Beth Beymer
Board of Directors
Berthoud, CO USA


303-651-3940

BethB@NFHR.com

I have been involved with Norwegian Fjord Horses since 1995 when my partner, Sandy, and I purchased our first Fjord mare from a breeder located in Colorado at that time at which point we became members of the NFHR. It has been thirty years and we became life members many years ago.

Sandy and I spent numerous hours, days and years being involved with the NFHR. We formed our farm, Starfire Farm LLC because we attended and competed at the Fjord Horse shows in Libby, Montana and Blue Earth, Minnesota. We have owned several stallions including BDF Obelisk (bred by Carol Rivoire in Nova Scotia, CN), Thordal (imported from Holland by Howard and Sophie Fiedler of Green Valley Farm), Saethersblakken (imported by Janice Lee, then sold to Susan Cargill who transferred him to Starfire Farm prior to her death in 2010). We have bred and sold a number of Fjord horses which have and continue to reside in a variety of locations from coast to coast, even in Hawaii. I have both trained and stood stallions for other Fjord Horse owners. I have assisted numerous people to acquire their own Fjord Horses from a variety of sources, not just from our farm or of our own breeding.

I helped organize the first NFHR Evaluator Training program and am currently the Senior Evaluator for the NFHR Fjord Horse Evaluation system. I was on the NFHR Evaluation Committee during the time that the original system was being reviewed and revised. I have been to the Stallion Show held in Eid, Norway at least 4 if not 5 years. I have been to Fjord Horse evaluations in Denmark and have toured Holland and Germany.

With my own and client's horses I have helped organize and have participated in NFHR Evaluations in California, Colorado, Minnesota and Montana.

I was the NFHR Representative for Fjord Horse International and was on the board/committee that helped revise and update FjHI international Judge's Handbook.

In 2005, while Mike May was still Registrar and Executive Director of the NFHR, the editor of the Fjord Herald unexpectedly resigned. Sandy and I indicated to Mike our interest in helping out by becoming editors and were given approval by the NFHR Board. We (and eventually I) along with the layout person Linda Yutzy, produced the Herald until 2016.

I have organized and coached several different Fjord Horse riding teams (which also included driving), the Norwegian Fjord Quadrille, where we promoted Fjords performing at the National Western Stock Show in Colorado for many years, The Mane Event at the Colorado Horse Expo, the New Mexico Horse Expo, Equestfest in California (associated with the Rose Parade in Pasadena), The Road to the Horse in Kentucky (a ten Fjord drill team) among other promotional events around Colorado.

Together with former NFHR Board member, owner and breeder Susan Cargill and several other NFHR Board members, in 2006 I helped organize the NFHR 25th Anniversary in Winona, Minnesota; produced and performed in the Evening of Dancing Fjords which resulted in delighting at least 300 Fjord Horse lovers from across the county and Canada, including an international contingent of Fjord Horse dignitaries and judges from Scotland, Denmark, Holland, Germany and Norway.

In 2013 I helped organize perhaps one of the last NFHR Annual Meetings that included education and entertainment, including two performances in the Evening of Dancing Horses at the National Western Stock Show which led to our application and acceptance into the Tournament of Roses Parade in 2014. I was organizer and Marshall for our application and acceptance into the Rose Parade in 2022.

Currently we still own thirteen Fjord Horses, with an additional seven belonging to other owners. The majority of ours are aging and we no longer breed.

I retired from the City of Boulder Police Department in 2000, having spent ten years in their employ as a Law Enforcement Officer working the street, as a driving instructor, crime scene investigator, field training officer, liaison to the District Attorney's Office regarding Domestic Violence and detective. Prior to that I was an Animal Control Officer for three years for the City of Longmont. I grew up in Southern California and graduated from UCLA with a bachelor's degree prior to moving to Colorado.

I continue to provide community service by volunteering on two different mounted teams; the Boulder County Mounted Search and Rescue and the Larimer County Sheriff's Posse. I have two Fjord Horses qualified to be on both teams (with more in the works). I belong to both organizations because we live on the county line between both Boulder and Larimer counties and in addition to Search and Rescue, both teams provide large animal evacuation during disasters. With the Larimer County Posse we also provide law enforcement and security. I am in my second year being Team Leader for Boulder County Mounted Search and Rescue, which is an elected position, and am a certified instructor for mounted police work.

I have a vested interest in the NFHR. I am currently on the Fjord Herald Committee. I understand that there is contention within the current leadership of the Board of Directors and believe that is it time to have members of the Board that have vision, passion and the stamina to withstand any contention that may arise. It is well beyond time to have reasonable discourse regarding the present and future of the NFHR.

I believe in the Fjord Herald and think it should be produced as both a physical and electronic document, giving access to all members as well as a publication that is utilized to promote Fjords, Fjord Breeders and any members who provide products and services related to Fjord Horses.

I believe in the NFHR Evaluation System and in aligning our system with those being utilized in Norway and other influential countries. I believe in giving access to the NFHR Evaluation system to all members by offering evaluations on private farms as well as in larger venues. I believe strongly that the NFHR Evaluation System belongs the agency that registers purebred Fjord Horses, which is the NFHR.

I have long sought to find a way to include Fjord owners who have Fjord Horses that are unable to be registered by the NFHR for one reason or another, and I think that the Norwegian Fjord Horse Alliance has finally fulfilled that role, providing a "home" for those horses and their owners. I do think it would be in the best interest of both the NFHR and the NFHA to find a way to liaise to work together towards promoting Fjords and supporting their owners rather than competing against each other.

I believe every member of the NFHR holds value and should have a voice. I believe in working with NFHR members and other members of the NFHR Board with dignity and respect.