On February 14, the Maryland Horse Industry Board announced the recipients of nearly $30,000 worth of grant funds. Funding for these grants is provided by the Maryland Feed Fund, which collects $6 on every ton of horse feed sold in Maryland. Since the fund was established in 2002, MHIB, which runs within the Maryland Department of Agriculture, has awarded over $400,000 in grants to over 300 projects.

“Horses are a critical component of Maryland’s agricultural industry. The Maryland Horse Industry Board and the Feed Fund help stimulate growth and opportunity in Maryland’s equestrian community without using any government funding,” said Board Chairman Jim Steele. “This self-funded commodity marketing entity is a model of how industry groups can help themselves without relying on taxpayer dollars.”

This year, 27 applications were submitted with $29,983.50 was awarded to 20 organizations and individual from around the state. Projects are evaluated based on their value to the industry, degree of industry promotion, size and scope of activity, financial need, potential for matching funds, benefits and overall quality of the written presentation. Grants are capped at $3,000 in order to award funds to as many groups as possible.

2017 Maryland Horse Industry Board Grant Recipients are as follows:

  • $3,000 – Day’s End Farm Horse Rescue (Howard County/Statewide) – Enhance and promote animal welfare officer training
  • $3,000 – Mid Atlantic Equitation Festival (Prince George’s County/Statewide) – Maryland Horsemanship Scholarship
  • $3,000 – University of Maryland Equine Sciences Department (Prince George’s County/Statewide) – Funding for a research project to study the effect of grazing muzzle use on equine behavior
  • $2,500 – Maryland Horse Council (Statewide) – Maryland horse industry communications and promotion outreach
  • $2.260 – STAR Equestrian Center (Washington County) – Character Reins program which provides tuition for eight low income at risk youth in the Center’s therapeutic horsemanship program
  • $1,975 – Catoctin Forest Alliance (Frederick County) – Restoration and maintenance of the Catoctin Mountain Park horse trails
  • $1,900 – Waredaca Pony Club (Montgomery County) – Purchase of a new PVC dressage ring to be used at the annual Maryland Region Dressage Rally
  • $1,725 – Great and Small (Montgomery County) – Staff continuing education for tuition for three management-level staff to attend the PATH International Conference
  • $1,500 – Worthmore Equestrian Center (Kent County) – Creative horse promotion in partnership with Kent County Tourism to create horse “baseball cards” to be inserted in tourism visit requests
  • $1,400 – Historical Society of Harford County (Harford County) – Historic horse film restoration, part II
  • $1,000 – February Farm Sanctuary (Frederick County) – Promotion booth and print material for the Western Maryland equine rescue
  • $1,000 – Maryland Agriculture Resource Council (Baltimore County) – “Horses Inside Out” a model horse that will be painted with the skeleton and organs of the horse on the side of the model
  • $1,000 – Maryland Horse Industry Foundation (Baltimore County) – Maryland Horse Breeders’ Association Spring Horse Farm Festival, Easter Egg Hunt for children at Sagamore Farm
  • $1,000 – Maryland Pony Breeders’ Association (Anne Arundel County/Statewide) – Promotion and prize money for annual Yearling Futurity
  • $1,000 – Jean Clagett, sculptor (Harford County/Statewide) – Creation of template to be used as a trophy for the Touch of Class Awards program
  • $700 – TROT, Trail Riders of Today (Howard County/Statewide) – Promote trail riding through a virtual reality experience
  • $650 – Horse-N-Around 4-H Club (Montgomery County) – Youth electronic activity materials
  • $589.50 – LeCheval Stable Therapeutic Riding Program (Howard County) – Helmet replacement and helmet safety resources
  • $500 – Regina Welsh (Baltimore County) – LEAD Maryland Fellowship tuition

 

 

The Maryland Horse Industry Board was established in 1998 to promote and develop the equine industry in Maryland. For more information about the grants program and MHIB, click here.