Revised May 27, 2010.

Over the past fifteen years certain policies and procedures have emerged that are repeatedly followed by the Board in making decisions.In 2007 we started to gather these policies and procedures in written form. To date memories and minutes have produced the following list. While it is an internal document for the Board it is also useful as a guideline to the membership in understanding the framework within which the Board operates.

1. Legal Disputes

It was determined by the Board many years ago that it would not be involved in any legal disputes. This was a pragmatic decision resulting from an excruciating and fruitless effort to resolve one.We decided that legal disputes are best left to courts, which have powers and abilities to compel evidence that we do not.

2. Votes in FEIF

The USIHC delegate to the annualFEIF Delegates Assembly shall be aware of the agenda and vote consistently with the direction of the Board. In the event that matters come up at the meeting on which the board cannot comment, the delegate shall use his best discretion in the interest of the USIHC when voting. Committee chairs shall have the discretion to vote according to the needs of their USIHC committees.

3. Document storage

Each officer and committee chair is responsible for storage of documents pertaining to his/her office or committee. In the event two persons have an interest in documents (i.e., the Breeding Committee Chair and the Registrar each have an interest in the evaluation score sheets), these persons shall decide where the documents will be stored.The person not storing the documents shall be entitled to a copy of them if he/she wishes.

4. Reimbursement of Travel and Related Expenses

All travel and related expenses of Board members, Committee Chairs, or members conducting business for the organization are borne by the individual and are not reimbursed by the organization. Decisions to amend this policy will be made on a case-by-case basis.

5.Budgets

Annual committee budgets shall be projected per department by the board in consultation with the respective committee chair. The budgets will be due before the March Board meeting each year. The Board shall review, modify, and approve the budgets at the March meeting.

6. Notices to the membership

All notices to the membership shall be in writing and mailed to all members.In the event a member wishes to receive such notices by e-mail, he/she shall notify the Secretary by providing an e-mail address and checking the appropriate boxes on the member profile page on the website.Members may change their notification preferences at any time. All changes shall take effect immediately for all future notices.

7. Autonomy of Regional Clubs

Regional Clubs shall be autonomous units except for such requirements as are contained in the Rules Governing Regional Clubs and the requirement that each club designate someone as a Youth Contact. The latter is for the purpose of naming someone from whom young riders in the area covered by the Regional Club can obtain information about various opportunities and activities for youth.

8. Committee Chairs.

For many years it was required that Committee Chairs be members of the Board.In 2006, it was determined that Committee Chairs may be persons outside the Board. In that event, however, the Board will designate a Board member to be a liaison to the Board from that Committee. The purpose of establishing a liaison is to insure that the Board will be kept informed of any matters within the Committee of which it should be aware and so that the Board will be able to communicate any requests it might have of the Committee. The liaison has no responsibility for the work of the Committee and functions simply to facilitate communication.

The Board selects all Committee Chairs. In the event a Committee Chair wishes to resign he/she may recommend one or more successors to be considered by the Board.

9. Committee membership.

a. Except for the Sport Committee, the membership in committees shall be open to any member of the Congress. With regard to the Sport Committee, membership is restricted to those persons who have attended certain educational seminars. A Board member may belong to any Committee without satisfying any prerequisites.

b. A Committee chair may remove from membership any member (other than a Board member) who has not participated in the discussions or work of the Committee for a period of six months. The Committee chair shall give 30 days notice of the proposed removal to the member in question so that the member may provide reasons for his/her non-participation if he/she wishes to continue to belong to the Committee.

c. A Committee chair may remove from membership any member (other than a Board member) who has behaved inappropriately in the discussions or work of the Committee.The Committee chair shall give 30 days notice of the proposed removal to the member in question so that the member may provide an explanation for his/her actions if he/she wishes to continue to belong to the Committee.

d. Committee members shall be current USIHC members.

e. Members who have not paid their USIHC dues shall be removed from committee rolls on March 1st.

10. Financial accounts of the Congress

The accounts of the USIHC shall bethe responsibility of the Treasurer. The appropriate officer or chair shall review and approve bills before they are submitted to the Treasurer. The treasurer shall prepare monthly and year-to-date statementsfor the all Board meetings. The Treasurer shall work with the committee chairs and officers to project budgets for the coming year. The Treasurer shall be responsible for annual tax filings.

11. Dissemination of Board decisions

Minutes of Board meetings will be posted in full on the USIHC website after all Board members attending the meeting in question have had three days to submit corrections. Certain meetings (or portions of meetings) are deemed closed to the membership.These primarily concern issues involving an individual member and the purpose of closing the meeting is to protect the privacy of the individual member. Minutes of these meetings or portions of meetings are prepared and approved but are published at the discretion of the Board.

No matter for which the entire Board is answerable shall be reported to the membership until each Board member has had an opportunity to review the matter.

12. Website Calendar

The purpose of the Calendar of Events on the Website is to publicize events (such as clinics, seminars, competitions, exhibitions, etc.)put on by USIHC members as well as official events of other FEIF member organizations. The listing shall include the name of the event, type of event, date and location of the event and the name and contact information of the member or association putting on the event.

