05. January 2023 · Comments Off on Idaho Horse Expo April 7-9, 2023 · Categories: Around The Campfire, Fun Days

Expo Offers Top Notch Clinicians, Shopping, and Entertainment

The 37th annual Idaho Horse Expo will be held April 7-9, 2023 at the Ford Idaho Horse Park in Nampa, Idaho.  If you are a horse lover of any age, you can’t miss this event. The expo features international and local clinicians and trainers.

The featured clinicians are Ty Evans, of Utah and Evan Bonner, of Washington State. Ty Evans is also conducting a one-day clinic on mulemanship prior to the expo on April 6 in the Coverall Arena. The Idaho Horse Expo will also feature clinicians presenting in-hand training, ground training, ranch riding, jumping, classical dressage, and more.

Featured Events

On Friday we’ll have the Breed Showcase where 10 breeds of horses will exhibit a freestyle routine and a short explanation about their breed. Following the Breed Showcase will be a Friday Fiesta Night, highlighting our Spanish Breeds and the Escaramuza Drill Team. Miss Rodeo Idaho and the Royalty Fashion Show will be back by popular demand Saturday afternoon. Meet Miss Rodeo Idaho and many other queens from regional rodeo courts.

Saturday Night Horse Fever on Saturday evening celebrates Idaho horses and riders in musical routines and skits. You’ll see dancing horses and some of the finest horses in the state. Also on Saturday night there will be Dueling Disciplines with a dressage rider and a reiner. Each day in the Main Arena, the expo will feature collegiate teams of three who will demonstrate their skills in starting untrained colts. This is a judged challenge with the top team receiving special recognition.

With over 100 vendors, you can shop to your heart’s content! Stallion Alley will feature a variety of stallions standing in the area, and the Blue Ribbon Private Treaty Horse Sale is back as well. This sale is a great place to sell or buy a horse where the two parties do the bartering, and you can try the horse before you buy.

Kids’ activities are always a hit and there will be a Breyer Stable Mate Horse  painting with a model horse show to follow each day. Also for children are stick horse activities, an Easter egg hunt, scavenger hunts, bouncy horses and much more. Remember, children 12 and under get in for free all three days!

An ETS (Equestrian Trail Sports) competition will be held on Saturday and a rodear competition held on Sunday. (A rodear is a timed and scored competition involving a cowboy, his horse, his dog and a cow or two to be driven through an obstacle course.)Sunday will be a special cowboy church service presented by Wade Black. We hope to see you there! For more information visit www.idahohorsecouncil.com. Contact Idaho Horse Council at 208-465-5477 or email idahohorsecouncil@yahoo.com.

05. January 2023 · Comments Off on Welcome to Idaho · Categories: Around The Campfire

Fueled still by an influx of people moving from other states, Idaho was the second-fastest growing state in the country in 2022, with a population that nearly reached 2 million people for the first time in July, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Compared to the previous estimate in July 2021, Idaho grew by 1.8% to an estimated population of 1,939,033 people in July 2022, census officials said.

As Idaho edged toward the 2 million population mark for the first time, only Florida grew at a faster rate nationally in terms of percentage growth. In 2022, Florida grew by an estimated 1.9% according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Although the latest population figures were released by the U.S. Census Bureau, the numbers are estimates and are different from the results of the official census. The official census takes place every 10 years, with the most recent census taking place in 2020. To obtain the latest population estimates, U.S. Census Bureau officials used data on births, deaths and migration to calculate population changes since the most recent 2020 census.

Results of the official census conducted every 10 years are important for a number of reasons. They determine the allocation of states’ seats in the United States House of Representatives, play a role in calculating the amount of federal funding sent to a state and shape how state legislative and congressional boundaries are drawn and divided during state redistricting procedures.

The annual population estimates, such as the new 2022 figure, give insight into how populations change and shift during the 10 years between the official census.

What caused Idaho’s population to increase?

According to news releases issued by the U.S. Census Bureau and Idaho Department of Labor on Dec. 22 and Dec. 23, Idaho’s net in-migration accounted for the vast majority of Idaho’s growth. A positive net in-migration means that more people moved into the state than moved out over the time period.

In-migration accounted for 88% of Idaho’s growth, while natural changes from births outnumbering deaths accounted for about 11% of Idaho’s growth, census officials said.

Growth isn’t new for the Gem State. In fact, growth appears to be slowing. Census officials said Idaho’s growth between July 2021 and July 2022 dipped below the five-year-average of 2.3% and slowed to 2016 levels. For the first time in five years, Idaho was not the top spot for new residents, census officials said.

Nationally, the United States population grew by .4%, up to 333.2 million people. Regionally, the South and the West were the only two regions of the country to experience growth in 2022, census officials said. The Northeast and Midwest posted population declines from 2021 to 2022, with more people moving out than moving in.

“There was a sizeable uptick in population growth last year compared to the prior year’s historically low increase,” Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Population Division at the Census Bureau, said in a written statement. “A rebound in net international migration, coupled with the largest year-over-year increase in total births since 2007, is behind this increase.”

Nationally, the top five states in terms of percentage growth were:

  • Florida, 1.9%
  • Idaho, 1.8%
  • South Carolina, 1.7%
  • Texas, 1.6%
  • South Dakota, 1.5%

The five states with the highest percentages of population decline were:

  • New York, -0.9%
  • Illinois, -0.8%
  • Louisiana, -0.8%
  • West Virginia, -0.6%
  • Hawaii, -0.5%

In the spring, the U.S. Census Bureau plans to release new population estimates for metro areas, counties and cities.