The 2017 Egyptian Event is in the history books. With a huge debt of thanks to all our sponsors and supporters; from all advertisers, to our Silver Sponsors, our EBC Exclusive Sponsor DeShazer Arabians on up to our Pyramid Society Emissary Sponsor Al Baydaa Stud, and the repeat Signature Sponsor Arabians LTD!

We received many positive reviews this year. We continued our diligence on the treatment of the show horses, and the expanded VIP seating was a hit. The seminar by Joe Ferriss was a "not to be missed event" as well as the Amateur Owned and Trained clinic by Tara Carpio, with over 100 attendees! The music was hopping; the food was great and the company even better! And of course the horses were stellar, beautiful and inspirational.

Having said all that - it was once said by a wise man that "The only constant in life is change". And while that is so true, I must confess that I often find myself fighting change, even when it is inevitable. At those times, I think of the multitude of good things that have happened as a result of being willing to embrace change. Here at The Pyramid Society we are all facing many changes together. Some changes have presented stressful challenges, such as the increasing cost of participation with our beloved horses. Some changes are for the better, such as the outcry for more humane treatment of our spirited, sensitive and noble breed. In order to thrive and prosper, nature has an uncanny ability to meet challenges by adapting and changing for the better. It has been in that model that the Board of The Pyramid Society has wrestled with adapting and changing in response to this host of challenges. Foremost, has been the directive to follow our Mission Statement and to "preserve, protect and promote" the Straight Egyptian Arabian horse, coupled with the desire to better meet our role as Global leaders of the community that cherishes and enjoys this magnificent horse. That role includes listening to our members who ARE The Pyramid Society and adapting to the lifestyle they currently enjoy, while serving as "Guardians of the Treasure" that is the Egyptian Arabian horse. We have accomplished many stellar achievements including; development of the ginger test, strict controls on clipping and stronger guidelines on and enforcement of humane conduct in the arena during shows, publishing a Standard of Excellence, offering an Egyptian Performance Horse Award Program, instituting the Breeders Conferences and Regional Workshops to educate and inspire, publishing a Stud Book and establishing Certification of Straight Egyptian horses (whew we have been busy!). Still, we know we have many challenges ahead. Not the least of which is a makeover of our flagship activity The Egyptian Event. Notice that the name of this activity does not include the word "show". Historically, the Event did not begin as a show. Rather as a meeting, exhibition and "Event" for breeders worldwide to mingle, learn, and inspire - all while enjoying the Egyptian Arabian horse. At the time it was founded, June was a lovely opportunity to gather at the gorgeous Kentucky Horse Park. Most farms had trainers (many in-house), and the ability to attend in June was not a hardship. Transported semen had yet to be on the scene. Fast forward to today and it has become an increasing hardship on our membership to be able to gather in June and send breeding stock to the Event. As we are after all, a Breeders' organization, it seems logical to move the dates of our Event to a time of the year where more Breeders can participate with horses. We have been trying to do so for many years but the availability of dates at the Horse Park are scarce. We are excited to announce that finally we have been able to obtain a late summer/fall date for our Egyptian Event! In 2018 the Egyptian Event will be held August 29th - September 1st! As our show leads into Labor Day weekend, it offers a prime time for families to attend the Event together. Breeders will be have the opportunity to participate with stallions and horses from their farms without the stress and conflict of the prime foaling and breeding season. Trainers will not be juggling their Event horses with the Regional competitions. We hope to see EVERYONE in Lexington in 2018 at this new time! We are also excited to be working on changes to the Event in keeping with the original idea of an "Event" and not just a "show". We will be honoring the famed Ansata Arabian Stud and their 60th Anniversary at this Event. A fitting time as Ansata has been a shining example of embracing change as needed to move forward with great success.

Of course, The Pyramid Society is not just about The Egyptian Event, and thus I would be remiss to not highlight some of the wonderful additional activities and projects we are sponsoring. We are developing a program of Pyramid Society classes to be held at Class A and Regional Shows that will qualify for a Championship at the Event - stay tuned for details soon. For the first time we will be taking our highly successful Breeders Conference model outside of the United States. Please join fellow members and breeders for the Inaugural World Conference for Straight Egyptian Horses, October 6-7 in Assisi, Italy, under the generous patronage of Bait Al Arab! Wow - imagine Straight Egyptian Arabian horses, Education, Camaraderie, History and Italy!! You simply have to BE there! It is also once again time for the production of the next volume of the so very valuable Reference Handbook. And it will be available digitally as well as in print. I encourage your participation and support of this invaluable reference tool. A special note of thanks to the sponsor Rakan Altobaishi of Alfala Stud. Closer to our home base, we have numerous Regional activities for 2017, including a Regional Workshop hosted by Two Silos Farm in Missouri, August 5th, a Regional Workshop hosted by Thornewood Farms in gorgeous Stockton, New Jersey on September 16th and a day of fun and outreach hosted by the New Mexico Egyptian Breeders Alliance on September 23rd in Los Lunas New Mexico at Sonrisa Farms. Whew. So. Much. Fun!

Additional information on these activities and more can be found below in this month's Chariot.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was famous for saying, "There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still." Now more than ever that is so true. And your Pyramid Society is anything but standing still! And the most important part of this equation is YOU! So let's move forward together!! See you soon! 

 

Rebecca Rogers Pyramid Society President