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KIES 2010 Speakers
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Summit Speakers

More 2010 Speaker and information coming soon!

John Long

Nick Nicholson

More to come...

 


 

Our Luncheon Speakers

 

John Long photoJohn R. Long
Chief Executive Officer, United States Equestrian Federation
Chairman of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

John Long has been directly involved in the equine industry for over 20 years. For four years, Mr. Long served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Churchill Downs, Inc. He oversaw the management, operations, and planning for all of the company's racetracks and simulcast facilities. Prior to his tenure at Churchill Downs, Inc., he spent ten years as President and Chief Operating Officer of Ladbroke/USA, one of the largest pari-mutuel operators in the country during the 90’s. From settling union disputes to equine medication policies to legislative affairs, Mr. Long has served on the front line, dealing directly with many constituencies in the equine industry.

In December of 2003, Mr. Long became the first Chief Executive Officer of the United States Equestrian Federation, Inc., which is the national governing body for equestrian sport in the U.S. The USEF was officially formed that same month when the former United States Equestrian Team and USA Equestrian joined together with the purpose of becoming one strong national voice for equestrian sport. The USEF supports a membership of over 95,000, ranging from children with their first pony in their own backyard to the training and selection of our Olympic equestrian teams. Twenty-eight breeds and disciplines are represented in the Federation and annually participate in more than 2600 USEF-recognized horse shows in the United States and in high performance international competitions, including the Olympic Games, the Pan American Games and World Cup competitions.

Internationally, Mr. Long serves as Secretary General to the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) which is the international equestrian federation. Mr. Long was appointed in 2007 Chairman of the newly created Nominations Committee. In 2009, he was appointed to serve on the FEI’s Structure Steering Group in order to assist with planning to restructure its governance.

Mr. Long serves as Chairman of the World Games 2010 Foundation Board of Directors developed for the planning process for the FEI World Equestrian Games to be held in Lexington, Kentucky in 2010.

 

 


 



Nick Nicholson

Nick Nicholson
Chief Executive Officer
Keeneland


Nick Nicholson became Keeneland’s sixth president in January of 2000, making him the first Keeneland

President who doesn’t have a direct line to the people involved in the opening of the track in 1936.

Prior to joining Keeneland, Nicholson was the executive vice president and executive director of The Jockey Club, which maintains the official pedigree of all North American Thoroughbreds. During his tenure at The Jockey Club, several innovations were implemented, including the introduction of The Jockey Club Interactive, the world’s first interactive Thoroughbred registration system. While at The Jockey Club, he took a leave of absence to help form the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and served as its first chief operating officer.

Before joining The Jockey Club in 1989, he was executive vice president of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association/Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders and was instrumental in the drafting and passage of the bill that allows intertrack wagering. Earlier in his career, Nicholson served as executive assistant to Kentucky Senator Wendell Ford in Washington, D.C. He previously served as administrative assistant to Kentucky’s Commissioner of Parks.

“There’s a pride and a loyalty among Keeneland’s employees that transcends from the top to the bottom. It is my honor to serve with a team of individuals that continually go the ‘extra mile’ in all they do,” Nicholson said. “From a simple smile and greeting to our guests to handling complicated situations, the dedication of the Keeneland staff is tremendous.”

Nicholson is the current chairman of the American Horse Council, and serves on the board of several other major industry organizations, including the NTRA, the Thoroughbred Racing Association, Equibase, the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, and the University of Kentucky Equine Research Foundation.  He is a past president of the Thoroughbred Club of America and also served as vice chairman of the International Catalog Standards Committee..

For his many contributions to the industry, Nicholson received the Lifetime Service Award from the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, as well as The Jockey Club Gold Medal. In 2004, he was elected a member of The Jockey Club.

Nicholson’s community involvement includes serving on the board of the Urban League, Commerce Lexington Inc., KET Commonwealth Fund, Transylvania University, the Dermontti Dawson Foundation, and Shakertown.

Nick and his wife Susan have two children. Trish is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and Nick III is a graduate of Wake Forest University and the University of Kentucky College of Law.

 

 

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2008 Summit Speakers

Where Horseplay Is Serious Business.

Spring 2008, Lexington hosted the inaugural Kentucky International Equine Summit, an event which brought leaders from all aspects of the horse industry together to examine the most important issues facing the industry.

The Wellbeing of the Competitive Horse
Discussed how breakthroughs in veterinary science and innovative synthetic surfaces promise to make racing, showing, and training safer, and as a result, improve and sustain the competitive careers of equine athletes.