13. Midyear Membership Applications

Memberships received after December 1 of each year shall include membership for the following calendar year.

14. General Expense Reimbursement

Members seeking reimbursement for expenses incurred in performing work for the Congress shall obtain prior approval for all anticipated expenses.Reimbursement of any expenses, anticipated or unanticipated, is at the discretion of the Board.Members seeking reimbursement for approved expenses must submit receipts for all expenses for which reimbursement is sought.

15. Program Financial Self-sufficiency

All programs and activities of the Congress should be developed with a goal that they become self-sufficient. Since reaching this goal is often not possible in the initial stages of a program or activity, the responsible Committee shall develop a plan for initial financial support of programs and activities in their early developing stages as well as the plan to achieve self-sufficiency.

The budget for any sanctioned seminar shall be designed to break even.In the event a seminar generates a profit, the profit shall be forwarded to the USIHC Treasurer and retained to support future sanctioned seminars.

16. Board Meetings & Agenda

Board meetings are held by telephone conference call on the third Thursday of each month unless otherwise agreed to by the Board. The Agenda for each meeting (including any Committee reports) should be determined by Friday of the preceding week and placed on the website for review by the Regional Clubs who may have an observer present on the conference call.While every effort shall be made for the Agenda to include all items to be considered, the Board shall not be limited in its ability to discuss and determine any matter it deems appropriate, whether or not it has been included on the agenda.Closed meetings or closed portions of the meetings may be scheduled at the discretion of the Board.

17. Seminar Sanction

The content and organization (logistical and financial) of seminars or programs that result in official recognition (i.e., certification or acknowledgement of completion) by the USIHC must be recommended by the Education Committee and approved by the Board.

18. Seminar Participation

Attendance of USIHC sanctioned seminars is open to all interested parties.Individuals who are not current members of the USIHC must pay a $40 fee per event. The organizer of the seminar shall collect the non-member fees and forward them to the Treasurer.

19. Recognition of Foreign-trained Intern Judges

Any individual who has received judge training outside the United States and wishes to act as an Intern Judge shall submit a written request including a summary of his or her training to the Chairman of the Sport Committee.If the Chairman concludes the individual’s training and experience is equivalent to the training offered in the United States, he shall forward the request with his endorsement to the Board for approval.Upon receipt of the Board’s approval, the individual may exercise any privilege of an intern judge at USIHC sanctioned or schooling shows.

20. Quarterly Magazine Distribution (Based on a print-run of 500 copies)

1. 400 copies for membership:

   These copies are mailed directly to current members by the printer following the mailing lists provided by the Secretary two weeks prior to each issue date. Addtional copies are mailed to the Sectretary and/or the volunteer responsible for mailing Welcome Packets.

   • All current members receive all issues of the Quarterly published each year as part of their membership.
   • Any household from Canada may purchase a one-year subscription for USD$30.00. Any household from any other foreign country may purchase the same for USD$35.00.
   • All FEIF officials receive all issues of the Quarterly published each year, as per FEIF rules.
   • New members get 1 copy of the most recent issue available free in their Welcome Packet when they sign up.
   • Any current member whose current address is on file in the USIHC database and seems to be correct, but who did not receive an issue of the Quarterly, gets 1 free replacement copy if they ask for it. Only 1 copy of the most recent issue available can be sent for free. If the member has missed several issues without contacting the USIHC Secretary or the Quarterly Committee about the problem, he/she can purchase the other missing issues at $5 per copy plus postage or download them from the website for free.
   • Any current member who has filed a change of address with the USIHC within 3 months of receiving a copy of the Quarterly, but was not in time for the new address to appear on the Quarterly mailing list gets 1 free replacement copy if they ask for it. Only 1 copy of the most recent issue available can be sent for free. This amounts to a "grace-period" of one quarterly period during which a member can correct his/her address without missing or having to pay for an issue.
   • A current member whose address is incorrect in the USIHC database because the person has moved, but he/she has not filed a change of address with the USIHC, does not receive any free copies. This member can purchase missing issues at $5 per copy plus postage or download them from the website for free.
   • A current member whose address is incorrect in the USIHC database because of a typo made when entering the data (either by the member or by the USIHC, if the information was submitted on paper) gets 1 free replacement copy if they ask for it. Only 1 copy of the most recent issue available can be sent for free.
2. 50-75 copies for Promotion:

   These copies are mailed from the printer to the Promotion Committee Chair.

   • Members of the Promotion Committee can sell copies at shows & expos and to Regional Club members for $5 each or as much as they determine the market will pay. It is up to the Promotion Committee to decide how much to charge and where/how to sell these copies.
   • If the Membership group needs more copies, they can get them from the Promotion Committee.
   • If the membership demand changes drastically, we'll send fewer copies to Promotion from the printer.
3. 25 copies for Quarterly Contributors:

   These copies are mailed from the printer to the Secretary.

