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ACDHA meeting is back on the East Coast!

Virginia in 2022

The 2022 Annual ACDHA is set for October 20 -23, 2022 in Farmville, VA. Roy and Cheryl Martin are hosting the meeting this year in Virginia!

We’ll be staying in Farmville, and we have a block of rooms reserved at the Hotel Weyanoke.  Rooms are available starting Thursday, October 20.  The meeting will be Friday at the Hotel itself and then we’ll go to Cheryl and Roy Martin’s beautiful farm on Saturday.

Hotel Weyanoke is cradled between Charlottesville and Richmond in Farmville – a central Virginia town known for its university presence, state park accessibility, and place in history. Just off Main Street and across from Longwood University is Hotel Weyanoke, a boutique hotel, catering, and restaurant venue. Blending small town hospitality with large market quality and aesthetics, Hotel Weyanoke continues to be an inspiring place to share ideas, celebrate milestones, and try something new. Featuring 70 luxurious rooms adorned in mid-century modern decor, a full-service restaurant, rooftop bar, with private event and meeting spaces, Hotel Weyanoke is the ideal location for your stay.

Rates start at $169 for a traditional queen and go to $179 for a traditional king or double queen for those of us that double up.

To ensure reservations are at the discounted rate, guests must refer to the ACDHA Group Block when calling the hotel to make a reservation: 434-658-7500. Reservations must be made 30 days prior to your arrival to guarantee the room and rate.

I know everyone is excited to get together for our American Cream Draft family reunion and it be a treat to be back on the East Coast.   There are several airports to fly into, depending on how far you want to drive in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains!  I know several of us will be driving in and we hope to have a few horses coming in for the meeting!

The meeting will be Friday at the Hotel starting at 9 am, the hotel is catering a lunch for us so that we can keep the meeting going and get everything done. It will be a “deli” style lunch with bread, meats, cheese and salads with brownies for desert and tea and water to drink.  The price is covered by your registration fee and a donation.  We will have our normal silent auctions to raise funds for the association.  Friday evening will be on your own but there is an awesome restaurant in the hotel.

Saturday we will meet at Roy and Cheryl Martin’s Farm “Triple Springs Farms” in Dillwyn, VA.  They have an exciting day planned with breakfast being served starting at 9:30 am to 11:00 am at a cost of $15 and you won’t go away hungry.  Lunch will be served starting at 12:30 to 3:00 pm at a cost of $20.

Also, there will several Farm Day Events including hayrides, games, presenting Milk Wagon for pictures.  There will be a raffle with proceeds going to MEERS. There will be all kinds of games.  There will be an Amish Speaker and Dr. Shane may speak on AI breeding in Drafts.

There is a registration form included in this newsletter and you will need to complete it and return so that we will have a head count and can make sure we have enough food!!

Click on meeting registration below and it will open a printable coupon!

Click on Page 2

I would like to announce that we still have ACDHA 2020 calendars For Sale!!

Please order your calendar NOW!

Calendars are $20, plus $3.50 s/h fees.

We also accept PayPal now to pay for your items! Contact our secretary, Kerrie Beckett, to order your calendar and have an invoice sent!

C.T. Rierson farm visit and Radcliffe, Iowa welcome sign

What is an Cream Draft?

The American Cream Draft Horse is exactly as the name describes.

First, it is truly American, with roots back to a mare in central Iowa around 1905 known as “Old Granny” who was the foundation mare of this breed.

Second, it is Cream in color, which is one of the three main physical characteristics manifested by the working of the “Champagne” gene. The other two traits which are obvious in an American Cream are the pink skin and the amber colored eyes.

Third, they are a draft animal, built as those originally used to farm in the breadbasket of this country before the age of mechanization.

This website is your resource for news, information and important materials regarding the American Cream Draft Horse Association. If you would like to support the association and do not own an American Cream please consider becoming an associate member. If you own an American Cream and are not a current member, please join today.

American Cream Draft Horse Association 75th Anniversary at C.T. Rierson farm

Over the weekend I had the distinct honor of celebrating the 75th Anniversary celebration to honor my grandfather C. T. Rierson as the founder and creator of the American Cream Draft Horse Association. The American Cream Horse Association of America was granted a charter by the state of Iowa in 1944. The American Cream Draft Horse is the only breed of draft horse that can claim to be native to the United States. The roots of this rare breed go back to the early 1900’s. Three defining traits resulting are their cream colored coat, pink skin and amber eyes The skin is pink, manes and tails are usually white (and never docked), the eyes are amber/hazel colored, and a host of white markings are common. DNA color testing in the last decade reveals the ideal color genetics for the ACDH is not a palomino (chestnut with a single cream gene); it’s a chestnut and a single or double champagne gene. American Cream Drafts are considered a medium heavy-draft, ranging from 15 to 16.3 hands and weighing between 1500 to 2000 pounds with a marked gender difference. The American Cream Horse is known for its calm wiling demeanor. My grandfather farmed his farm using his American creams only never owning a tractor. Clarence T. Rierson, owner of a stock farm in Radcliffe, Iowa, was intrigued by these cream drafts and began acquiring horses to build a Cream herd. He researched the ancestry of each cream horse and recorded their pedigree. As Rierson had a flair for promotion, he promoted the horses, and showed them at county fairs. He also coined the name “American Cream” for the breed.

Needless to say the entire weekend was an emotional one as this was the first time since I was 14 to be around this beautiful horse I grew up with. The last picture is my favorite as it is of me at a very early age.

 Babs Miller