By Sarah Evers Conrad
The Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) offers many ways to connect online and receive information and updates on the organization’s events and programs. CHA works hard to keep members and non-members informed and to share educational materials. For those who want to receive CHA’s updates, there are a variety of ways to connect online with us that are listed below. In addition, we have listed important sections of the CHA website that are updated frequently with important news and information.
One of the best ways to connect with CHA is the monthly e-newsletter. Each e-newsletter has updates from CHA, links to important information, discount opportunities, job postings, upcoming radio show announcements, CHA events, and more. If you want to receive the newsletter straight to your email inbox, subscribe on the left-hand side of the CHA website. http://cha-ahse.org/
Facebook Page: CHA’s Facebook page is a favorite among members and non-members. With almost 8,000 Fans, the page offers updates on CHA events, such as certification clinics and the annual conference, details on the CHA Radio Show guests that appear on Horses in the Morning every third Tuesday of the month. In addition, the Facebook page shares interesting information for horse owners, riding instructors, and riders. We also share posts made by CHA’s partners, which were discussed in last month’s blog post (link to last month’s post).
https://www.facebook.com/CHAinstructors
There is also a Facebook page dedicated to the CHA International Conference at https://www.facebook.com/events/807480385976674/. Other events have their own pages, too. There is a list of events on the CHA fan page’s Events Tab or you can go to https://www.facebook.com/CHAinstructors/events. These events include Skills Clinics, Certification Clinics, the Horses in the Morning Radio Show with CHA, webinars, and more.
Facebook Closed Group: In addition to CHA’s main fan page, CHA has a private group that people can request to join. Members of the group are also active in sharing useful content with their fellow group members. It’s a very interactive experience and a way to get to know other CHA members.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/45943538052/
For additional Facebook experiences based on regions, please see below.
YouTube: Another of CHA’s main social media channels is our YouTube channel. There CHA has 60+ videos on horsemanship and safety topics. To encourage education in horsemanship, CHA encourages anyone to embed the videos on their website. On the CHA YouTube channel, you can learn how to perform a horse safety check, how to fit a helmet, pack and trail riding essentials, how to put horse boots on a horse’s legs, how to take vital signs, and more. In addition, there are promo videos for a lot of the DVDs sold in the CHA online store (link to store). There are also four sample lessons that were recorded at CHA Certification Clinics. These videos can help prepare riding instructors for a Certification Clinic and teach what to expect at a clinic. CHA adds new videos every year, so please subscribe to the YouTube channel so you don’t miss anything.
https://www.youtube.com/user/chainstructor
Twitter: For fans of Twitter, the CHA Twitter page also offers information for riding instructors, horse owners, and other horse lovers. Links are provided for further information. Those who wish to share CHA’s posts are encouraged to retweet. One thing to note with Twitter is that updates about the CHA International Conference use the hashtag #CHAiCON.
https://twitter.com/chainstructors
Pinterest: CHA loves the visual aspect of Pinterest. After all, there is a lot that can be shared about horses visually. At this time, CHA’s Pinterest presence has 25 boards and more than 500 pins, and it is growing all of the time. Board topics include equestrian lingo, riding exercises, disciplines, trail riding, emergency preparedness, equipment, horse shows, equestrian getaways, barn design, equine holiday ideas, breeds, horses in movies and TV, and much more. Please feel free to re-pin CHA’s pins and add CHA to your Pinterest experience.
https://www.pinterest.com/chainstructors/
LinkedIn: Since CHA is a membership organization in which its members are business professionals (instructors, horse industry professionals, trainers, etc.), then LinkedIn makes it a great place for members to connect. CHA’s LinkedIn Group has almost 900 members. Members are free to start discussions, connect with each other, and share news that is relevant to group members.
More Facebook
Facebook Regional Fan Pages or Groups: Many of CHA’s Regional Directors have created pages or groups associated with their CHA region, so that they can share news for their members.
Region 1 Page: https://www.facebook.com/charegion1
Region 1 Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CHARegion1
Region 2 Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/charegion2
Region 3 Page: https://www.facebook.com/CHARegion3
Region 4 Page: https://www.facebook.com/CHARegion4
Region 6 Page: https://www.facebook.com/Certified-Horsemanship-Association-Region-6-160014504121741/timeline/
Region 7 Page: https://www.facebook.com/CHA-Region-7-199189846758224
Region 8 Page: https://www.facebook.com/CHARegion8
Region 10 Page: https://www.facebook.com/CHARegion10
In addition to connecting with us on social media platforms, CHA also offers continuous updates on the following webpages or website sections on its main website. These include:
Guest Announcements for CHA’s Radio Segment on Horses in the Morning: https://cha.horse/education#horse-radio-show
The CHA Way Blog Posts: http://cha-ahse.org/store/blog/
2015 CHA International Conference updates: https://cha.horse/international-conference/
Webinars:
Products for Sale on our Online Store:
Updates to the Clinic Schedule for Certification and Skills Clinics:
Job Openings:
Sarah Evers Conrad is currently the Digital Content Editor at Horse Illustrated and Young Rider magazines. She also owns All In Stride Marketing. She is an award-winning equestrian journalist with a background in magazine publishing, feature writing, news and event coverage, editing, digital marketing, social media, and website management. Conrad has been published in equine publications such as The Horse, Blood-Horse, Equestrian, Arabian Horse Life, USDF Connection, the American Quarter Horse Journal, Paint Horse Journal, Off-Track Thoroughbred, Stable Management, Camp Business magazine, Lexington Family magazine, and HorsesDaily.com and DressageDaily.com. She is also the current editor for the Certified Horsemanship Association’s official publication, The Instructor magazine. Conrad has also edited several books, including CHA’s “The Equine Professional Manual—The Art of Teaching Riding.” Learn more at www.equestrianjournalist.com.