Ideas to Increase the Membership in Horse Clubs

Horse clubs often help sponsor sporting events as a form of advertisement.

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Few events are as inspiring for horse lovers as a horse show. However, horse shows and the clubs and associations that put them on require a lot of money. The declining economy between 2009 and 2011 has caused some horse clubs to lose members because of the expenses that club membership and horse show competition require. Some horse clubs have responded with creative strategies to attract new members.

Related Searches: Membership Discounts

Some horse clubs have made the decision to offer discounted memberships to encourage new people to join. Other clubs have chosen to offer an all-inclusive package for families with children. Still others are offering credits toward membership if the applicant agrees to volunteer a certain number of hours at club events. Some horse clubs are offering youth show participants free stalls at competitions as an inducement to become involved.

Cross-Club Recruitment

Many horse clubs recruit new members at other clubs or associations with participants that have similar interests, such as 4-H clubs, sporting clubs that use horses, such as polo clubs, or steeplechase-goers. Members of ranchers' associations, cowboy clubs, historical re-enactment groups or preservation groups, such as those dedicated to the preservation of the wild mustang, are likely horse owners and therefore club prospects.

Community Exposure

Horse clubs often increase membership by increasing their visibility at community events. Horse clubs often participate in local parades and other outdoor events as a form of advertisement. Others participate in charity events, partially to bring attention to the club. Sometimes free media coverage can be had by sending a press release about a club event to the local newspaper or television station. Starting a club newsletter or establishing a website are alternative ways that horse clubs increase their exposure and their membership.

Cater to Newbies

Many horse clubs have increased their membership by making their clubs easier to join. Classes and competitions especially targeted to beginners, one-day or local competitions as opposed to lengthy shows for advanced competitors are several ways horse clubs are adding members. Some are offering new categories for competition and offering more and smaller prizes in competitions, so that more new members can win.

ReferencesGo Horse Show: Go Horse Show Asks...Indiana Appaloosa Horse Association: Exemplary Regional Horse Club AwardAldinga Bay Riding Club: Strategic PlanPhoto Credit Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty ImagesRead Next:

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How to Deal With Pet Peeves in the Workplace

Pet peeves in the workplace are annoying, but you can learn to deal with them.

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Sooner or later, everyone deals with pet peeves in the workplace. Even if you genuinely like your co-workers, it doesn't mean you like all of the things they do. Whether it is the guy next to you who constantly cracks his knuckles, the team member who spends too much time on social networks or the co-worker who leaves dirty coffee cups everywhere, you are bound to be annoyed some of the time. Dealing with pet peeves in a professional way helps you maintain good relationships among the people you have to spend a lot of time with.

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You need to decide which pet peeves you can and cannot live with. If you constantly ask everyone around you to stop doing everything that annoys you, you can quickly become their pet peeve. If something is offending you, such as bad language or dirty jokes, or is causing ineffectiveness in your own work, such as a team member constantly calling in sick, make a plan to confront the problem. Otherwise, balance whether bringing up the pet peeve will be damaging to your co-worker relationship.

Confront Your Co-Worker

You want to prepare yourself to confront your co-worker about the annoyance in a casual, friendly manner. If you sit someone down and highlight a specific way they are obnoxious, you are likely to put them on the defensive. Be honest and forthright by saying something like, "I love jokes, but so many of the ones you tell are demeaning to women and it makes me feel disrespected," without being too inflammatory, or in another way, "Your jokes are so offensive. If you don't stop, I will report you to Human Resources." You want to keep a good relationship with your fellow workers; however, you have a right to stand up to offensive behavior.

Enlist Your Boss

A co-worker is more likely to better take requests for change from a boss rather than a peer. Although it's probably not a good idea to ask your boss to intercede with the person who brings tuna fish for lunch every day and smells up the break room, you can certainly ask for intervention with a co-worker who is easily distracted, always arriving late or is prone to spreading vicious gossip. Cohesion is important among employees in the workplace, but the boss is there to see that things run smoothly. Again, pick your battles when you approach your boss for help.

Distract Yourself

Determine what you can do to minimize the annoyances. Headphones can block out obnoxious sounds from the next cubicle. Alternatively, you can make an effort to talk on your own schedule to the co-worker who always disturbs your work to talk about her kids. Keep a flameless candle at your desk to mask smells from the perfume addict or bring a cooler to keep your lunch in at your desk if it keeps getting swiped from the refrigerator. Try to focus on what you can do to block out the pet peeve as opposed to changing it.

