Letter from FHANA
May 20, 2020
Dear FHANA Membership;
On behalf of the FHANA Board of Directors, it is with regret that we must inform the membership that the 2020 Inspection Tour is being cancelled. The FHANA Board of Directors took the information that was available to them and deliberated over this decision for several hours. This was certainly not an easy decision to make, but with the uniqueness of our travel schedules and erring on the side of caution it was a decision that we thought must be made to keep our members and jury safe from this ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. We appreciate your understanding. We felt we needed to make a decision sooner rather than later to help the membership make the necessary decisions to enter their horses into training.
With that said, there is some GOOD NEWS! The various committees have been hard at work to try and make the best out of an unusual situation.
Sports Committee & Year End Performance Awards-The FHANA Board recently approved of a proposal submitted by the Sports Committee to reduce the number of scores for Performance Awards from 10 to 5 with one score being submitted from a USEF certified show. With the limited number of chances to obtain your scores, with this reduction, it should allow members the opportunity to obtain their scores while attending 1-2 shows.
Waiving of Late Registration Fees-due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 to our membership, the FHANA Board has agreed to waive the late foal registration fees for 2020 foals if the foal is registered by Nov. 1, 2020. After Nov. 1, the appropriate late fees will be implemented.
Additionally, all foals registered in 2020 will have the opportunity to attend the 2021 inspections as yearlings at no charge. The yearlings must have been registered in 2020.
With the assistance of the Marketing/Membership and Inspection Committees we will be conducting a virtual inspection. While we wanted to have a formal virtual inspection, this was turned down by the KFPS due to the importance of seeing the horses in person. We will now be offering a virtual inspection that will allow the membership to have a little fun while displaying their farm and horses to the Friesian Community. Details are still being worked out. The dates for this inspection which will include a celebrity judge for each location will be East: September 12, Central: September 19, West: September 26 with a Mare Show on Oct. 3. Please stay tuned for more details on this fun event in the coming weeks.
2021 Annual General Meeting-We ask that you please be patient with us as we work through and monitor the ever changing landscape surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic and make decisions surrounding our 2021 event.
We hope that you will participate in our virtual inspections and help us make the best of this very unique year. Please continue to watch the website and our social media pages as we continue to update the membership.
With regards,
Dr. Rosanne Palermo
FHANA President