Paints Attract Newcomers to the Horse Industry Through Time to Ride
[source: APHA.com]
![[photo credit: APHA.com]](https://www.showhorsetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/APHA-Time-To-Ride-1024x535.jpg)
APHA members are helping to lead the way to grow the horse industry through meaningful interactions with our colorful equine friends.
The Time to Ride program—designed to encourage introductions between newcomers and horses through horse business incentives—has already helped nearly 25,000 people experience horses for the first time. More than 1,000 events held by 216 hosts took place during last year’s competition.
Always ones to stand out from the crowd, 36 APHA-affiliated hosts registered for the challenge, and 19 actively participated to service more than 6,700 newcomers.
While these positive initial interactions do wonders for the participant—giving them a full dose of horse fever—Time to Ride’s initiatives are also beneficial for hosts.
Christine Yeasel of Saint Cloud, Florida, operates Diamond P Equestrian Center with her daughter. The duo used Time to Ride to reach out to new areas of the community, and they brought their Paint “Daisy” along with them.
“I liked Time to Ride’s push to get people to learn about horses. I grew up here and it used to be all horses, but the demographics have changed so much that nobody has horses anymore,” Christine said. “Our goal was to try to get kids back in touch with horses.”
Diamond P held meet-and-greet-style events throughout Florida including college-bowl events and tourist-drawing rodeos. First-time participants ranged from young children excited about horses to elderly tourists who had never touched or seen a horse, Christine says.
“We got a lot of new connections through Time to Ride; it all works hand-in-hand,” Christine said. “Plus, we met other businesses who wanted us to come to their events as well.”
APHA is proud to partner with Time to Ride to promote the overarching equine industry. Watch for more information about 2017 Time to Ride events, and get your barn involved!
Learn more about Time to Ride and get involved in the 2017 challenge! Visit timetoride.com for more information.