If you watched the NRHA Derby in OKC or online, you might've seen a fun new promotional video for the Pro Trainer, a project I helped create for NRHA Professionals and continue to publish.

I wrote the script for this piece, and I'm so excited that NRHA finds the project valuable enough to promote it at their major events! Steve Ross did a great job with the voiceover, and Jonathan Gauthier's camera work is outstanding!

I believe in this project so strongly. It's truly something every association should offer for their professionals. When we elevate their business practices, it raises the entire industry to new levels and allows continued growth, not to mention profitability for our professionals who work so hard.

Go with the non-endemic agency with the big ideas, but include on your side of the team a consultant who can point out possibly problematic elements.

Community journalism plays a vital role in supporting and perpetuating strong ties, especially in the horse world.

This fall and the end of 2021 are flying by! Here are a few things we’ve been up to this fall and how we’ll keep kicking up dust into the new year.

Ultra-high-profile events are the kinds of things that get marketers excited, and they should motivate owners of small businesses within the niche, too. The opportunities to capitalize on the influx of eyes on our Western horses are as endless as your own imagination.

The Summer 2021 NRHA Pro Trainer made its way to NRHA Professionals earlier this month. By helping our professionals be the best business people they can be, we elevate the industry and establish expertise, confidence, and commitment that grows their businesses and grows the horse industry as a whole.

I might not have ever thought nonprofit development would be part of my dossier, but thanks to the help of a great board of directors, the encouragement of friends and family, and the generosity of donors, here I am—proud to be the president of the Ray Barron Strength & Honor Fund.

Blogging takes a lot of work. (Says the writer who’s posted to this blog far too infrequently.) There’s coming up with topics, which can be—or at least seem like—a huge undertaking; accessing sources; organizing your thoughts; and then actually writing, editing, and rewriting the darn thing, plus finding photos. However, a blog—or multiple blogs—on your website offers many benefits, including driving traffic, building community, and providing service to your audience that only your brand can offer, in your brand’s voice, and from your brand’s perspective.

By working together to attribute creative work appropriately, we open doors to collaborate and become even better at what we all do.

I’m dedicated to helping equine professionals drill down to the essential marketing tactics their businesses need and those that provide measurable results. Special publications and toolkits, designed for specific audiences’ needs.

As media professionals and marketers, we talk about changing the conversation all the time. We do so to disrupt the status quo, develop new ideas, and push ourselves and our brands to new levels. How do we apply this to the delicate topic of cancer, dying, and death?

Reinvention requires vision and open-mindedness, but also a commitment to the key mission and roots that keep it grounded.

The effect of major television exposure for these Western disciplines is immeasurable in a time when people aren’t as readily exposed to Western culture and horses.

When you reach a level of status, it's your job to send the elevator back down for other talented people and help them rise.

Starting a podcast is easier than you might expect and can boost your brand to a new audience.

In an age when ad sales are declining and we can get almost any information we need—whether for educational or leisure purposes—online for free, print must move to a consumer-driven model and provide an experience. It has to be destination-based, must-read, can’t-miss content packaged in premium-feeling paper, a larger trim size, and—last but not least—feature exceptional writing and photography.