"Thinking Outside The Box" Strategic Planning Meeting

 

FAST, Inc and WHTA welcome you to a strategic planning session on Friday February 13^th , 2026 at 1:00 p.m. at the Embassy Suites in Franklin, TN, the site of the 2026 annual WHTA banquet. This session is open to anyone interested in the success of our show horse.  

 

FAST, Inc. held a strategic planning session on Saturday, January 10^th for FAST to identify areas where the foundation could be useful to the show horse industry and meet the mission of the organization. FAST, Inc. was founded in 2009 with the specific purpose of preserving, protecting, and promoting the show horse. Since that time, the foundation has raised and redistributed more than $5 million dollars to support the show horse with:

 

Legal Funding

• Provided legal funding for Contender I, Contender II and most recently with rule making, injunction, scar rule, post-show inflammation and showing back.

Research and Development 

• Provided funding for a scar rule study which has been widely used successfully in recent lawsuits.

Scholarships 

• Provided scholarships to aspiring horse industry youth to pursue higher education.

Horse Show Development Programs 

• Provided funding to revive horse shows which had been discontinued and support new horse shows.
• Provided funding for youth classes to increase participation of youth riders.

Education and Promotion 

• Provided funding to revamp the FAST website with educational information regarding the show horse and produce a series of videos to support awareness of the show horse and inspection process.  

Shows and Events

• The foundation has produced numerous fundraising events both singularly and collaboratively with other industry organizations to raise funds to support the show horse.

 

The FAST board invited members of the WHTA board to attend the strategic planning session to bring additional perspective to the discussion. Owners, breeders, exhibitors, and judges were represented in the group. The strategic planning exercise provided for great discussion and ideas to advance our show horse. As a result of a motivating strategic planning session, it was recommended that a similar exercise be provided to a wider audience to capitalize on the collective wisdom, enthusiasm, and support of others within the industry. Please join us (youth are encouraged to attend as well) and participate in helping to identify key areas of priority that will contribute to the ongoing success of our show horse.