THE ALL ARABIANS HORSE ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA President: Nicolien Muller Vice President: Brenda Driediger Treasurer: Berni Van Lieshout Secretary: Debbie Thompson Past President: Kimberly Toye Jibbah Editor: Ashley Lauren Toye
Board of Directors: Doug Archibald Joan Arnett Maureen Gough Seleyna Holowinko Laura Leitch Shelby Preston Bonnie Schneider Ashley Lauren Toye Alternates: Tracy Douglas Nicole Quinn Jade Scheu
Thank You to our 2019 Sponsors There is a long list of people to thank for sponsorships this year and we are so appreciative of your continued support! Sincerely, The All Arabians Horse Association of British Columbia.
AAHABC Gold Sponsors Cora Breakfast & Lunch Seymour Investments The Quinn Family AAHABC Silver Sponsors Kingburne Farm - Rob & Meaghan Calnan Reed Training Schneider Arabians Serenity Farms The Terlecki Team & MJT Contracting Thunderbird Show Park Willow Acres Wise Equine AAHABC Pre-Show Class Sponsors Artisan Arabians Blacklock Mechanical Bonita and John Schneider
Brandi & Emma Cryer Buck N’ Clean Horse Laundry Services Champion Horse Blankets Dreidiger Family Excelsior Stables Hickerson Arabians Leslie Harpur Louise & Daniella Gray Michelle Pease Paulson Sue Barillaro AAHABC Pre-Show Prize & Product Sponsors Blackline Siteworks Country Feeds Equusoul Equine First Aid Liquor Warehouse Little Donkey Beer & Burritos Michelle Pease Paulson The Mill Store White Spot Aldergrove
MERRICK MILLER PHOTO
P R ES IDEN TS MESSAGE
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to our AAHABC Family and friends. Wishing you happiness at this wonderful time of year. Thank you to our 2019 Directors who have given so much to our club during this busy year. Thank you to our exhibitors, sponsors and supporters who attend our shows and contributed to our success in 2019! You are appreciated. Our AAHABC supporters, through sponsorships, volunteering and showing made the Region 17 Championship very successful. The Region 17 Show goes back to Alberta for the next two years but we will be having Canadian Breeders here in 2020 and 2021. We will be running three shows next year. The early show in April, the Classic in early May and the Frolic in September. The Annual General Meeting will be held on January 13, 2020. There may be some directors stepping down and new ones stepping up. We appreciate all the hard work our directors do every year and hope to have another successful year next year. We continue to be very proud of our Club’s exhibitors both at home at our club events and at out of province shows during the 2019 season. Your are amazing! Our members have done well both at the Canadian and US National Shows. Check back soon for prizelists for shows in the New Year, We hope to see you all there! Nicki Muller AAHABC President
Merry Christmas With love from all of us at Excelsior Stables & Nicki Muller Training
LESSONS
YOUT H DIR ECTO R | KAD E BRASS As Region 17 Youth Director it is my job to engage the kids of our region. We all know just how huge Region 17 is and how difficult it is to feel connected to those living on the other side of it. That is my mission so I am starting at home, with the clubs and youth here in BC. Leslie Harpur is my Youth Coordinator and together we have decided to tackle the task head on. As you may know, our first attempt of doing this was a Halloween Social hosted by Flightline Farm Arabians and sponsored by AAHABC and Reed Training. The Social was a success, I stopped counting at 48 people and believe a fair estimate would be 60 people were there. Our timing was such that it conflicted with US Nationals which meant many were away showing. I expect there will be an even bigger turn out this time around, maybe even double! At the Halloween Social there were BBQ hotdogs sponsored by Reed Training, the indoor arena allowed plenty of room for the potato sac and three-legged races which were organized prior to and a foot race that was impromptu and entertaining to say the least. AAHABC sponsored the prizes for the kids, candy and other snacks. Costumes were optional and hilarious. Face painting and pumpkin designing was lots of fun. For the Christmas Social, there will be appetizer platters as well as sweets. We will have cookie decorating and card making for the Youth. A colouring contest is also planned The fire pit will be burning outside while the games and food will be held inside the indoor arena. We expect a colder day than the last event, so bundle up!! Sun sets around 4 that time of year so it will be starting at 1pm so we can maximize our use of daylight. AAHABC & AAHABC Youth will have a few Silent Auction items with hopes of funding more such activities. There is no charge to attend and no one is obligated to donate anything. BUT we ALL benefit from this, we all benefit from having more people get involved and from networking amongst people within the industry and those who are not yet members. If we want to grow and have more horses at the shows, we need to support one another. Let’s remain positive about our industry and do what we can to make improvements. Let’s talk about what each of us can do to encourage growth and stimulate interest. So, this is your chance to come and meet others and reminisce about old times. There is a lot of history among the barns and trainers and it’s time to share the funny stories of years gone by. Please I urge everyone who reads this to come to the Christmas Social with an open mind, I am not asking you to be best friends with everyone but be cordial and lead by example. This will give our kids the role models they need. It is Christmas time so embrace the Christmas Spirit.
