Center for Equine Business Studies - Texas A&M University





	CEBS Announces Continuing Education Courses For Spring 2008 USTRC Contracts Research Services with CEBS Survey Services Available Through the CEBS Distance Learning Program Offers Ease of Training Center for Equine Business Studies Gains Industry Support Affordable Survey Services Available Through the CEBS Center for Equine Business Studies Gains Industry Support Distance Learning Program Offers Ease of Training Charitable Trust Will Fund Equine Business Studies at Texas A&M Center for Equine Business Studies to Focus on Cattle in Equine Competition Equine Business Summit Draws Enthusiastic Audience Summit To Assist Development of Proposed Equine Business Center at Texas A&M Industry Leaders Focus on Center for Equine Business Studies Equine Business Center Under Development

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: JULIE BRYANT (817) 443-0686
February 9, 2006

Industry Leaders Focus on Center for Equine Business Studies
Proposed Center at Texas A&M receives industry nod

(College Station, Texas) - Equine industry leaders representing breed associations, as well as media, tack and feed companies, gave Texas A&M University administrators a collective nod as they met February 2-3 in College Station to discuss the proposed Center for Equine Business Studies (CEBS).

"This meeting was a watershed moment for the University in determining that it could continue moving forward with its efforts to develop the Center," said CEBS Operations Director Ernie Davis, PhD. "We invited these industry thought leaders to be a part of our Strategic Development Council and they stepped up to the plate with their frank comments and ideas for direction."

In addition to several A&M faculty members, including Dr. Elsa Murano, Vice Chancellor and Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the group included Joe Strauss, Jr., chairman of Retama Entertainment Group; Ed Roberts, retired executive secretary of the American Paint Horse Association; Darrell Dodds, editor of Horse & Rider magazine; Ken Bray, president of Equibrand Companies; Patty Tiberg, general manager of Quarter Horse News, Barrel Horse News and Performance Horse magazines; Clark Springfield, formerly of Sweetlix; Jerry Circelli, director of marketing for the American Paint Horse Association; Billy Smith, executive director of information technology for the American Quarter Horse Association; Norm Luba, executive director of the North American Equine Ranching Information Council and Patti Colbert, owner of Colbert Ranch and consultant for a number of equine interests.

"This is going to be an invaluable partnership between the horse industry and veterinary medicine," said Dr. Bill Moyer, who leads the Large Animal Hospital at Texas A&M. "With work like this, we can learn more about the cost of care and treatment for an animal, and how we can become more effective."

Pete Gibbs, PhD, who oversees the equine science division for the university, summed up what many agreed would be the value of the Center to the industry.

"We can sit back and watch what will happen to the horse industry, or we can be prepared to assist the industry by providing accurate information to ensure that we have input into legislation and other decisions that will affect the horse industry," he told the group. "But we also need to understand the customer better, even though almost all of us in the industry are customers ourselves. Not only do we need to know why people get interested in the horse industry, we need to know why people leave the horse industry and be prepared for the painful realization of those answers."

Two clear goals emerged from the two-day discussion. First, the group agreed that a partnership must exist between the Center and the horse industry and, secondly, that the Center should develop a "membership" structure which would be inclusive and allow for the provision of resources and information to as many groups and individuals in the industry as possible while providing the funding the Center will require to operate.

"Texas A&M network is probably the most appropriate network to place such a concept," said Luba, whose organization is headquartered in Louisville, Ky. "I believe it will be very difficult to identify future data sources and for the industry to determine what it needs. But, there are some good models in other sectors where the horse industry can be educated on the types of data that can be collected for the long term."

"What's excited me is the possibility of having access to statisticians who can give you reliable information," said Dodds. "We have a lot of information collected through our readership surveys, but at the end of the day we don't know what it means. I think it will make us a lot more efficient and effective company. I would like to be able to understand people's motivation because it's very much an emotional lifestyle."

Organizers assured the group that the Center is not intended to replace or mimic the efforts of the now defunct Horse Industry Alliance. "Texas A&M provides an established and solid foundation of support for the entire horse industry in this endeavor," Davis explained. "The concept of the Horse Industry Alliance to market the horse through a unified voice was a noble one, however, this Center is designed to be a consistent resource of data and information so companies and individuals can more effectively market themselves and, in turn, benefit the entire horse industry.

"The next few months will be crucial as we move forward," he continued. "We will introduce our membership structure and benefits later this spring and we are hopeful that the horse industry, which has so clearly spoken that it wants and needs this resource, will respond with its financial support and by investing in what we believe will be a return on that investment in many beneficial ways."