Lead by Example

Take a look at your own behavior and ensure you are being a good example before you point fingers. There are things you can do to minimize the bad behavior of others. For instance, change the subject when the office gossip wants to talk about Bob's problems with his wife. You can also wash your own dishes before making a public request that everyone else remember to do theirs. Recognize that sometimes you cannot change the behavior of others, but you can react well and set a good example.

ReferencesFemmeonomics: Dealing With Jerks and Quirks at WorkSheckys: Nicole Williams on Workplace Pet PeevesGreat Leadership: The Results Are in: 2010 Top Workplace Pet PeevesPhoto Credit Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty ImagesRead Next:

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Building Your Own In-Line Aquarium Filter

In-line aquarium filters are often fixed onto the return line of your fish tank's water supply, designed specifically to filter water as it returns to the tank. The tanks are often purchased in canister form and can be made using several household ap...

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Training a Dog to Take Food Rewards Gently

Train your dog to sit and receive treats for good performance calmly.

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Dog trainers have probably come close to losing fingers more than once during their experiences teaching dogs how to obey commands. Food rewards are commonly used to reinforce the behavior an owner or trainer wants his dog to display. While they're an effective reward for reinforcing desirable behavior, some dogs may be so excited to receive them that the trainer may need to practice an additional training command of receiving the treat gently with the overzealous dog.

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Dogs have a pack mentality. They are by nature social creatures and in the wild among each other, they look for a leader whose authority and commands they fall under. Obedience training teaches dogs that their owners are the leader of their pack. Gentle, consistent and firm training teaches your dog to obey you as the leader of its pack. Being a responsible pet owner includes teaching your dog how to obey basic commands, including “sit,” “stand,” “stay” and “come.” You can also train your dog to help with useful tasks, such as fetching your morning paper, or important responsibilities, such as being gentle around children, not barking and not being aggressive around other dogs. You can learn how to train a dog yourself or you can take your dog to obedience classes and reinforce what it learns there at home with a treat-reward system.

Treats

Treats are helpful for reinforcing positive, obedient and desirable behavior. Experiment with different small treats until you find a few that your dog can’t resist. Avoid hard treats that must be chewed, can break into pieces and fall on the floor. Reward desired behavior immediately after the dog performs it. Accompany the treat with verbal praise, such as “Good dog,” and a gentle pat on the head. Give your dog a treat every time it performs the desired behavior when it's first learning it. Over time, slowly decrease the frequency of the treats for the behavior, but continue to offer verbal praise.

Nipping Technique

There are two general methods that you can use to train your dog to receive a treat gently from your hand. The first is the nipping technique. Place a small treat in your hand while keeping your fingers on one end of the treat. Move the treat in front of the dog’s mouth, but don't let go of it or let it have the treat until it stops biting your hand or nipping at you to get it. If your dogs paws at you, barks or displays anything other than calm, quiet behavior, don't release the treat. Wear gloves if necessary to protect your hand. Work with your dog until it learns that it will only receive a treat once it gently, quietly receives it from your hand without biting or aggression. When your dog disobeys, say “No, No” or “Ahh, Ahh.” When it does obey, praise it with words such as “Yes” or “Good job” and reward it with the treat.

Eye Level Technique

A second method of training the dog to receive treats gently is by holding the treat level with your eyes. Command the dog to sit. Slowly bring your hand down to the dog’s mouth. Pull the treat quickly back up to your eyes if the dog barks, bites or gets up from a seated position. Accompany the movement with a firm “No, No” or “Ahh, Ahh” when the dog displays inappropriate behavior. Train the dog to wait until the treat is in front of its mouth to gently take it from you. When it does, praise it with a “Yes” or “Good” and reward it with the treat.

ResourcesAmerican Kennel Club: Be a Responsible Dog OwnerHumane Society: Dogs - Positive Reinforcement TrainingPhoto Credit Duncan Smith/Photodisc/Getty ImagesRead Next:

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How to Build a Door With Concealed Hinges

Many doors in a home install using standard hinges. These hinges show on the outside of the door where the door meets the wall. If you prefer a clean look to the door, concealed hinges offer a hidden alternative to standard hinges. These hinges insta...

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Animation Lighting

Advanced animators often consider lighting even during character design.

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Successful lighting for animation relies on a combination of thoughtful character design and carefully orchestrated lighting. Animators should design their characters with potential lighting schemes in mind, then stage and light their scenes for the clearest silhouette, and in a way appropriate to the content of the story as it unfolds.