A Holiday Tradition By Bonnie Scneider
It’s December’s first snow and the children all know It’s farm-time traditions - are you ready? Let’s go Dad will dust off the Cutter and pull it out to the back Mom will gather the snow suits, warm gloves and some hats I have organized the harness and whispered to old Ned Do you wanna have some fun pulling the sled? He suddenly becomes a youngster and picks up his stride The children their excitement they no longer can hide. There’s laughter and screams and no in betweens Their faces all glowing as we trot through the snow Soft powder and prance and Ned’s holiday dance. A holiday tradition that we’ve come to know With children, a horse and our first blanket of snow.
MIRACLES FOR MILA surrey toddler battles rare ‘catastrophic’ form of epilepsy By Simran Singh Mila Duke is an adorable little girl fighting for her life. At just six-months-old Mila was diagnosed with Dravet syndrome — a rare, catastrophic lifelong form of epilepsy that also results in behavioural and developmental delays. Mila’s mom — Kristina Kovacevic Duke — says her daughter’s first seizure took place in the backseat of the family car while waiting in the lineup at the Pacific Highway Port of Entry border crossing last September. “I had no idea what was happening to her. I thought she was dying. She went blue and her eyes rolled back,” said Duke, who lives in Surrey. Medical staff initially told Duke and her husband, JJ, that the incident was caused by a virus or fever.
“We didn’t think anything else would happen,” said Duke. “We thought it was a one-off.” But the seizures kept happening and after intensive testing, Mila was finally diagnosed with Dravet syndrome. Mila is at risk of having a seizure anywhere and at any time. As a result, Duke did not return back to work following her maternity leave and JJ quit his job to start his own business, allowing them both to keep a watchful eye on their little girl. Even a slight temperature change or being around someone with a cold can cause Mila to have a seizure.
‘SHE’S SO TOUGH’ The past several months have taken a severe emotional toll on the family. “It’s been hell. It’s been heartbreaking and traumatic and hard on our marriage and hard on our life,” said Duke, who has been documenting Mila’s journey on Instagram to raise awareness. “It’s so isolated because as much as we want to go to friend’s birthdays and Christmas dinners, or trick-ortreating we have to hold back because if anyone has been sick we have been told we can’t be around it. For [Mila] even a low grade cold or minor fever can be deadly.” Despite the hardships, Duke says Mila’s energy and resilience are what keeps the family hopeful. “I can’t even talk about it without getting choked up. She just… she bounces back a lot faster than we do.” She’s in a different world than most kids, but she’s so tough.” A THERAPY DOG COULD MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE While there is no cure for Dravet, a therapy dog trained to assist with seizures could make a world of difference for Mila and her family. These dogs help kids with Dravet work through behavioural issues and can even predict when seizures could happen. The Dukes are hoping to get
a therapy dog from a US-based organization that provides specialized assistance dogs for kids with disabilities, but these dogs come with a hefty price and long wait. Duke says the current waitlist for a therapy dog ranges between 24 to 36 months and the deposit alone can cost USD $17,000. A GoFundMe page titled “Miracles for Mila” has been set up for Mila in order to raise funds for a therapy dog. Duke will use the extra funds to donate to Dravet research and put savings aside for possible gene therapy treatments in the future, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Duke says the overwhelming support the family has received is “so heartwarming.” “I have a really hard time accepting help so I have a really hard time accepting all of this,” she said. “It’s unexpected and it’s lifted us up so much to know that we have so many people in our corner.” To learn more about Mila’s journey, search “Miracle’s for Mila GofundMe” --- Kristina Kovacevic Duke showed her Arabian gelding; Tobruk, from 1997 to 2004. Although Kristina hasn’t been in the ring lately the connections and friendships she made are life long and she is forever grateful to AAHABC for bringing the horse commuity into her life.
REGION XVII CHAMPIONSHIPS
“Upon careful examination, I have determined that I’m fulfilling all of the requirements listed in the training pyramid, and Santa, because you might not be familiar with this whole dressage thing, let me explain.”
