HR0798 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0798 LRB093 21531 KEF 49163 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, This year marks the 125th Anniversary of the founding of the Clydesdale Breeders Association of the U.S.A.; the Association was organized April 23, 1879 and incorporated in the State of Illinois on December 4, 1879; and

WHEREAS, The first Stud Book was published in 1882 and contained 1050 entries; nearly half of those entries were the property of two owners, Robert Holloway of Illinois and the Powell Bros. of Pennslyvania; a large number of entries were imported, either from Canada or Scotland, before the American Association was started; and

WHEREAS, Clydesdale business was strong in the 1870s and 1880s and the Association held an annual show at the Illinois State Fair, and then held the show in Chicago starting in 1884; in 1893 the Association held a very successful show at the Chicago World's Fair; the International Livestock Show in Chicago was established in 1900 and was the top Clydesdale show in the country for fifty years with the Clydesdale hitches dominating the ring of interbreed hitch competition; and

WHEREAS, In 1931, because of a legal tax problem concerning the non-profit status, the Association was advised by the Secretary of State of Illinois that in order to be properly listed as not for profit, it would be necessary to dissolve and reorganize under a new name; as a result the Clydesdale Breeders of the United States was incorporated in the State of Illinois on June 29, 1933; and

WHEREAS, In May 1934, the Chicago Stockyards burned, including the Clydesdale office, and all the records of the Association were lost; although the 1930s saw Clydesdale breeding stock facing hard times, Clydesdale hitches dominated the competition and were very popular in the eyes of the public; the repel of Prohibition brought the debut of the Anheuser Busch Eight Horse Hitch and it has become the best advertisement for the Clydesdale horses in all times; and

WHEREAS, A small number of breeders kept the Association alive in the 1940s and 1950s with some generations still active within the Association to this time; the Association, which was considered a minor breed, had only twenty to thirty registrations a year during the 1950s and 1960s; by the end of that decade things had improved dramatically and many new people had joined the Association; and

WHEREAS, In 1972, the Association was outgrowing its rules and bylaws adopted in the reorganization of 1933; new bylaws were drawn up and the Association was reorganized a second time; in May 1976 the office of the Association was moved to Pecatonica where it remains today; the growth of the breed has continued in an uphill manner for the rest of the 20th century; in 1976 the number of registrations were 135 and has continued to grow each year resulting in 641 being registered in 2003; and

WHEREAS, In May 1985, the Association held its first National Clydesdale Sale in Decatur, and the sale was very successful; in 1986 the National Sale was moved to the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield and has continued to be held in that location since; the Association also decided to hold their annual meetings in Springfield in conjunction with the National Sale, which proved to be an excellent decision; and

WHEREAS, The 2004 National Sale and Annual Meeting will take place on April 22-24; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the 125th Anniversary of the Clydesdale Breeders Association of the U.S.A.; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the current President of the Clydesdale Breeders Association of the U.S.A., Martin E. English, and secretary, Betty Groves, as a token of our esteem.