the breed contest judges from Belgium and The Netherlands.
VOTE PASSES TO CHANGE STAKEHOLDER QUALIFICATIONS
A recent Stakeholder Member vote was passed to change the qualifications for Stakeholder (voting) Members. Check out the new guidance below.
OLD POLICY: Member must own at least one (purebred) registered European Brabant Studbook horse, and be a resident of North, Central or South America, to qualify for the Stakeholder designation. Whether Single or Farm Level Members, Stakeholders are permitted one vote at all EBRA general meetings per Membership and they are eligible to run for Board of Directors and Committee positions.
NEW POLICY: Member must own at least one (purebred) registered European Brabant Studbook horse or registered European Brabant Stock Studbook approved Qualified Mare (QM), and be a resident of North, Central or South America, to qualify for the Stakeholder designation. Whether Single or Farm Level Members, Stakeholders are permitted one vote at all EBRA general meetings per Membership and they are eligible to run for Board of Directors and Committee positions.
FRESHLY BAKED IDEAS
EBRA Member Melissa Mol-Pelton is "rolling out" a freshly baked, and truly genius, idea. She has coordinated with a wood working artisan to create a custom EBRA rolling pin, which she hopes to have ready for you all to order later this summer! According to Melissa, the design still isn't quiet right but they will continue to "tweak the recipe" until it's perfect. More to come!
WELCOME THE EBRA'S NEWEST ADVISORS
Please join us in welcoming the EBRA’s newest Advisory Board additions: Abi Rowlands from the UK, Hani Gasser from Canada, Maura Freshour from Minnesota, Melissa Beagle from New Mexico, and Melissa Mol-Pelton from Connecticut.
Hani, an Agriculture College graduate and trained saddle smith, started his career working border collies, logging with horses and milking sheep in Ireland and Wales. Upon meeting his wife and fellow dog trainer, Tessa, they married and moved to the Swiss Alps, where they continued working dogs and learned to make cow's cheese. After adding three children to their family, Hani and Tessa moved their family from Switzerland to British Columbia, Canada, where they started farming beef cattle and dairy sheep. After much success producing sheep dairy products over the years, Hani and his family moved once more onto a 535 acres farm where they became a certified organic cattle and sheep operation. In 2019, they imported there Ardennes draft horses and began their purebred Ardennes breeding program. In addition to working the farm and breeding, their Ardennes horses are being trained to participate in logging agility courses. Hani's knowledge of logging, importing, training, and breeding of Ardennes draft horses provides a unique perspective to the European Brabant Registry of America's Advisory Committee.
Melissa is a graduate of the Yale University School of Medicine and is an orthopedic physician assistant with over 20 years of experience. She presently resides on a farm Connecticut with her husband, Geert, and two European Brabant mares, Adagio and Acadia. Her exceptional ability to collaborate with teams, communicate effectively with others and reach people on a personal level are assets she brings to the European Brabant Registry of America's Advisory Committee. Her family has a historic connection to the breed, which makes Melissa's love and advocacy for them all-the-more special.
New Mexico business woman, Melissa Beagle, attended Middle Tennessee State University before transferring and graduating from West Texas A&M University with a bachelors in Agriculture Education. Together with her family, Melissa owns and operates WASA Outfitters, which guides people on fair chase hunts throughout New Mexico and surrounding states. Many of the backcountry hunts require horse and mule power to carry hunters in and game out. This led to Melissa establishing a breeding program that now includes European Brabant draft horses. Her full drafts, draft crosses, and mules are level-headed, honest, hard working ranch hands when they're not trekking the backcountry during hunts. Melissa sits on the Advisory Committee and provides insights on the special needs of backcountry horsemen and draft cross breeders.
Maura holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Minnesota with a dual concentration in clinical practice and families and children. She is a Licensed Graduate Social Worker, who is passionate about working with children, families, and adults through various challenges and developmental stages. When not at her Minnesota-based practice, she can be found astride one of her many European Brabants in the hunter jumper arena across the midwest. Maura is an active European Brabant Registry of America Ambassador where she shows and shares her horses at regional events. She currently sits on the Advisory Committee and supports her father, Tim Gunter's, purebred European Brabant breeding program at Jack Creek Farms in Georgia.
Abi is a Software Analyst from Wales, UK. She holds a degree in Genetics & Biochemistry which she utilizes in her passion for the European Brabant. She is very knowledgeable in the area of horse genetics, has taken lessons in working draft horses, and is currently learning all she can regarding horse communication to better herself and her horsemanship. She currently sits on the European Brabant Registry of America’s Advisory Committee, and hopes to help expand the registry’s reach outside of North America.
PAINTINGS & PHOTOGRAPHY OF TON VAN DER WEERDEN
Watch this incredible interview with renown artist, equestrian, and EBRA Advisor, Ton van der Weerden, of the Netherlands. He is a passionate painter and photographer who specializes in equine art, particularly the European Brabant who he says, "Is an inexhaustible source of inspiration to continue photographing and painting." Ton is the co-author of Het Trekpaard and his horse art is sold around the globe.
