ILLINOIS EQUINE PROMOTION BOARD AWARDS MORE THAN $72,000 IN GRANTS
For release: 3/20/09                For information: Karen Freese (217) 677-2152

Bob Wagner accepts an $8,700 Illinois Industry Research & Promotion Board grant from Karen Freese, EPB chair, as Don Cloud looks on. Wagner, a volunteer with more than 4,000 hours of service to the cause, and Cloud accepted on behalf of the Shawnee Backcountry Horsemen, Eddyville, IL, a group which will use the award for trails equipment and maintenance. Equipment being funded includes packsaddles with gravel bags for use in wilderness areas, and a hydraulic gravel-hauling wagon for use in non-wilderness areas.

Debra Hagstrom, left, University of Illinois Extension equine specialist, accepts a $2,500 Illinois Industry Research & Promotion Board grant from Karen Freese, EPB chair. Extension will use the funds to outline, organize and conduct horse pasture management workshops across the state.

Drew Angotti, executive director, Rainbow Riders Therapeutic Center, Monmouth, IL, accepts an $8,000 Illinois Industry Research & Promotion Board grant from Karen Freese, EPB chair. The not-for-profit Center, which makes is services available to all who can benefit from their use, will use the funds to restore weather-damaged barn and paddock areas.

Lisa Smith, Pike County Fair Board Member, accepts a $7,800 Illinois Industry Research & Promotion Board grant from Karen Freese, EPB chair. At left is Martha Sheppard, coordinator, Two Rivers RC&D. Funds will be used to improve arena fencing and footing, re-establishing safety at the site for the many groups that use the public facility. The property, which served as a staging and sand-bagging area during summer flooding last year, was severely damaged.

Dr. Bill VanAlstine of the Decatur, Illinois Park Board, accepts a $14,000 Illinois Industry Research & Promotion Board grant from Karen Freese, EPB chair, to be used to fund first steps in developing the new Big Creek Riding Center. From left are Chuck Reynolds, interim manager, Big Creek Riding Center, and Rod Bussell, chairman of the Big Creek Community Advisory Committee.

Trail Riders of DuPage received a $7,200 Illinois Industry Research & Promotion Board grant during ceremonies at the Illinois Horse Fair. Funds will be used to extend TROD's successful training sessions to other areas of Illinois, teaching first responders how to handle horses in crises situations.  (L-R) George Sevenburg, lead instructor; Karen Freese, EPB chair; Richard Hargreaves, emergency response training program coordinator; and Tom Jennings, Illinois Director of Agriculture.

Mark Schwarm of the Equine Science Program, Southern Illinois University, accepts a $3,000 Illinois Industry Research & Promotion Board grant from Karen Freese, EPB chair, to encourage Natural Horsemanship Training methods. Natural Horsemanship is the term describing a method of two-way communication between horse and human that is cooperative in nature.

Matt Thouvenin, vice president, and Linda Kennedy (second from right) secretary of the King City Saddle Club, Mt. Vernon, IL, accept a $9,000 Illinois Industry Research & Promotion Board grant from Karen Freese (second from left), EPB chair, for arena and grounds safety improvement projects, including a public address system and upgrades to arena and driveways at the site. Assisting with the presentation were Tom Jenning (center) Illinois director of agriculture, and Frank Bowman (right) president of the Horsemen's Council of Illinois.

Dr. Eric Carlson of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, accepts an $11,300 Illinois Industry Research & Promotion Board grant from Karen Freese, EPB chair. Carlson is part of a team of investigators from the College of Veterinary Medicine, lead by Allison Stewart, DVM, studing the effects of hyaluronia acid and triamcinolone alone and in combination on synovitis of equine stifle (which treatment option is best for painful, often debilitating osteoarthritis in a horse's knee joint).

Springfield, IL – More than $72,000 in grants by the Illinois Equine Industry Research and Promotion Board (EPB) have been awarded, according to Karen Freese, chair.

Grants are funded by the Illinois equine checkoff program, which provides for the voluntary assessment of a nickel per 50-pound bag of horse feed sold at retail.

The awards went to projects in nine communities from deep in southern Illinois' Shawnee National Forest to urban DuPage County in the north. The grants were presented at the 2009 Illinois Horse Fair.

Shawnee Backcountry Horsemen received $8,734 for equipment to help its volunteers with trail construction, reconstruction and maintenance on Shawnee National Forest and nearby private property trails.

"Hardening of the trails to withstand traffic without trail tread failure, muddiness or erosion is an increasingly important consideration," according to Pat Laubscher, project contact for the group headquartered in Eddyville, IL.

Equipment being funded includes packsaddles with gravel bags for use in wilderness areas, and a hydraulic gravel-hauling wagon for use in non-wilderness areas.

"Thousands of equestrians yearly will benefit," Laubscher said, citing a 2003 study showing more than 38,000 visitors to Shawnee area horse campgrounds alone. Trail use also generates considerable economic activity for feed stores, farriers, trainers as well as community restaurants, retailers and service stations.

