On February 23rd two brave souls from Hodges Badge ventured out into the New England weather to head south for a few days. Ok, so it wasn’t really south, south –  it was PA and the weather wasn’t any really warmer but it was an adventure none the less.  Actually the weather was on the bad side in Harrisburg but that didn’t stop the true horse lovers from attending the 8th Annual Pennsylvania Horse World Expo. 

Jessica and Rochelle in front of our ribbon display

Hodges was there to mingle and see what was new in the horse community of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington and other surrounding cities. Of course we were there to show everyone what was new with us too. We have a new Equestrian Catalog out filled with NEW products – I’m most excited about the new line of trophies but that’s a topic for another day. 

Now back to the show.Rather than just tell you about the show I wanted to show you… You could test products. 

Jessica testing Dubarry's waterproof boots

Pony purses anyone? Too cute!

 Shop for new trailer. 

Attend a great clinic or seminar.

My favorite picture though, shows just how creative one can be…can you tell who’s invited to dinner? 

mmmmmm...yummy!

 If you want more information on this great show and when the next one is going to be go www.horseworldexpo.com.

Riding for Reading!

It’s a  non-profit organization dedicated to promoting reading, literacy and education through equestrian activities.  Hodges Badge Company is a proud sponsor.

Our our talented art department went to work a while back creating  a custom multicolor ribbon just for them with their own design. Well Marnye Langer, one of the founders of the organization, sent us an email with a cute picture from the Woodside Class of 2009 letting us know that their hard work paid off . “The kids love them” she said.   (That’s the design in the background on the banner.)

She also let us in on some good news. This year they hope to launch a new program: the Riding For Reading Children’s Hunter Class.  This class will expand their reach and  hope to have 50 hunter/jumper shows offer the class. 

Check out thier site and see how you can be a part of this great idea three people had to combine their love of horses, riding and literacy: http://www.ridingforreading.org/index.php

I spent this morning laying out the first draft of our upcoming Championship catalog.  Lots of new items, like etched glass bowls, hardwood plaques from Indonesia  and some really nice pewter are going to grace the pages of this book.  The whole idea is courtesy of my friend Paul O’Reilly of Newport Harbor Group who innocently asked me if I sent all of my customers the exact same catalog.  Of course I said yes, and well, maybe that wasn’t the right answer, so now we are doing a book featuring higher end pieces than we have ever shown before.  We are promising that it will be ready by ’spring’.

Finally, it isn’t a big secret around here that we are working on a new web site.  It was originally scheduled to launch in January, but we held off while we fine tuned the shopping cart, and updated all the product photos.  With some luck, it should come on line around March 1st.  The technology in this site is going to be 9 years newer than what we currently have so it should have the look and feel that people expect from the web today.  Among the features it includes are multiple sized photos of products, easier online ordering, support for micro sites and (probably not on day 1) the ability to see your printing and colors on the ribbon you are ordering.

I will keep this post updated as the launch date approaches.

As the Official Ribbon Supplier of the USEF, Hodges was proud to meet the directors of the multiple breed and discipline associations that attended the convention’s meetings.

As everyone headed to registration or picked up lunch they walked by our award display and had the opportunity to stop and say hello. It was good to hear that so many people  were very familiar with Hodges and our products. 

It was also good to be able to show them new products that everyone seemed excited about. One being the Pewtarex plates (check your 2010 Equestrian catalog [hitting the ground March 1] for details).

 It was also great to hear how different organizations in USEF use our ribbons.  (Have you ever thought about handing out a 12 inch rosette to all participants and then pinning on buttons to the streamers for each class entered?!)

Perhaps the best part of the trip for Rochelle and Jessica was that they attended the Pegasus Awards, a huge banquet honoring the stars of equestrian sports.  They watched as dressage rider Steffen Peters was named Equestrian of the Year, and Olympic rider and Chef d’ Equipe Jessica Ransehousen was honored for her lifetime commitment to the sport.

While we’ll be back to Kentucky in May for IHSA Nationals, our next event is the Horse World Expo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  Hope to see you there!

