EQUINE PROMOTION BOARD
INVITES HORSEMEN TO APPLY
FOR UPCOMING VACANCIES

2005 Grant Awards Announced  
U. of I. Animal Science Dept. receives Equine Promotion Board grant to 
study optimum time for equine breeding
Springfield, IL – Researchers from the University of Illinois Saturday (March 5) received an $8,000 grant from the Illinois Equine Industry Research & Promotion Board (EPB) to work toward determining critical LH concentration for ovulation induction in mares.
 
Kevin H. Kline, PhD, and Kristine M. Doyle, U. of I. Department of Animal Science, received the grant from Lois A. Guyon, EPB chair, and Chuck Hartke, director, Illinois Department of Agriculture, during ceremonies at the Illinois Horse Fair in Springfield.
The grant is one of seven awarded, totaling nearly $28,000. Funding comes from voluntary assessments of 5 cents per 50-pound bag of horse feed, collected from feed manufacturers and passed along to feed buyers at the retail level. Grants awarded Saturday are funded from 4Q 2004 collections. Additional grants will be made as future funds become available.

In making the presentations, Guyon recognized the Horsemen’s Council of Illinois for its work in bringing about the legislation that established the checkoff last year “and all of you who voted to approve the referendum and continue to support it with your voluntary assessments,” she said to the capacity crowd gathered in the Livestock Center where nearly 30 different equine breeds/sports/disciplines were demonstrated. Illinois Horse Fair annually attracts more than 10,000 horsemen to the three-day event in March at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

“As we go forward, we do so with the assurance that by law, all of the money collected must and can only be used to support equine research, education and promotion,” Guyon told the assemblage. As envisioned by the legislation and the EPB, approvals will be split about 50/50 between research and education and equine promotion, she said.


Any group, individual, company or institution may apply for funding. It is the sole responsibility of the EPB’s grant selection committee to determine who receives grant money, with preference given to projects benefiting the largest number of people or horses.

The U. of I. inquiry stems from the fact that fertility in the horse is relatively low compared to other species. The national foaling rate may be as low as 65% each year. This costs the equine industry millions of dollars a year.

Part of the problem is that the length of estrus can vary greatly among mares, making it difficult to predict the time of ovulation and the optimum time for breeding.

According to Kline, if a method to accurately predict the time of ovulation can be developed, it could greatly increase the foaling rate. The research proposes to identify the critical concentration of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) that will induce ovulation in the mare and correlate it with concentration of estrogen present in the blood at this time in order to develop a test that more reliably determines the optimal breeding time, Kline says.

A provision of the EPB grant is that results of this research, along with any other such projects funded by the EPB, must be shared with the Illinois equine industry.
 
Other grants awarded Saturday go to:
Central Illinois Riding Therapy (East Peoria), $6,000 toward purchase of a dump truck so the group can haul shavings donated by Caterpillar. The quantity of shavings donated is large enough not only to bed all the group’s horses, but to be sold as a continuing revenue source to support the group’s programming.
 
University of Illinois Extension, Equine Education for Youth and Adults (Franklin County office) $5,000 for equipment to increase horse-related programs in southern Illinois.
 
Equine Science Program at Southern Illinois University, $3,200 to study natural behaviors, management and equine welfare.
 
Illinois 4-H Program Expansion Project, $2,250 for a new horse judging contest and oral reasons clinics.
 
LaSalle County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse, $1,600 for global positioning satellite equipment to help the all-volunteer group in search and rescue operations while demonstrating the usefulness of horses for the purpose.
 
Mounted Angels Therapeutic Horsemanship (Pike County), $1,600 toward purchase of a cargo trailer for handicapped rider equipment transportation and storage.

