As 2018 comes to an end, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season with your family - both two-legged and four! We are truly blessed to be entrusted with the care of such an amazing breed. We are a close family-like community which was evident at the very eventful 2018 AHA Convention in Tulsa... aka the Great Hyatt Regency Fire of 2018. In the spirit of the Christmas Season, here is a copy of the prayer I read for the invocation at Convention this year:

Merciful Father, from all Eternity you are our Everlasting God.

By your Word you created our world and

you govern all things in Harmony. You gave

us that same Word-made-Flesh as Mediator –

who has spoke your Word to us and called us

to follow Him. He is the Way that leads to

you the Truth that sets us free, the Life that

fills us with gladness.

In the fullness of time, you led the

Hebrew people out of their slavery to the

Egyptians and then, dry-shod, through the

Red Sea.

A rift in that very same Red Sea millennia

ago gave rise to Arabia – the largest

peninsula in the world … a harsh, brutal,

unforgiving land. How ironic, then – that by

the gift of your Spirit – from the austerity of

this desert the magnificent Arabian would

emerge.

Lord God, empower us to embrace these

high-spirited, alert horses with care and

respect and to reverence the whole of

Creation which sings to us the wonder of your

Might … for you are Lord, forever and ever,

Amen.

2019 is looking bright for Region 9 as we return from a productive AHA
Convention with fresh ideas and enter the New Year financially sound. The first delegate meeting and R9 event is right around the corner. I hope to see everyone at the High Point Awards Lunch & Delegate Meeting on January 26, 2019. Please visit our website for more information.

Congratulations on another successful show season. Thank you to all of our club presidents who, along with their membership, work hard to host many events throughout the year ultimately making Region 9 the greatest region in AHA!

I hope this note finds you well. From my family to yours, we wish you a very
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

God Bless,
Mark Himmel
Region 9 Director