Holly Durst - Incumbent
Moon Shadow
Millersburg, OH
(253) 939-5660
hollydurst888@gmail.com
I have been involved with horses my entire life. I purchased my first unregistered fjords in the early 1990s and was immediately smitten and fell in love with the breed. I currently own three registered Fjord mares. I am an avid trail rider, riding 8 to 10 miles every Sunday afternoon at one of the state parks in my area of Ohio.
I have a BS in Zoology from Ohio University and a MS from The Ohio State University where I worked for fourteen years as a researcher. My business experience is what I believe would help me contribute most and be an asset to the Board. After leaving Ohio State, I owned an insurance agency for 18 years where I spent a year great deal of my time solving problems and helping persons in difficult times of loss. When I sold the agency I purchased Hardy Lumber, a sawmill in 2008. I sold the sawmill but am still currently employed by the sawmill. Both companies have given me extensive business experience. In addition, as a second job I taught at Devon Technical Institute, a now defunct horse school. I taught Equine Reproduction and Equine Genetics.
My love of the Norwegian Fjord Horse and my desire to see our membership and number of registered Fjords horses grow is why I would like to continue my work with the Board.
Kelly (KL) White
Landsdrop Ranch Fjord Horses
Bandera, TX
(210) 393-3541
magkij@gmail.com
You can't serve an organization you don't love.
When I first joined the Norwegian Fjord Horse Registry's board of directors, they'd struggled to
get people to volunteer. It's a surprising amount of work and a significant commitment of time. My eight
years of experience on the San Antonio Writers' Guild Board of Directors prepared me for that. I'd
served that 100+ member non-profit organization for local writers in many roles - President, Treasurer,
Vice-President, Contest coordinator, and Judge.
The future of the fjord horse breed and the registry are important to me. They matter. So if the
board and the membership will have me back, I'd like to help ensure the NFHR survives and grows.
My journey with fjords started with a trip to Iowa's Waverly Draft Horse auction in 2002. I'd
brought my trainer/mentor with me, and as we walked through the 2,000 horses in the sale barn
looking for a draft or draft-cross dressage prospect, I saw a pair of cute yellow horses that constantly
had people crowded around their stalls. I kept finding reasons to wander back by to see them again. I
didn't buy one at that sale but I always remembered them.
A few years later, needing a horse for my nieces to learn to ride on, I traveled to Michigan to
meet TUF Annie and bring her home. She didn't stay a kid's pony for long (though she's given
countless pony rides and first lessons), and I began my quest to let the people of Texas know about
the horse world's best-kept secret.
Since bringing Annie home, I've committed myself to the fjord breed and bought
German-imported and NFHR-blue evaluated stallion Bastian Vom Oderhaff from Canada. I traveled to
Trinity Farms in BC, Canada, and spent several days learning from Brian and Ursula Jensen and met
many fjords and their people in the Pacific Northwest as we brought Bastian to the US. Over the past
years, I've expanded my herd with horses from Canada, Oregon, Montana, Ohio, Wisconsin,
Arkansas, and Florida. My goal is to breed fjords of exceptional quality and unsurpassed disposition,
and I want to help other breeders of good fjords find them excellent homes.
My fjords participate in the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo's Horse Discovery exhibit, an
educational event where school tours and rodeo visitors can have hands-on experiences with horses.
1.5 Million people attend the San Antonio Stock Show annually, and many walk through the barn and
meet fjords. Many have never touched a horse before, and most have never even heard of fjords. I've
also taken horses to mounted Christmas caroling in my town, Bandera, which bills itself as the
Cowboy Capital of the World, and participated in the annual Cowgirl Round-up and Show-deo with
breed exhibits for the fjord. Bastian and I went to the Texas Viking Festival this past year, and my
young stallion prospect Kennet attended Equine Affair.
Regarding my horse qualifications, I've taught seminars about horses, helped Girl Scout troops
earn horsemanship badges, competed in dressage shows, and volunteered at horse events in almost
every capacity, including scribing for judges. I've been part of a drill team and have ridden in many
parades. I've been part of a mounted archery team and tried my hand at mounted shooting. I've
advised people on buying horses - fjords and non-fjords, and on selling horses. I assisted my mentor
with many lessons at different barns throughout central Texas on my days off and weekends. I've
ridden in numerous clinics with various instructors and judges. I've visited 15 fjord farms in the US and
Canada and hope to travel to see more in Europe soon.
I don't make my living from my breeding program or my horses. It's a labor of love that I take
very seriously but which is funded by a day job as a software developer for a Fortune 500 company.
I'm also a published author, a cancer survivor, and an idealist.
Rebecca Wilhite
Virginia Beach, VA
(254) 669-2929
littlenemis07@icloud.com
Horses have been a lifelong passion of mine, although I was never afforded the opportunity to work with horses growing up. It wasn't until I started taking regular riding lessons in 2016 that I was introduced to Norwegian Fjord Horses and I immediately fell in love with the breed. It was on Fjord horses that I started riding Dressage, competing in schooling schools taking home numerous blue ribbons, a championship title, and debuted in my first recognized show. In 2018, the opportunity presented itself to purchase a Fjord foal and I jumped at the chance, welcoming 4D-Viktoria into my heart. She's my Dressage and Eventing prospect, although I plan on eventually dabbling in as many equitations as possible with her. I've been a proud Fjord owner for going on 6 years and I hope to one day join the rank of a Fjord breeder.