 
About the Equine Promotion Board

The Illinois Equine Industry Research and Promotion Board is an Illinois not-for-profit entity, organized to provide research, promotion and education for the equine industry in Illinois.  Authorized by the enabling legislation, the Equine Promotion Board collects a voluntary assessment on equine feed purchased in Illinois.  Run by a 12-member board of directors, the Equine Promotion is responsible for the collection, monitoring and disbursements of the equine checkoff funds.
Mission Statement - Core Purpose

The core purpose of the Illinois Equine Industry Research and Promotion Board is to enhance the Illinois equine industry through self-funded programs, projects and activities.

Board of Directors

Chairman of the Board
Lois Guyon
Streator
Lois Guyon of Streator, appointed to a two-year term, is an active volunteer with the LaSalle County Sheriff’s Mounted Unit and is a member of Illinois Trail riders, Washee Riders and Illinois Valley Horsemen’s Association. “While I represent pleasure horses, I also see the horse used in support of policing activities as a well as an ambassador to the public, areas I would like to see further developed,” she says.  Lois serves as the Chairman of the Equine Promotion Board.

Vice Chairman of the Board
Frank Bowman
Pleasant Plains
Frank Bowman of Pleasant Plains, appointed to a three-year term, is president of the Horsemen’s Council of Illinois, and has a Missouri Fox Trotter breeding, training and showing operation with emphasis on recreational uses of horses, including trail riding. Bowman serves as Vice Chairman of the Equine Promotion Board.

Secretary
Anne Gallagher
Walnut
Anne Gallagher of Walnut, appointed to a three-year term, operates a Thoroughbred foaling farm along with her husband. “I have no political or personal motives other than sincere interest to benefit the horsemen of this state,” Gallagher said in applying for a board position. Gallagher is a member of the Illinois Thoroughbred Breeders & Owners Foundation, American Quarter Horse Association, American Paint Horse Association and Illinois Trail Riders Association. She is a Horsemen’s Council of Illinois director and a 4-H leader.  Anne serves as the Secretary of the Equine Promotion Board.

Treasurer
Lisa Wentworth
Decatur
Lisa Wentworth of Decatur, appointed to a one-year term, has been breeding and showing quarter horses for 30 years, is a member of the Illinois Quarter Horse Association show and contest committee, and includes horses from western pleasure to hunters in her background. “The key is getting all the breeds working together to promote the Illinois equine industry,” she says.  Lisa serves as the Treasurer of the Equine Promotion Board.

Board Members

Penny Boyer
Marshall
Penny Boyer of Marshall, appointed to a two-year term, is a University of Illinois-approved judge who has been associated with horses most of her life and has a special interest in “implementing programs to benefit young people,” she says. Boyer operates Little Creek Ranch Equestrian Center where she breeds, trains and shows quarter horses and provides riding lessons to children and adults. Prior to opening the equestrian center, Boyer managed her husband’s veterinary practice.

Kirk Dailey
Ashton
Kirk A. Dailey, Chicago district manager for Purina Mills and the feed company’s equine specialist for northern Illinois, has been named to the Illinois Equine Industry Research and Promotion Board (EPB), replacing Jeff Adkisson as the board’s representative from the feed and grain industry.

“Horses are our lives in the Dailey family,” Kirk says, referring to the Quarter Horses he keeps at home in Ashton, IL, and the 20 to 40 head his father keeps on the 104-acre family farm in Livingston, WI, in addition to standing an AQHA Buckskin stallion and the 16-20 mares he breeds each year. Kirk and his father hold two consignment auctions a year in Livingston, drawing buyers and sellers from all the large horse population states.

Janet Emerson
Golconda
Janet Emerson of Golconda, appointed to a one-year term, has owned horses for 45 years, having shown quarter horses 22 years and raced harness horses for the last 23 years. She is a member of the United States Trotting Association, Illinois Standardbred Owners and Breeders Association, Illinois Harness Horse Association and the Kentucky Harness Horse Association. She considers her knowledge of the industry’s importance in terms of employment and recreational opportunity to be an asset to the board.

