The winner of the Region 9 Publicity Contest is the Alamo Arabian Horse Association's Youth Club for their television segment on KENS-TV's (CBS affiliate in San Antonio) Great Day SA morning show. The AAHA Youth Club will receive $500 cash and other benefits to be announced at Horsefest, January 15-16, 2005 in Mesquite, Texas.

The segment was more than seven minutes long and featured the youth director, Jeanne Harford, as the spokesperson, and AAHA Youth Club members and horses in Show Hack, Native Costume, Western Pleasure and Hunter Pleasure costume. Originally pitched to promote the AAHA Spring Fiesta Show, the segment aired later in the summer, when the show's producers asked if they could reschedule it because the show was already booked for May. Rather than give up the opportunity, the Youth Club agreed to do the segment a few weeks later instead and to bring the horses to the studio to make it convenient for the television station. Although it took a lot of effort, transporting horses and changing tack in the
parking lot on a hot summer day, the results were terrific with several segments airing throughout the one-hour show, with the AAHA website and the youth club's contact telephone number graphically displayed, and interviews with youth members and the youth director extolling the virtues of showing Arabian horses and making the point that it's a family affair.

There were eight other entries, all of which helped promote the Arabian horse, and all will be featured in an upcoming Region 9 Newsletter article and at the Horsefest Conference later this month. Congratulations to everyone who got their stories published and helped promote the Arabian horse in Region 9.

Of course we're extremely proud of our AAHA Youth Club...congratulations on a job well done!