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and character design are inextricably intertwined. In live action projects, the major factor that determines the shape of a character silhouette is the actor playing that character -- and to a lesser extent the costuming. In animation, you must take care to design a character that will read clearly in profile. As you make work on your character designs, periodically trace outlines of each and fill them in with black to see how your choices have affected their silhouettes. A character should be readily identifiable by a monochrome silhouette alone. If not, go back to the drawing board and rework your model sheet. Likewise, the silhouette of each character in a production should be distinct and different enough from the others that an audience member would be able to distinguish them from each other in a silhouette lineup.

Basic Lighting

Acclaimed cinematographer and USC professor Woody Omens recommends that his students "light from the bottom." In other words, begin with no light, and add lights thoughtfully and with intention until your scene has been adequately illuminated. The opposite approach involves setting up a bright key light, or main light source, and a fill light, or secondary light source, and then adding flags and bounces to adjust the results. Lighting "from the top" has a long tradition in cinema history, but thoughtless reliance on the method can potentially weaken a scene. Though bounces and flags do not exist in a 2-D animator's vocabulary, lighting from the top has been overused by classical animators as well.

One Object, One Shadow

In the real world, many sources of light fall upon any single object simultaneously, making a overlapping array of shadows. But in the artificial worlds of cinema and animation -- at least in most cases -- a character should have a single shadow. When using 3-D models for 2-D, characters pick out the most prominent shadow in a scene and do not attempt to recreate the rest.

Light and Emotion

Anyone who has seen a noir film from the 1940s or 1950s can attest to the potential power of truly emotional lighting. Imagine if "The Maltese Falcon" or Roman Polanski's neo-noir "Chinatown" took place in rooms as bright and sterile as a hospital room, instead of the dimly lit locales film fanatics have come to know and love. Low-key lighting can signal moodiness, mystery, sadness or suspense. Flat, even lighting feels neutral. High-key lighting can signal happiness, confidence or clarity. Take time with your choices and try to light for the highest emotional impact for the scene in question.

ReferencesJohn K Stuff: Animation School Lesson 7: Combining Construction With Clear SilhouettesPhoto Credit Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty ImagesRead Next:

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How to Know if I Have a Bootleg Anime DVD

Anime is a medium for sci-fi and fantasy series.

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Japanese animation, commonly known by fans as anime, has perhaps become more recognized by filmgoers over recent years. English-dubbed anime programs such as “BeyBlade: Metal Fusion,” “Dragon Ball Z- Kai” and “Bakugan” are aired alongside Western animation on local and cable TV. As with any medium, anime DVDs and Blu-ray Discs are at risk for piracy. A keen eye can differentiate an authentic anime DVD from a bootlegged copy.

Related Searches:Difficulty:Moderately EasyInstructions 1

Examine the cover carefully for signs of piracy. Bootlegged anime DVDs often try to mimic the cover designs of their legitimate counterpart but can show signs of piracy. Pixelated, grainy or blurred images are often the result of bootleggers photocopying original artwork. You may have a bootlegged DVD if the cover features characters from other anime DVDs on it. Many legitimate companies use a hologram or some other premium printing service that's not easily replicated by bootleggers, indicating your copy is probably legitimate. Finally, examine the cover for foreign languages other than the country of origin of your anime. A DVD for an anime that originated from Japan but has Chinese or Arabic text on the cover may be a bootleg.

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Identify the store or website that you purchased the DVD from. Fans of anime will sometimes create English subtitles in a process called fansubbing. Because fansubbers copy legitimate DVDs, all fansubs can be considered bootlegged copies and are not sold at retail. If you purchased the DVD from a website or specialty store that advertises selling fansubs, it's likely that your DVD is a bootleg.

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Check for a region code on the DVD cover. Many DVDs are coded by the region that they are released in to prevent piracy and identify PAL and NTSC discs. Pirated DVDs will often remove the region coding and market the DVD as “Region Free." Region 1 is the region associated with DVDs released to the North American market. While legitimate region-free DVDs do exist, the lack of a region code is often a sign of a pirated DVD.

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Check the film for production titles at the start of playback. All anime DVDs will feature title credits for the production companies involved in their creation in addition to an FBI warning found on all domestically-released DVDs. DVDs that lack the production company sequences or the FBI warning are likely bootlegged DVDs.

ReferencesMotion Picture Association of America: Types Of Content TheftPhoto Credit Junko Kimura/Getty Images News/Getty ImagesRead Next:

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