My love and dedication to the breed knows no bounds, and I want to use my time on the board to further the mission of preserving and promoting the breed.
For some personal information about myself, I'm currently Active Duty U.S. Navy and on my 12th year in the service. I have introduced Norwegian Fjord horses to shipmates over 3 different commands, and to people I've met while on deployment. 4D-Viktoria has PCS’d with me from San Diego, CA to the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. My time in the Navy has taught me to deal with all sorts of people, work under high-stress and even dangerous situations, find solutions to nearly impossible problems, and persevere through the hardest times, even when morale is at an all time low. I've had to rebuild a failing MWR program with only $600 to its name and almost no members, and within 6 months I turned it into the number one command program and increased the coffers twelvefold. I've lead 2 divisions successfully and currently I'm leading my third division and preparing them for an arduous deployment.
I'm in the process of finishing up my B.S. in Equine Studies with a concentration in Business Management at Post University. I intend on applying everything I've learned from my Equine Studies and from being a sailor to help improve the registry and further the breed. I believe I have a lot to offer with new ideas and perspective. I want to advocate for the registry members who may only own 1 or 2 horses, as I feel our needs can sometimes be overlooked in favor of the big breeders. As a service member, I'm on the lower spectrum when it comes to income and I want to continue to show people that horse ownership is possible, even on a limited income. As someone who doesn't have the funds to participate in many of the big equestrian activities, I want to help create opportunities for Fjord owners who also don't have the funds to participate and show as much as they'd like.
While I may not to be able to afford the lifetime membership, I will forever be a lifetime member (on a yearly plan) and an advocate for our little breed with a lot of heart.
Rachel White
Canaan, ME
207-240-7440
rachel.whitnequus@gmail.com
I have followed the NFHR for seventeen years since the purchase of my first Fjord gelding. With over ten years of non-profit management and volunteer board service, plus a proven background in fundraising, grant writing, and outreach, I believe I would be an ideal person to serve on the NFHR Board of Directors. My love for Fjords is what drives me to want to serve on this board. I worked on the NFHR membership survey and plan to continue to volunteer in areas of education and fundraising.
Here are a few ideas that would like to explore if I were on the board:
1) Evaluate operational structure, funding resources, current challenges, etc. from other similar-sized breed registries. Find model organizations to reference.
2) Connect with corporate businesses, livestock/ equine conservation and grant foundations for outreach and funding opportunities. Think of creative incentives for sponsors.
3) Create an application for members interested in joining the BoD and committees.
4) Fundraise specifically for a board strategic retreat facilitator and invest in board member professional training opportunities.
I think there is potential for this volunteer board to step-up their outreach to educate and recruit new Fjord owners. I meet many people who are "Fjord-curious," and I send them to the Registry website for more information. There is still so much noise on social media that I think people often get lost or confused. I would love to see this organization prioritize education for the public in the areas of new Fjord ownership, model animals (for evaluations and breeding), and genetic relations and disorders.
Together, we can ensure that the NFHR sustains operational functions, and, with a bit of work, may even grow to the next level of public programming. Please reach out via email (rachel.whitnequus@gmail.com) if you would like to chat, ask questions, etc. pertaining to the NFHR board role. Thank you for your consideration.
Tom Snyder (spouse of suspended board member Margaret Bogie)
Ironwood Farm
Rixeyville, VA
703-624-0354
leicatom@aol.com
I am very excited by the opportunity to run for the NFHR board. I believe I can contribute to building NFHR's capacity to support its members. There are many challenges in operating a horse business and caring for our own horses these days-we need all the support from our national representatives that we can get. While there are many national and local horse enthusiast groups, the Registry serves a specific purpose in supporting the Fjord Horse breed, by providing compelling outreach about the outstanding characteristics of the breed, supporting breeders' goals in producing top quality animals, and sharing information and building enthusiasm among Fjord Horse owners. As a future member of the NFHR board, I would serve members by pursuing these goals.
I believe that my previous experiences give me the background to make important contributions to the operations of the board in service of our members. I have over 30 years of experience as a manager of government and private sector programs and projects, with extensive planning, budgeting, and project operations experience. I have served on a wide variety of non-profit boards, teams, and panels with local, agency, interagency, national, and international spheres of influence. As part of one of my management duties, I ran the communications team for a major federal statistical agency for two decades. I served as chair of a major international organization committee comprising representatives of 35 countries for over 5 years.
Perhaps most importantly for the board position, I have been a Fjord Horse breeder for more than 20 years and co-owner of a related horse business during that time period. We have bred some 70 Fjord Horses. I have played a strong role in supporting NFHR by co-hosting or volunteering for 9 Fjord Horse evaluations, nearly half of the total that NFHR has offered occurred over the past two decades. Our horses have earned 4 NFHR Hall of Fame awards. Two of our horses have achieved S1G1 performance status by completing NFHR advanced performance tests in riding, driving, and draft. I have served our local community for many years by providing riding lessons for children and opening our farm for the annual Culpeper County farm tour. I feel I have been successful in my team efforts by providing good examples of hard work, thoughtfully exploring new ideas, and working collaboratively to resolve challenges.
There are many factors today that are contributing to the reduction in the scope of horse ownership. But, that does not mean there is less appreciation of horses and Fjord Horses in particular. If elected, I will contribute to the NFHR mission as a thriving and supportive organization for Fjord Horse owners and breeders.
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