Greeting attendees as they headed to registration or picked up lunch, we were happy to hear that so many people were very familiar with Hodges and our products.  We showed off our new Pewtarex plates (check your 2010 Equestrian catalog [hitting the ground March 1] for details) and were interested in hearing how different organizations use our ribbons.  (Have you ever thought about handing out a 12 inch rosette to all participants and then pinning on buttons to the streamers for each class entered?!)

Perhaps the best part of the trip was that we got to attend the Pegasus Awards, a huge banquet honoring the stars of equestrian sport.  We watched as dressage rider Steffen Peters was named Equestrian of the Year, and Olympic rider and Chef d’ Equipe Jessica Ransehousen was honored for her lifetime commitment to the sport.

While we’ll be back to Kentucky in May for IHSA Nationals, our next event is the Horse World Expo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  Hope to see you there!

Here’s a little more about me: I was initially attracted to Hodges because I have ridden and shown horses since I was 10 years old.  I am originally from Connecticut and have lived on “the island” here in Rhode Island for three years. 

 Here are some of the events I’ll be attending.  If you live in the area, come and stop by our booth.  We love to hear what our customers are up to!

 February 25-28           
Horse World Expo                  
Harrisburg, PA

 March 6-8   
American Society of Curriculum Development Annual Conference
San Antonio, TX

 March 17-20
Tri-State CAMP Conference   
Atlantic City, NJ

 May 6-9
IHSA Nationals                       
Louisville, KY

We offer 10% off on all orders pre-paid with a credit card. Of course, there are some restrictions. The discount is only on the merchandise total and it’s not applicable on orders needed in less than 9 working days. You can however order now and get your awards delivered later, any time throughout the year.

 Sale Ends February 15th, 2010 so don’t miss out!

It brought back some good memories. I can remember being so proud when I received my ribbons back then for completing swim level classes with the Red Cross. Every week in the summer, my brother and I would go down to the Sakonnet River in Rhode Island and have a swimming lesson. At the end of the season Red Cross would always give out  ribbons or a medals. (I found his medals too!)

Apparently I am not alone in having old Hodge’s ribbons without knowing it. I received an email from a woman in  Alabama this week that told a great story and I have to share it.

She got her first horse show ribbon in 44 years at a costume competition. She hadn’t been in a show since 1965.

Well, when she brought her new ribbon home she wanted to display it with the last ribbons she won back in the 60’s. As she hung them up, out of curiosity she looked on the backs of the old ribbons to see who they were made by. She was surprised and pleased when she saw that they were from Hodges!  They look quite different from the ones she just received but she did note that the old ones certainly kept their colors well even after being tucked away in a scrapbook for 40+ years.

So……How many Hodge’s Awards do you have hidden away and don’t know it?  Go take a look!

“I received my order of ribbons today and I am so excited. Thank you so very much, they are beautiful. This was my first time ordering ribbons for a show and you made it so easy and hassle free. I asked for shipping by the 26th and received them today, can’t ask for better customer service. I will definitely place all my ribbon orders from you in the future, as well as refer you when I am asked where the ribbons came from, which I am sure will happen because they are so unique. Thank you so much again.”

It is obvious as you enter the park that a huge amount of money has been spent on improvements.  The most obvious changes are the new open air stadium and the indoor arena.  Scott Carling of USEF told me that they began construction of the open air stadium seating immediately after Rolex in 2008, and it was actually completed in time for Rolex 2009!  Here are some shots of the stadium on a day when the occupancy was 1.

Here is a shot from the courtyard outside.

After climbing the bleachers (all the way to row AA) I made it over to the new indoor arena.  It is kind of landscaped into the hill to hide its size, but as you can see, it seats about 5,000 in climate controlled splendor.  One of the early events in the venue will be the 2010 IHSA championships next May.

Here is a shot from the outside.

Looking across the horse park

Fall is always an interesting time to visit the horse park as many things are changing.  One change is the new USHJA building.  Almost complete as you can see in these photos, but I was unable to go inside for a look-see.

As always, the horse park is a great place to visit.  If you are coming for WEG, make your plans early – and think about flying into Cincinnati – it is only 70 miles away and has much better access.  In addition, don’t be surprised if accommodations are not available nearby.  Hotels have already upped their rates, so an hour of driving may just save you a lot of $$!