Temple Grandin Confirmed as a Speaker for Summit of the Horse

Dr. Temple Grandin, one of Time magazine's 2010 most influential people, is one of the national presenters at the Summit of the Horse event, Jan. 3-6, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nev., at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa.

According to Representative Sue Wallis of Wyoming, who is the vice president of United Horsemen, a 501(c)(3) educational and charitable organization that implements humane and realistic solutions to the excess horse problem, Grandin will address the issue of humane handling of horses during the four-day event.

Grandin recently was inducted in the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, and she was the focus of a semi-biographical 2010 HBO film, Temple Grandin, starring Claire Danes, which was nominated for 15 Emmy categories and received five awards. Wallis says while Grandin now may be recognized as a worldwide celebrity, she continues to be a representative of all who have spent their lives in animal agriculture.

"Temple is unequivocally honest and logical in her explanations of the necessity of animal science and livestock production," Wallis said. "Her lack of bias in addressing the issues provides a common-sense understanding for anyone to grasp the positive movement we see in the future development of the humane handling of horses and other livestock."

Grandin is a designer of livestock handling facilities and a professor of animal science at Colorado State University. She obtained her B.A. at Franklin Pierce College, her M.S. in animal science at Arizona State University and her Ph.D. in animal science from the University of Illinois.

Today, she teaches courses on livestock behavior and facility design at Colorado State University and consults with the livestock industry on facility design, livestock handling and animal welfare.

Grandin has appeared on 20/20, 48 Hours, CNN Larry King Live, PrimeTime Live and the Today Show. She has been featured in People Magazine, New York Times, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, Time Magazine, the New York Times Book Review and Discover magazine.

She has written more than 400 articles in both scientific journals and livestock periodicals on animal handling, welfare and facility design. She is the author of “Thinking in Pictures,” “Livestock Handling and Transport,” “Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals" and “Humane Livestock Handling.” Her books Animals in Translation and Animals Make Us HumanNew York Times best-seller list. And Animals Make Us Human made the Canadian best-seller list. made the

Tracee Bentley of the Colorado Association of Conservation Districts, and one of the organizers of the Summit of the Horse says the event is an effort to gather horsemen and horsewomen with federal, state, tribal and private land resource managers, conservationists and ranchers in a forum to address concerns about the sustainability and health of land; horses, both domestic and wild; native wildlife and the horseback culture and economy.

"The Summit comes from the perspective of experienced horse people who have the best interest of the horse at heart and seeks unification of our country's horsemen and horsewomen in promoting horse welfare and the health of the horse industry," said Dave Duquette, president and founder of United Horsemen. "We're speaking with a unified voice for horses and horse people."

A full program of Summit of the Horse event speakers will be released as soon as official confirmations are received from Secretary of Interior Salazar's office and from the BLM Wild Horse and Burro office. Don Glenn, current head of the Wild Horse and Burro Program, has indicated that the agency will be at the event to discuss sustainable and realistic solutions to the problems of wild horse management. In addition, confirmations are also being awaited from leading politicians who have been at the forefront of horse industry issues who are juggling schedules during this transition phase after the elections.

Participants can obtain a final list of speakers and register at www.summitofthehorse.com. To arrange booth space and sponsorship opportunities, contact Dave Duquette at 541-571-7588 and at info@unitedhorsmensfront.org. For more Summit event information, contact Sue Wallis at 307-680-8515; Tracee Bentley, Colorado Association of Conservation District, 970-412-3386; or visit the Summit of the Horse website at www.summitofthehorse.com.

Confirmed Speakers

John Falen - Public Lands Council

Steve Torbit - National Wildlife Federation

Larry Johnson - Nevada Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife and former member of BLM Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Committee

Arlen Washines - Northwest Tribal Horse Coalition

Tim Amlaw - American Humane

Glenda Davis - Navajo Nation Veterinary Program

Frank Bowman - Horsemen's Council of Illinois

Dennis Foster - Masters of Fox Hounds Assn.

Mindy Patterson - Alliance for Truth, campaign to defeat HSUS Missouri Prop B

Bill desBarre - Horse Welfare Alliance of Canada

Jennifer Wood - Humane Handling & Assessment Tool for Canadian Horse Processing