Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas has been awarded the American Horse Council’s 2010 Rolapp Award. Senator Lincoln is the Chair of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee.

“I am honored to receive this award and proud to serve as an advocate for our nation’s horse industry. As an Arkansan, I recognize the importance of the horse industry and the role it plays not only in the agriculture community but also in sport, recreation and entertainment. As Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I can assure you I will continue to work hard to provide solutions to issues impacting the horse industry,” said Senator Lincoln in accepting the award.

Each year the American Horse Council presents the Rolapp Award to a Member of Congress who has been of great service to the horse industry. The award is presented in honor of Rich Rolapp, the former president of the AHC, who passed away in 1993. Previous award winners include Senators Wendell Ford and Mitch McConnell, and Representatives Hal Rogers, Ben Chandler, Bart Gordon, and Karen Thurman, among others.

In presenting the award, Jay Hickey, president of the AHC, said “Senator Lincoln is most deserving of this award. She has long recognized the importance of the $102 billion horse industry not only to Arkansas but to the nation. Three years ago Senator Lincoln was an original sponsor of the Equine Equity Act, along with Senators McConnell and Bunning, which proposed several important changes to treat horse owners more fairly. These provisions are now law and the horse industry appreciates her leadership in getting them passed.”

These provisions include the reduction in the depreciation period for race horses from seven to three years; making horse breeders eligible for the first time for emergency loans following a natural disaster; and specifically including horses in the livestock eligible for federal assistance. “As an influential member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Lincoln was very involved in the passage of the 2008 Farm Bill, which included these provisions benefitting the horse industry,” said Hickey.

Senator Lincoln was elected to the House of Representatives in 1992 and made history when she became the youngest woman ever elected to the Senate in 1998. She made history again when she was tapped as Chair of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee in September, 2009. In the Committee’s 184-year history, she is the first Arkansan and first woman to serve as Chair.

Senator Lincoln also serves on the important Senate Finance Committee, which writes our nation’s tax laws, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Special Committee on Aging. From all these platforms, Senator Lincoln is a leader on a wide range of issues, including farm policy, nutrition, forestry, social security, health care, tax policy, international trade, energy policy, again issues, and benefits for Arkansas’s military service members, veteran, and their families.

“Senator Lincoln has been a long-time friend and supporter of the horse industry. We are pleased to recognize this by presenting her with the 2010 Rolapp Award,” said Hickey.

http://www.horsecouncil.org/pressreleases/2010_7_19.php Link to Article Here

As the national association representing all segments of the horse industry in Washington, D.C., the American Horse Council works daily to represent equine interests and opportunities. The AHC promotes and protects the industry by communicating with Congress, federal agencies, the media and the industry on behalf of all horse related interests each and every day.

The AHC is member supported by individuals and organizations representing virtually every facet of the horse world from owners, breeders, veterinarians, farriers, breed registries and horsemen’s associations to horse shows, race tracks, rodeos, commercial suppliers and state horse councils.