Dr. Brian Neilsen
Michigan State University

Bryan Osborne
Kentucky Horseshoeing School

Tom Amoss
Tom Amoss Racing Stable

Bob Kiser
Kiser Arena Specialists

Bill Casimaty
StrathAyr Turf Systems

Joachim Laengle
ProEQUUS, Austria

Ed Bowen
Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation

Dr. Larry Bramlage
Rood & Riddle

Dr. Catherine Kohn
Ohio State University

Bill Casner
Winstar Farm

Dr. Lisa Fortier
Cornell University

Dr.Mary Scollay-Ward
Calder Race Cours& Gulfstream Park

Dr. Reid McClellan
The Elite Program, Inc.

Christy Landwehr
Certified Horsemanship Association

Charlie Hutton
Hilldale Farm

Dr. George Mundy
Canamar LLC

 

 

 

 

Nick Nicholson
Keeneland Association, Inc


Dr. Mark Markel
University of Wisconsin

Brett Raflowitz
Equestrian Services International

Jim Pendergest
Martin Collins Surfaces & Footings

Dr. Nathan Slovis
Hagyard Equine Medical Institute

Dr. Kevin Keegan
University of Missouri

Dr. Michael Peterson
University of Maine

 

The Emerging Science of Horse Breeding
The mapping of the equine genome, as well as other advances in veterinary and biomechanical knowledge, may have dramatic implications on the future of horse selection. Examined how this emerging science will challenge historical practices, breed registries, and other organizations concerned with the preservation of traditional breeds and popular equine disciplines.

 


Jim Heird
Colorado State University

Dr. Jamie MacLeod
M.H. Gluck Equine Research Center

Dr. Nena Winand
Cornell University

Alan Porter
TrueNicks

Dr. Ernest Bailey
University of Kentucky

Dr. Molly McCue
University of Minnesota

Dan Kenny
Dan Kenny Bloodstock

Ken Jackson
Kentuckiana Farms

Fred Sarver
Leatherwood Stud

Ann Peters
Three Chimneys Farm

Frank Mitchell
Bloodstock Advisor

Dr. John Steiner
Rhinebeck Equine LLP

Robert Fierro
DataTrack International

Mike Brown
Sireaverages.com

Dr. Samantha Brooks
Cornell University

Gary Carpenter
American Quarter Horse Foundation

Ken Carson
Valor Farm

Tom Crouch
Kentuckiana Farms

Dean Hoffman
Hoffman Communications

Laura Lipf
Royal Vista Ranches LLC

 

 

The Equine Economy in the 21st Century
While there has been unprecedented growth in the horse industry over the last half-century, the trend has slowed in recent years. Rather than accept that this the end of an era, discussed ways the industry could better position itself to find more participants, spectators, sponsors, and to reach out to more consumers.


Rich Wilcke
Equine Industry Program

Steve Day
Dover Saddlery, Inc.

Tom Aronson
Churchill Downs

Martin Concannon
Lafayette Associates KY

Allen Gutterman
Santa Anita Park

John Della Volpe
SocialSphere, Inc.

Tim Campbell
IMG

John Long
USEF

Alan Balch
ASHA

Todd Gralla
Gralla Architects

Craig Dado
Del Mar Thoroughbred Club

David Osborne
Member Kentucky State Legislature

John Volk
Brakke Consulting

Tom Persechino
AQHA

Dale Owens
Louisville Bats

Mark Simendinger
Kentucky Speedway

Corey Johnsen
Kentucky Downs

Denny Hales
OHQHA

Karin Lippert
Protocol Entertainment, Inc.

Sam Sheppard
European Breeders' Fund

 

Session Shots


Kentucky State Legislators

Dr. Ernest Bailey from UK

UofL Equine major Marylee Kuchta worked registration table

Dr. Craig Wood from UK

Larry Thornton
Thornton Quarter Horses

Between sessions

Speakers Alan Porter and Dr. Nena Winand

Robert Fierro and Ed Bowen

Ready for lunch

Tuesday's lunch sponsored by United States Equestrian Federation

David O'Connor
President USEF
Tuesday's Keynote Speaker

Gary Clay meeting speakers at session break

Equine students from  throughout KY attended the summit

Registrants in a session


Registrants in an Equine Economy in the 21st Century session

Bob Evans
CEO Churchill Downs Monday's Keynote Speaker