E-Business - Task 1
Lisa Wagner
WGU
E-Business (0610)
QRT2

January 8, 2014

E-Business - Task 1
Werner Quarter Horses is a business started by Gary Werner in 1977. Mr. Werner explains that he grew up showing quarter horses as a child in Nebraska, and he was able to use his knowledge and skill later in life to turn it into a profession. Though his current specialty is halter, he started out as a pleasure horse trainer raising and training world-class western pleasure horses. After suffering a pelvic fracture in a fall in 1985 resulting in pain when riding, his moved his focus to the halter-training arena. (G. M. Werner, personal communication, January 11, 2014)
The business of Werner Quarter Horses has several components. The first and most visible component of the business is the fitting and training halter horses for world-class American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) shows around the country. This involves all of the care for the horse, including feeding, bedding, grooming, exercising, and training of the horse, as well as showing the horse for customers at shows. Collecting a monthly boarding/training fee and showing fees produce the income for this component. (G. M. Werner, personal communication, January 11, 2014)
The second component is the area of breeding, both the actual breeding of mares to produce foals for sale and also the sale of semen in the form of stallion fees. Mr. Werner has a herd of broodmares that he breeds each year. This produces the foals that he sells at various production sales. The larger part of this component lies in the sale of semen produced by his two stallions. Unlike the thoroughbred industry, the quarter horse industry and the AQHA allow artificial insemination for breeding. (American Quarter Horse Association, 2014) This allows an owner to collect, sell and ship semen for a profit. Mr. Werner owns two stallions, each with a stallion fee of $3500, and he states, “Stud fees are what pay the bills around this place.” (G. M. Werner, personal communication, January 11, 2014)
The third business component of Werner Quarter Horses is judging. Gary Werner is an official AQHA judge, so he is frequently hired to judge AQHA shows across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and South America. Judges are paid a fee and expenses for their services. A list of all active judges exists on the AQHA website, so those planning a show are able to get contact information for approved judges from the site. (www.aqha.com) This site lists contact information only. There is no information available to show management describing the judge’s experience or areas of expertise.
Viability of Product or Service
Werner Quarter Horses is a very viable business, because there is a high demand for quality halter trainers in a very competitive event. “With 21% of all AQHA entries being in the Halter Division, it is apparent that this is an area with high visibility thus requiring heightened awareness. (Albee, 2003, para. 3) Werner explains that, because the economy has changed and people have less disposable income, there are less people showing horses today. “However, the people that show today are the few who are left with disposable income, and their income is often substantial. These folks are in it to win it.” (G. M. Werner, personal communication, January 11, 2014) Still, this means that there are less people showing, which translates to fewer customers for each trainer.
Werner Quarter Horses currently has no online presence. Current marketing for the training and judging components of the business is done by word-of-mouth referrals and visibility at shows, either as a competitor or judge. The stallions producing the semen for the stallion fees are occasionally advertised in trade magazines, but that advertising is done more for exposure prior to large shows, such as the AQHA World Show or the All-American Quarter Horse Congress.
Securing an online presence for this business would be beneficial to all three components of the business. Because a person can only travel to so many shows and meet so many people, using word-of-mouth and visibility as the only form of advertising is very limiting. Mr. Werner shows, judges, trains and breeds for high-level quarter horse shows, which draw a national and international clientele. With the growth of the quarter horse business in other countries, an online presence would be the only exposure for the business to those markets. International customers may not travel to the United States to show or for training, but they provide a largely expanded market for the sale of bred or trained horses, semen and also for judging at the expanding list of international shows. Mr. Werner has judged in several countries, and he has sold horses to clients in Europe, Canada and Mexico, but this has been limited, due to the lack of exposure.
While an online presence would be beneficial to the business, there could also be challenges. The biggest challenges would be the initial setup and the continued maintenance. Mr. Werner has very minimal computer skills, and encouraging him to monitor the maintenance of a site would be challenging. Because he would not be able to maintain a site on his own, he would need to hire a person or business to do it. While the increase in business would eventually cover the increase in cost, the initial cost for setup would be

References
Albee, R. (2003, September 2, 2003). Winds of change - The halter industry. The Equine Chronicle. Retrieved from http://equinechronicleonline.com/winds-of-change-the-halter-industry/
American Quarter Horse Association (2014). Official handbook of rules and regulations (62nd ed.). Amarillo, TX: American Quarter Horse Association.