Equestrian Lifestyle Expo & Holiday Market attendees will find valuable expertise available to them on all aspects of horses November 22-23 at Arlington Park Racecourse, Arlington Heights (Chicago), IL.

“In addition to commercial vendors stocking ‘everything equestrian,’ attendees will have access to top professionals from the business world of equestrian enterprise through the training, showing, nutrition and health care concerns, ranging from performance horses to retired seniors,” according to Joy Meierhans, Expo manager.

Expo is presented by Horsemen’s Council of Illinois and sponsored by Purina Mills.

RFD-TV’s Julie Goodnight will join Purina Mills’ Dr. Randel Raub as educational headliners at Expo, which will feature shopping on the main level of the grandstand with learning opportunities in four seminar areas on the upper level,” Meierhans said.

“Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or just thinking about getting into horses, Expo will help guide you to feed, tack, togs, a barn to house them – or simply offer a good time learning more about horses and every aspect of the equestrian lifestyle,” Meierhans said.

Goodnight’s presentations will include “Coping with Fear,” “Horse Evaluation and Selection – Choosing the Right Horse for You,” “Horse Behavior and the Human Relationship,” and “Life Lessons Horses Teach Us.”

Julie has more than 25 years of horse training experience. Her varied background ranges from dressage and jumping to racing, reining, colt-starting and wilderness riding. She communicates clearly with horses and riders in any discipline and travels coast-to-coast and beyond to film her television show, “Horse Masters,” and to appear at horse expos, conferences and clinics. Her training and teaching techniques are frequent features of Horse & Rider, Perfect Horse, The Trail Rider and many other equine publications.

As Director of Equine Business Development and Technical Service for Purina Mills, Dr. Raub has serious responsibilities. His subjects at Expo reflect this. But Dr. Raub has another, personable, downright laugh-provoking side, which he will offer through his “act” – The Stupid Horse.

On the serious side, Dr. Raub will discuss research findings on the special needs horse (Cushings, obesity); challenges in feeding Olympic athletes (and other high performance horses); as well as what IS meaningful research (ingredients, quality, safety issues).

Raub directs equine research at Purina Mills’ 1,100-acre 75-horse research farm near St. Louis. He received his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from the University of Illinois and his Doctorate from the University of Kentucky where he focused on the effects of nutrition and exercise on growth physiology. Before joining Purina, he was the horse teaching and research specialist at Kansas State University for 12 years. He and his family are active in the breeding and training of ranch and western performance horses.

Program details (descriptions of topics, biographies of presenters, schedule of events and times) will be available on the Expo website www.HorsemensCouncil.org. Tickets are $6 per day, $10 for the weekend, available on the web site or at the door.

Vendors will offer English and Western tack and clothing; feed, supplements, health care products; facilities, equipment and stable supplies; and trailers.

With only 30 days before Christmas, attendees will find selection and pricing on featured holiday gift items, including jewelry, art, books, stationery, home/barn/lounge accessories – even chocolates in the shape of horse heads.

Expo will have representatives from schools, camps and breed/discipline clubs, all eager to share their perspective on the horse world – and how to join them.

Expo will offer presentations on incorporating a passion for horses into home décor, the horse in art, animal communication and more.

Equestrian lifestyle presenters will include trainer/performer Laura Amandis’ observations on horses in entertainment (Amandis is former show director and senior vice president of entertainment for Arabian Nights Dinner Theatre, Orlando); animal communication practitioner Asia Voight, whose uncanny insight into what a horse is thinking amazes owners; sports psychologist Dr. Morgan Wolin, who has helped prominent teams and players develop a winning attitude, as well as helping equestrians deal with mental blocks; and ASID designer Susan B. Behringer, who will inspire listeners with her “how to” presentation on incorporating your passion for horses into your home.

Amandis also will host a session on the professional secrets of training horses at liberty.

A modern-day James Herriott, Marcia Thibeault, DVM, author of “I Make Horse Calls,” will share readings from her book as she introduces CSI Angie Palmer, who can coolly examine the bloody scene of a triple murder, but panics when her mare goes into labor; the punctual Mary Wilkinson, who seeks veterinary advice when her horse’s bowel movement is an hour late; seven teenage boys who faint while observing surgery during career day at the veterinary hospital, and others.

Expo’s programming format will be seminars and roundtables – literally – where attendees can spend 15 minutes at a table with an expert before moving on to the next table, topic and expert. Subjects will include designing web sites that work, drafting your own liability release to reduce legal risk in equine activities, equine mortality and medical insurance, current health issues, how to manage small acreage horse pastures and paddocks, budget-minded marketing, what to do until the vet arrives, stem cell therapy for joint disease and tendon injury, equine disaster preparedness, leg wrapping, how to buy your first horse, and many more.

For information on attending Expo visit www.HorsemensCouncil.org or call toll free 1-866-384-9161. For information on exhibiting, contact Joy Meierhans at (630) 557-2575 or JM@TheMeierhans.com.

Horsemen’s Council of Illinois, voice of the horse industry in Illinois, is affiliated with the American Horse Council and is the statewide association of equine organizations and individuals working to provide centralized leadership for Illinois’ 77,000 horse owners, 213,000 horses and its $3.8 billion industry, which provides full-time employment for more than 15,000 people.

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