Rainbow Riders Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center, Monmouth, IL, received $8,000 toward its barn and paddock restoration project.

"Because we are a not-for-profit corporation in a rural, low socio-economic area, all of our current resources are directed into a ridership fund, which ensures that every person who could benefit from this type of therapy is able to, regardless of financial position," said Drew Angotti, Rainbow's executive director. "Consequently, we do not have enough resources to finance a project this size (restoration of weather-damaged roof and wash-outs creating safety concerns for users)," he said.

Pike County Fairgrounds was given $7,800 to improve arena fencing and footing, re-establishing safety at the site for the many groups that use the public facility. During the severe flooding in the area during the summer of 2008, the grounds were used as a staging area for sand-bagging and other flood-fighting activities. Fencing around the area is used metal pipe, donated 20 years ago, and now rusted to ruin.
Like many other projects supported by the EPB, volunteers will remove old and install new fencing at Pike County's grounds, according to Brenda Middendorf, project coordinator.

First steps for a new Big Creek Riding Center, Decatur, IL, are being funded with a $14,000 grant. The project is part of a 10-year master plan by the Big Creek Riding Center Advisory Committee, which requested help in creating a 7-acre turn out pasture to serve boarders and show participants, along with refurbishing access roads and ultimately a new indoor and outdoor arena and boarding facilities for 52 horses at the facility owned by the Decatur Park District. Big Creek has more than five miles of wooded and natural prairie trails.

According to Jim Kiefer, project manager and park district operations manager, the district will provide labor and use of equipment, local donors will fund ornamental horticulture and three agencies have joined flood mitigations projects at the site.

Trail Riders of DuPage (TROD), Warrenville, IL, received $7,200 to enhance and expand its 12-year-old ongoing training program for first response personnel who may serve at equestrian accident scenes. Objective of TROD sessions is to develop basic familiarity in how to safely handle horses under crises conditions, according to Richard Hargreaves, project direct.

"To date, more than 800 responders have been trained, Hargreaves said, "the majority of them from DuPage and Chicago collar counties." "Now we want to develop resources, instructors and sites to reach first responders all across Illinois," he said.

Mark Schwarm of the Equine Science Program, Southern Illinois University, received $3,000 for the promotion of Natural Horsemanship Training Methods. "Natural Horsemanship is the term coined to describe a method of two-way communication between horse and human that is cooperative in nature," Schwarm said. "It differs from the more traditional, coercive-type horse training methods in that it offers options to the horse and encourages the horse to choose the desirable option rather than forcing the horse into a single, dictated action," he explained.

Schwarm says that learning the rudiments of natural horse-human communication is the basis of the horse training classes offered at SIU, the only four-year collegiate equine science program in Illinois.

King City Saddle Club, Mt. Vernon, IL, received $9,000 for the club's arena and grounds project. Included in the grant is funding for road repair and a public address system and upgrades to arena and driveways at the site, which hosts 10 to 15 fun, pleasure and speed shows annually, as well as being used by many clubs. "In 2008, there were 23 events and 1,000 horses," said Linda Kennedy project director. The PA system is a valuable aid in safely controlling equestrian and spectator traffic, according to Kennedy.

Investigators from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, lead by Allison Stewart, DVM, received $11,300 to study the effects of hyaluronic acid and triamcinolone alone and in combination on synovitis of equine stifle (which treatment option is best for painful, often debilitating osteoarthritis in a horse's knee joint).

"In horses, osteoarthritis is more common and has greater economic impact than acute traumatic injuries or respiratory disease," Dr. Stewart said. "It is a major source of debilitating pain, economic loss and decreased athleticism in the performance horse," she said, noting that "70% of Illinois' 213,000 horses are used for recreation or showing."

Debra Hagstrom, equine extension specialist, University of Illinois, received $2,250 to outline, organize and conduct horse pasture management workshops. These will be one-day events programmed to provide information on improving the quality and productiveness of pasture for horses. "Information will be offered on forage species best suited to Illinois soils and climate, grazing management to optimize pasture production and longevity, and pasture fertilization and renovation techniques," Hagstrom said. Workshops will include "pasture walks," enabling participants to see actual pasture conditions and learn how to apply knowledge they gain in classroom sessions, she added.

By law, EPB funds must go to support equine research, education and promotion in keeping with the enabling legislation's core purpose: "Enhancement of the Illinois equine industry through self-funded programs, projects and activities. Grants to institutions and individuals will be related to equine research, education and industry enhancements and promotion."

Illinois has more than 77,000 horse owners and 213,000 horses, constituting a $3.8 billion industry and providing more than 15,000 fulltime jobs.

Any group, individual, company or institution may apply for funding. Preference will be given to projects benefiting the largest number of people/horses.

A detailed research application is available (as well as a shorter project application) at www.HorsemensCouncil.org or from the EPB administrative office, 3085 Stevenson Drive, Suite 308, Springfield, IL 62703, phone (217) 585-1600.