The third Equine Industry Symposium will again be hosted at the University of Guelph campus on October 27th, 2018 from 9:30am-4:00pm.

The Symposium will provide the opportunity for open discussion amongst industry professionals to address concerns within the industry. This year’s main topic will be Professionalism and Standards. Selected educated, inspiring speakers will communicate their perspective on the topic to facilitate discussion among attendees.

Schedule

9:30am Welcome from VP research, OAC, OVC. Picking up from the last symposium. Goals of the day – Moderator Akaash Maharaj

10:00am Professionalism: where it all starts – Catherine Geci

10:35am Industry stats: what do the existing data tell us? – Kendra Coulter

11:10am Break

11:25am Industry Stats - What is being done about all this? Ontario Equestrian’s approach to professionalism in the industry as it pertains to coaching, youth development, facilities operations – Pam Coburn

12:00pm Stirring the pot (discussion facilitated by Akaash Maharaj and Tim Nelson)

12:35pm Lunch (provided)

1:20pm Rider story: an elite equestrian’s personal example – Diane Creech

1:55pm Marketing: is it possible or necessary to sell this? – Len Kahn

2:30pm Break

2:45pm Vet tech story: personal experiences of living through change – Rory Dimitrioff and Cally Merritt

3:20pm Wrap up – bringing it all together and choosing next steps (discussion facilitated by Akaash Maharaj and Tim Nelson)

3:50pm Concluding remarks

Just in time to kick start the upcoming Equine Industry Symposium hosted by the University of Guelph on October 27, 2018, a new discussion group has started on theHorsePortal.ca website as a platform for anyone to share resources and knowledge, network, collaborate, identify common issues, discuss common solutions, and promote actions based on evidence and professionalism. Discussion topics revolve around the six key themes that emerged from the first Equine Industry Symposium held in November 2016:

1. Marketing – how can we promote our industry as a viable profession?
2. Education vs employment – what challenges do we face in finding skilled employees?
3. Industry standards – does our industry have standards? Do we need standards?
4. Joining forces – can we gain some common ground with others through our connection with the horse?
5. Youth involvement – how do we attract and retain youth in our aging industry?
6. Industry research – what research is needed to push our industry forward?

Registration to the Equine Industry Symposium discussion on theHorsePortal.ca is free. Simply go to https://thehorseportal.ca/course/eis/, click on register, and use the coupon code EISforum2018 for your free registration. Then start participating in the discussion and let’s see where we can take our industry!

This is a free event open to anyone involved in any sector of the equine industry.

Advanced registration is required.

Please use the campus map to locate Thornbrough. https://www.uoguelph.ca/campus/map/

Free parking is available in lot P42