Jean Greenlee
Caldonia
Jean Greenlee of Caldonia, appointed to a one-year term, holds membership in Illinois Trail Riders, Northern Illinois – Southern Wisconsin Trail Riders Association, Valley Trail Riders, Local Greenways Committee, County Forest Preserve Equine Committee, and Winnebago County 4-H Horse and Pony Committee. “The large number of trail riders throughout Illinois need a voice in promotion,” she says.

Steve Hollewell
Milledgeville
Steve Hollewell of Milledgeville, appointed to a two-year term, operates a breeding farm and boarding business and is active in 4-H programs. He is a member of the Midwest Arabian Horse Club, Wisconsin State Horse Council (holds a WSHC judging card), Northern Illinois Arabian Activities Horse Club, and Carroll County 4-H Horse and Pony Committee. “I would like to help promote all aspects of the equine industry in Illinois,” he says

Sam Lilly
Downers Grove
Sam Lilly of Downers Grove, appointed to a one-year term, publishes a monthly Illinois Standardbred magazine and is a member of the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association, Illinois Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association, and the Illinois Council of Food and Agricultural Research. “I am confident that I will place that (my association affiliations) in perspective for the good of the equine industry as a whole,” he says.

Joy Meierhans
Elburn
Joy Meierhans of Elburn, appointed to a three-year term, manages the Illinois Horse Fair and is both a horse show manager and equine event planner who serves as a director of the Mid-America Horse Show Association and the Horsemen’s Council of Illinois. She is a member of U. S. Equestrian and the American Saddlebred Horse Association. “With a background in showing Saddlebreds and ponies, and managing the largest non-racing equine event in Illinois, I’ll bring a balanced view of the needs for research, promotion and outreach programs,” she says.

Dean Scoggins, D.V. M.
Villa Grove
Dean Scoggins, of Villa Grove recently retired as Equine Extension Veterinarian at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine and College of ACES after 27 years. He earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Michigan State University and has been a horse owner, breeder and trainer for more than 50 years with a special interest in equine behavior and dentistry. He has served on the board of directors of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) that serves a,000 members worldwide with more than 200 in Illinois. He has given seminars and clinics throughout Illinois, the United States and Canada on health, training, care and welfare of the horse.Dr. Scoggins is a founding member and director of HCI and was instrumental in formation of the Illinois equine check off program, having been present at many of the conceptual meetings with the Illinois Department of Agriculture. He possesses a valuable working knowledge of the grant process.

 
 Enabling Legislation

The enabling legislation Illinois Equine Industry Research & Promotion Act  (PA 93-0135) establishes the structure and provides for a “volunteer” assessment of $2.00 per ton on commercial horse feed that will be dedicated to:

  •  The continuation and expansion of existing and development of new equine programs that enhance the growth of the Illinois Horse Industry, an industry that is made up of  77,000 Illinois horse owners and over 15,500 Illinois jobs.

  • Funding for research and educational programs and developments in the equine industry beneficial to all equine owners in the state.

  • The creation of informational and promotion programs and greater involvement in the equine industry by the citizens of the state.

The program requires no State resources, requires no State funding and is not a tax. Rather it is a structure that will enable the horse industry, in a volunteer manner, to self-fund the programs. In the Illinois fiscal environment, it is vital that we act to ensure that equine programs and services remain an ongoing benefit to Illinois citizens and the Illinois economy.

Further, the funds collected from the Equine Promotion Board will be returned to the equine industry through self-funded programs, projects and activities -- not funneled to state GRF!

Remittance Forms & Collection Procedures

Grant Applications

Contact Us

The administrative office of the Illinois Equine Promotion Board is administered by Association Central, Inc., 3085 Stevenson Drive, Suite 308, Springfield, IL  62703, Phone, 217.585.1600 and Facsimile 217.585.1601.

 Mailing address of the organization is: 

Illinois Equine Promotion Board
3085 Stevenson Drive, Suite 308
Springfield, IL  62703
info@ILEquinePromotionBoard.com