   • Any writer, illustrator, photographer, or advertiser can get 2 free copies of any issue just by asking, until the copies of that issue run out. (Regional Club reports do not qualify as contributors.)
   • The person pictured on the cover of an issue (or whose horse is on the cover) is considered a "contributor" and can get 2 free copies of that issue by asking.
   • After that, contributors can buy additional copies for $5 each plus postage.

21. Regional Clubs Advertising & Breed Demo Matching Funds

1. Must be a USIHC regional club, USIHC will match up to $200 per calendar year. No available funds to be carried forward into a new year. For every dollar spent from the Regional club, USIHC will match each dollar up to a $200. To be used once or throughout the year.
2. All ads must be submitted to the Regional Club Chairperson (regional_clubs@icelandics.org) for approval before running the ad. Ads must be run before payment will be issued.
3. The USIHC Regional Club Advertising Matching funds are limited to advertisements placed or run in magazines/papers/websites, etc that are NOT specific to the Icelandic Horse breed. The purpose of this limitation is to ensure the promotion of the breed to those who do not already own or have interest in the breed. Ads placed or run in Icelandic Horse specific media are not eligible for the matching funds.
4. Ads may be placed for any Icelandic horse event or for promotion of the regional club, USIHC and/or the Icelandic breed.
5. USIHC and the website address (www.icelandics.org) must be mentioned in the ad and the USIHC logo is strongly recommended when possible.
6. Once payment is authorized, the chair of the Regional Clubs committee shall forward a copy of the ad to the Promotions committee for archival purposes.
7. If any fees are incurred for a breed demo in conjunction with a USIHC Regional Club (stall fees, admission fee) the appropriate receipt must be submitted to USIHC treasurer for a 50% reimbursement.

22. Membership Standing

In the event a member owes the Congress monies and fails to make payment in a timely manner, the following procedure shall be followed to designate said member "not in good standing":

1. After 30 days of sending an invoice, the treasurer shall follow up with a certified letter notifying the member who owes the Congress money, specifying what is owed and when it was owed and consequences if not paid within 60 days of the invoice date.
2. Allow the member to respond in writing within the original invoice date 60 day period.
3. If no response, the member shall become "not in good standing" after the 60 day past due date and notified of such in writing.
4. If they do respond, the Treasurer shall notify the Board, for further instruction and response to the member..

Once a member is designated "not in good standing" he and all individuals in his household shall be restricted as follows:

1. Be barred from trying out as a World Championships team member.
2. Be barred from running for or holding office.
   (Constitution Article III, Section 7)
3. Shall not be entitled to vote.
   (Constitution Article III, Section 7)
4. Shall not be entitled to to propose amendments to the Constitution.
   (Constitution Article III, Section 7)
5. Shall not be appointed to an election committee.
   (Constitution Article IV, Section 2)
6. Shall not be allowed to join or serve on any committee.
7. Shall not be allowed to second any nominations for Board candidate nominations.
8. Shall not be allowed to attend any seminar that results in certification.
9. Shall not participate as a Congress member in a sanctioned competitions or breeding evaluations. Individuals may still participate but must pay any non-member penalty fees.
10. Shall not be permitted to advertise on the website or in the Quarterly magazine.
11. Shall not represent the Congress at any FEIF conference.
12. Shall not advertise events on the website's bulletin board or event calendar.
13. Shall not be allowed to renew membership until all past due monies are paid.

The sanctions and limitations described above shall apply to all persons associated with a membership if at least one person associated with the membership is "not in good standing". If a business is responsible for the debt to the Congress, all persons associated with all memberships held by the owners of said business shall be subject to the sanctions and limitations.

23. Errors and Omissions Insurance

The Congress purchase and maintain Errors and Omissions Insurance for the Board and Registry with a $250K level of coverage and an annual premium not to exceed $700.

24. "Foreign Friends" Membership Alternative

The following program exists to offer a means for interested individuals to participate in Congress sponsored activities if they are constitutionally prohibibited from being members of the USIHC. This alternative to membership is only offered to those who are expressly excluded from joining.

Individuals may become "foreign friends" of the USIHC by paying a fee equal to the current membership fee plus an increase to offset the costs of mailing the Icelandic Horse Quarterly to addresses outside the United States. The current fee shall appear on the membership application form as well as on the website with the fees for the various classes of membership. This fee is due and payable on the same schedule as the membership fees.

In exchange for payment of the "foreign friends" fee, individuals shall receive:

1. A subscription to the Icelandic Horse Quarterly
2. The ability to list events on website calendar
3. The right to participate without non-member fee in any Congress activities where membership or non-member fees apply. This includes but is not limited to:
   1. The Pleasure Rider Program
   2. Sanctioned Competitions
   3. Clinics and seminars
   4. Breeding Evaluations
   5. Stallion listings
4. The ability to purchase Farm Listings on the website and in the Quarterly.
5. The ability to advertise on the website
6. Have written information on their farm or events on display at Congress Booth locations

While "foreign friends" are not members and may not exercise the rights and privileges of members, the "member not in good standing" policy applies to individuals who have not met financial commitments to the USIHC.