Always looking for ways to improve his circuits, HITS president and CEO Tom Struzzieri has unveiled a major upgrade to his HITS-on-the-Hudson: a charming 30-room luxury hotel and tavern that is sure to be the hot place to call home in the late summer. The namesake of the HITS Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix lives […]
In today’s economic environment, retail is a battlefield. But if it’s true, as Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi once said, “life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can,” then Larry Lumsdon has a few things going in his favor. The […]
Miki Cohen, the force behind the Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento, is launching Horse Expo Pomona, February 2-4, 2012 at Fairplex in Pomona, California. The event fills the void left by Equine Affaire. In June the Massachusetts-based firm behind that expo announced it was cancelling the event, which had been held at the Fairplex […]
If you’ve ever been sued by Frank Sinatra for $20 million, spent years traveling the world as a correspondent for news mogul Rupert Murdoch, worked as a Las Vegas entertainer, or spent your formative years rounding up wild cattle in the remotest regions of the Australian outback, your name must be Colin Dangaard. And we […]
Anyone in the business of horses will want to be aware that a potentially advantageous provision of the 2010 Small Business Act expires on Dec. 31. Whether it’s a new saddle or a new truck or trailer, business equipment purchased before the new year will be eligible for a full write-off. That’s an unusual option. […]
Although most professional equine sales agents already use written sale agreements, bills of sale and broker agreements to fully disclose all relationships in equine sales transactions, it is worth noting that as of January California law requires that all horse sales be documented in writing. Specifically, it is required that a written agreement disclose the […]
Chalk one up for the Los Angeles Equine Advisory Committee. In July the group got word that local stables and ranches can begin accessing reclaimed water for grounds maintenance. The move came after more than a year of discussions, during which time the L.A. Department of Water and Power went to considerable lengths to implement […]
A California woman was sentenced to 41 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $272,000 in restitution for fraudulent transactions and animal cruelty in cases involving the Internet sale of horses. Thirty-two-year-old Wrightwood resident Trina Lee Kenney pleaded guilty to mail fraud before the United States District Court on April 13, 2011, admitting […]
Don’t learn the hard way the importance of a strategic plan for your equine business. A new tax court case ruled against a taxpayer with horses of impressive bloodlines, which she expected to sell for somewhere in the six figure amount. In the case, Betts v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2010-164, the judge made a number […]
In March of 2010 the IRS began a three-year process of random audits known as the IRS Employment Tax National Research Project (NRP), which has important implications for those working in the horse industry. These audits are not limited to any one industry or size of business and will be the most comprehensive of the […]
