The USEF Road Show booth was recently exhibited at the Future Farmers of America (FFA) National Convention. The booth was set up as part of the FFA National Agricultural Career Show. The staff manning the booth answered questions from a couple thousand attendees during the three-day period. The questions ranged from “What is USEF?” to “How do I get involved with equestrian sport?”

“This is exactly the type of event for which the Road Show was made. We talked to people who just love horses to people who compete in equestrian events,” said Ian Thornton, one of the USEF staff who manned the booth. The staff also gave out material on the USEF Youth Council and its annual convention, a guide to Equestrian Colleges and Scholarships, mouse pads and t-shirts. The staff also made contacts with several of the universities that were in attendance that had equine programs or equestrian teams.

The FFA National Convention was from October 22-25, 2008, in Indianapolis, IN. It has over 50,000 attendees, most of whom are high school students. The career show exhibitors ranged from Ford and Toyota to Stihl and Kraft to the Army and Navy. There were also several large universities and small colleges in attendance.