Miniature Extravaganza 2008

The "International Club for American Miniature Horses" would like to thank you for your participation or other interest in the second edition of her two-day international show Miniature Extravaganza 2008 for fanciers, breeders and owners of American Miniature Horses.

While the 2007 edition was held in Frankfurt, Germany, the second edition of ICAMH’s two-day international show Miniature Extravaganza had moved to The Netherlands for this year and was held at Manege “Het Zwarte Water” in De Mortel.

Looking back

Whitsun, 11th and 12th May, finally saw the show that we had been looking forward to the whole year and we tried our very best for to make it a successful event.

Now, looking back on these days, I think that we as ICAMH board may rightfully say that the Miniature Extravaganza 2008 has turned out very succesful indeed.

For this show, Mr Ray Randall flew in from the USA. He judged the AMHA approved show on the Sunday, as well as the AMHR show on Monday.

From the speech he gave after the show, we concluded that he loved coming here to judge. The quality of the horses was high, much higher than he had expected it to be, and certainly much higher than in the past. The European people have learned a lot in the past 2 years, something that we may all be proud of!

For Sunday 11th May, the approved AMHA show, about 50 horses were entered, which we were very pleased about. The whole day was well filled and also the so-called “E-classes” went very well – a nice step-up for the exhibitors who don’t have a lot of show experience yet. The Miniature Extravaganza 2008 was the first show at which the ICAMH point system for the AMHA European Amateur halter classes applied.

The evening after the AMHA show, we enjoyce a barbecue with about 40 people. It was a pleasant gathering in a friendly atmosphere, and well catered by “Het Zwarte Water”.  

During this evening, the first official prizedraw of the lottery, initiated by Claudia Vermeulen, was held. Many people were lucky enough to win a nice prize. The numbers in the various colours drawn are published at the ICAMH website. There still are tickets for sale for the prizedraws which will take place later this year! The prizes are certainly worthwhile and the money from the ticket sale will benefit our club.  

On the Monday morning, everybody was refreshed and ready for the start of a new show day. It is a pity that there still are not many showhorses also AMHR registered. This caused a considerable decrease in the number of participants compared to the day before, which now consisted of almost 20 horses.

We think that is a good amount of AMHR registered horses about in Europe, and we would love to see them in the show ring too! Not just the B-division, but also the A-division show is certainly worth competing in.

The ICAMH would like to inform you that, for the promotion of the AMHR, horses do not necessarily need to have updated AMHR papers for the time being. An AMHR registration number is sufficient for participation in the ICAMH shows for now. With a rising number of participants, in time it will become inevitable to have to have the right paperwork, but for now each horse, even with an out of date AMHR registration, can participate.

And don’t forget the AMHA horses that have grown too big. There are plenty going oversized according to the AMHA measures. These horses can have a very nice future in the AMHR B-division.

If you like more information about this, or in case you need help with the paperwork for the AMHR, you can turn to the ICAMH vice-president, Sonja Koster.

Just like the first day, this second day of the Miniature Extravaganza, the AMHR show day, progressed pleasantly and in a nice atmosphere.

Halfway this show, a parade was held. With this, the “Paarden-Peeldagen” which were being held at “Het Zwarte Water” were officially declared open. Miniature Extravaganza participants took part in this parade, for promotion of the American Miniature Horse. The audience loved them!

All in all, we can look back on a very successful event, for which we thank our judge, participants and volunteers. An event which could not have been made possible without our sponsors – many thanks again for your support.

Last, but not least, we would like to thank our showmanager. Esther has worked very hard and even got her official license as AMHA showmanager in preparation for this show. As trouble shooter and showmanager, she has taken lots of work off the board’s shoulders – thank you, Esther!

We look forward to welcoming everybody again at the ICAMH Summershow, which is planned for 19th and 20th July 2008. See you all then!

Report for AMHA by Ray Randall

With the backdrop of the beautiful Holland countryside, the International Club for American Miniature Horses hosted their AMHA sanctioned show on May 11, 2008. The show was held at the Manege Het Zwarte Water facility in De Mortel, Netherlands.

American judge Ray Randall, from St.Clair, Michigan, officiated. Esther Pijpstra, show manager, was assisted by her top notch show committee made up of Theo Pijpstra, show secretary, Marleen Spiekman, Anja Bijleveld, ring steward, and Andre Moulin, show announcer.

ICAMH president, Roswitha Boensma, said that there were miniature horses from Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands at the show. She also said that the club’s expectations for the show were more than exceeded and that they were considering adding additional class offerings for their July show.

After the show, a roundtable discussion was convened by Ms. Juim Fiege de Freitas. Exhibitors had a chance to meet the judge and topics such as ring and show procedures, presentation of halter horses, AMHA rules, and suggestions for upcoming shows were covered.

A truly local surprise happened mid-way through the show when the local mayor and deputy mayor, dressed in ceremonial uniforms, mounted horses and led a parade of the exhibitors and their miniature horses around the show grounds to the delight of the hundreds of spectators who came out to see the miniature horses. The mayor gave a speech which knowledgably told, all present, the finer points and history of the miniatures that the crowd was seeing. He finished up by saying how impressed he was with these “amazing” horses.

Further adding to the uniqueness of this show was the grant program, which the AMHA is involved in with the US government. The program can subsidize certain expenses incurred by approved AMHA overseas club shows. This international connection along with the current value of the US dollar compared with overseas currencies can only broaden the global market for importation of American miniature horses.