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On Saturday, August 22nd, the2009 Trainer's Challenge of the Unwanted Horse will be held at the Louise Leatherdale Centerat the University of Minnesota. (Link to Directions) It is here, before a panel of judges, a collection of trainers will demonstrate how they've taken a horse that no one wanted - a horse that came to them untrained and inexperienced - and with the right amount of time and investment in training, turned it into a horse who is now a willing companion.
But wait, there's more! Not only are these trainers going to demonstrate how they've taken this unwanted horse and turned it around into a willing, working companion, we said they're going to be judged on their work. And with this judgement comes recognition and a prize - a prize of $3,000 to be exact. Runner-up will claim a purse of $1,000. And finally, there will be five class awards to the tune of $200 each. As always, these prizes come complete with the appropriate bragging rights.
Oh, but wait... there's more. After the dust settles and the applause has died off, we're going to have ourselves a silent horse auction to give everyone a chance to talk to the trainers, meet the horses, and make sure they see the horse they want. And as fate would have it, we happen to have 12 horses, fresh off of training, ready to go home with the highest bidder.
Would you like to bid on one of these horses? We really hope you do! But before you get all excited about the potential of adopting one of these fine animals, we ask that you pre-qualify. And how do you do that? It's easy:
- Contact the trainer working with the horse in question. Their contact information will be posted on their "blog" page. If it's not yet up, it should be up shortly. Otherwise, if you can't wait, please contact the Rescue and we can get you contact information.
- If you like what you see with regards to the horse, then please contact the Rescue to arrange a time to meet. Prospective adopters are interviewed face to face (no application) and a farm inspection is set up so that we can check out the place where the adopted animal will be kept. Check out our Adoption Guidelines for qualifications.
- Finally, upon qualifying, an Adoption Contract is signed by both parties. This contract is a co-ownership that lasts for the life of the animal. An animal adopted from MHARF cannot be sold, traded, or given away. If for any reason the adopted animal is not wanted, at any time, the animal must be returned to MHARF. We do not adopt out stallions and it is usually a policy that mares are adopted with a no breeding clause in their adoption agreement. Furthermore, only under special circumstances does the MHARF adopt out an animal outside the state of Minnesota.
So to recap, here's the important points to remember:
- Saturday, August 22nd, the2009 Trainer's Challenge of the Unwanted Horse will be held at the Louise Leatherdale Centerat the University of Minnesota. (Link to Directions).
- Admission to this year's event will be a non-perishable food item, toiletry, or houseware product for the Food Shelf. Otherwise, we ask that a two dollar donation (don't be afraid to donate more) be offered.
- The Event will start at 10:00AM and will finish at or around 3:00PM. (The latter time is just a guess, so please plan accordingly.)
- There will be a silent auction held for the horses in the Challenge which will also start at 10:00AM and will continue through the entire event. The auction will close 10 minutes after the champion and reserve are announced.
- If you wish to bid on a horse in the challenge, you must pre-qualify! To pre-qualify, you must demonstrate that you meet or exceed the guidelines posted here.
- Proxy bidding will be allowed for those prequalified bidders unable to attend or who must leave early.
- Food will be available at the event provided by Subway, the University of Minnesota Equine Club, and MHARF courtesy and thanks to Whole Foods.
- There will be plenty to see and we encourage everyone to stop and chat with the trainers and learn more about them and what they can do.
We hope to see you on the 22nd!
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