Dear Santa, I’m writing to let you know I’ve been a very good boy this year. You see, I’m a dressage horse, and I’ve been doing some reading so that I can be the very best dressage horse in the entire world. I keep coming across this thing called the training pyramid so I figure it must be important for optimum dressage-ing. Upon careful examination, I have determined that I’m fulfilling all of the requirements listed in the training pyramid, and Santa, because you might not be familiar this with whole dressage thing, let me explain. The dressage training pyramid all starts with rhythm. I was born with natural rhythm, and I demonstrate my ability to tap out sick beats every single day while mom is grooming me on the cross-ties. I can tell she likes it, because she generally tries to freestyle rap along with me. It generally goes something like “Quiet feet.” “Knock it off!” “I said quit!” She’s not very good at it, but I figure if I continue to provide the rhythm, she can practice on the daily. After rhythm comes relaxation, and let me tell you, I’m soooooo chill. Mom can be squeezing and bumping me with her legs like crazy and it doesn’t bother me in the least. I’ll just stand there because I’m relaxed as heck. The next level is connection. I connect very strongly with other horses, sometimes after as little as a ten-minute ride on the trailer with them. I’m sure to call out to them frequently if they’re out of sight regardless of what I might happen to be doing. I’ve actually found that I’m able to
keep in contact with my friend AND perform an entire dressage test at the same time. Now that’s multi-tasking! Next comes impulsion. To demonstrate my impulsive nature I strive to ALWAYS act before thinking. Whether this means spinning and bolting at anything that may strike me as “unsafe,” or diving headfirst into the orchard grass bales every time I walk past, I’m 100% committed to the concept of impulsion. After impulsion comes straightness. Being a very efficient horse, I know that a straight line is the quickest route to any destination, and sometimes there are obstacles — you know, miscellaneous objects and sometimes people — impeding those straight approaches. So whether my destination be grain, fresh green grass, or one of my many friends, I will run over anything in path to remain straight. At the very top of the pyramid is collection. I assume this refers all of the cookies I collect for being such a good boy. At this point, you might be thinking to yourself, “how can this horse possess so many incredible talents?!” But let me assure you, I am also excellent at this. Because I have been SO good this year, I would like to ask for several wearable chew toys (I think mom calls them blankets), several hundred pounds of organic, fair trade horse treats, and some freestyle rap lessons for my mom, because seriously, she’s terrible. With love, The Very Best Dressage Horse
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THE JIBBAH
2019 Dates & Deadlines
Cover $70.00 Full Page $50.00 In the new year we will be publishing 1/2 Page $30.00 three issues of The Jibbah. The first Business Card $20.00 will be in early spring followed by a special edition which will run prior to the Region XVII Championships If you require ad design please contact and again one later in the year. These our Editor: Jibbah Issues will be of electronic Ashley Lauren Toye version only. As times are changing we Altogether Design have decided to go digital. The online versions will be sent out via eblast to 604 916 1673 | 360 296 3998 a 15 000 + subscribers list, posted on ashley@altogether.ca AAHABC.com, Facebook and shared www.altogether.ca amongst others within the Arabian Industry through individual postings. Submission: We welcome all submissions of stories, articles, news, jokes, poems, sales ads, Please send all completed ads as .pdf or .jpeg files to ashley@altogether.ca farm ads, stallion promotion SPRING EDITION Deadline April 1 SUMMER EDITION Deadline July 1 WINTER EDITION Deadline December 1
Payment: Etransfer is accepted or cheques. Please make all cheques payable to AAHABC Treasurer Berni vanLieshout and mail to: Berni vanLieshout, 22570 64 Ave, Langley, BC, V2Y2N8
AAHABC MEMBERSHIP FORM An adult or youth membership with AAHABC gives you automatic membership with AHA, allows you to show in all AHA approved shows, participate in all reqional and national events, participate in Youth Team Tournament, compete in the AHA Sweepstakes program and to have a voice in all AHA and Region XVII issues. You must be a member and you must have received your AHA /Competition card to show. Please Note: If you were a member of another AHA affiliate club last year, you are not considered a new member by AHA, even if you are a new member to the AAHABC. Please note: If you do not own a horse that shows, or do not show yourself, you will not need a competition card. Adult Membership Youth Membership
1 year membership with competition card $130.00 1 year membership without competition card $85.00 3 year membership with competition card $360.00 3 year membership without copetition card $225.00 1 year membership with competition card $70.00 1 year membership without competition card $35.00
YES! I want to receive the AHA magazine please add $15.00 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Please complete and mail to the AAHABC Membership Chair with a cheque made payable to AAHABC Membership Chair: Berni van Lieshout 22570 64 Ave Langley, BC V2Y 2N8 Email: lieshout@telus.net Type of Membership ___________________________________ Total Enclosed $________________________ Name ____________________________________________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________________________________________ City ________________________________Prov ___________________________ Postal Code ________Phone _________________ email ______________________________________________________________ AHA number ______________________________________________________________________________ Youth Member Date of Birth Day ___________ Month _____________ Year ___________________________ I hereby consent to the possible use of any pictures by AAHABC for promotional purposes. Member signature: __________________________________________________________________________ If you move please contact AHA. Allow 3-5 weeks for AHA to process your membership. No membership will be processed without full payment.