J. Robert Burk

An Open Letter to the Maryland Horse Industry Board (published August 2010)
by Crystal Kimball, publisher of The Equiery & Technical Advisor for MHIB

In July, the Maryland equestrian community lost one of our most valuable assets when Rob Burk resigned his position as the Executive Director of the Maryland Horse Industry Board.

As the Executive Director, Rob Burk was our professional advocate – but it was more than “just a job” for Rob: it was vocation and avocation.

Rob toiled tirelessly as our advocate, going above and beyond the job description, and certainly well beyond anything like the constraints of the typical 40-hour week government job would suggest, and he far exceeded the expections of those who hired him.

Not that our expectations were low, but Rob was a fresh faced graduate of Virginia Tech with a Master of Science in equine nutrition, and he fairly burst with potential. When we reviewed his resume and interviewed him, he appeared to have it all: industry knowledge and passion, organizational and management skills, and - a real plus for us - administrative computer skills. And did I mention articulate and diplomatic? Without a doubt, he was the industry ambassador we sought.

His resume and his interview were so stellar that, although he was the standout candidate for the job, we worried that he would not be able to live up to his billing. Oh, but he did, and then some.
We also worried that if he was even half as good as he seemed, he would not be long with us. After all, the job did not pay much (the funding for the position of the executive director comes from the feed assessment program, but the program must also fund all of the other MHIB initiatives), and did not offer much in terms of promotions. We were wrong on that count as well: Rob Burk stayed with us for seven and a half years, far longer than we had initially hoped.

And in those seven-plus years, he has indelibly shaped, and changed, not only the Maryland Horse Industry, but our equestrian community as well.

Building A Better Mousetrap
There are many high profile, public projects for which Rob will be remembered, and we will get to those.

But first, there are those improvements and advancements Rob made “behind the scenes,” of which most people are unaware but which make our industry run more smoothly. These are the kinds of administrative improvements that everyone wants, but no one generally wants to be the one to do. They lack glamour. They mean spending hours hunched over a computer. These kinds of improvements take patience, determination, and an appreciation for minutia. Minutia greases the skids of industry.

When Rob arrived at MHIB, the thirty year old stable licensing program was hopelessly in the dark ages (the license program was just about the same age as our new executive director). Database? Hell, there was not even a computer dedicated to the program, never mind a database. Want to find an old license? Want to look for a pattern? See those boxes over there? Have at it.
It is not that our inspectors were not good. Our inspectors, particularly Beverly Raymond, were excellent. But their tools were antiquated and they had no advocate or administrative support within the Department of Agriculture to get them better tools and to develop the programs.

Upon arrival, the Board members threw a variety of glossy, sexy projects at him: Horse Forum, Horse Park, etc. and so forth. It would have been so easy, too easy, for him to neglect the Stable Licensing Program.
But he didn’t. He chipped away and chipped away, patiently worked the internal political system at MDA to obtain the computer equipment, while personally building the database to support the licensing program, often in his spare time. And in the end, he did just build a better mousetrap; Rob created an efficient, contemporary, digital database administrative system for the management of the Stable Licensing Program, a system much appreciated by those who use it, but relatively invisible to those that don’t. However, the flaws of the antiquated program were readily visible to anyone and everyone who wanted or needed an updated list of licensed stables (from the consumer looking for a licensed stable with boarding lessons or training to the state vets who needed to grapple with infectious, contagious disease outbreaks).

But Rob’s “behind the scenes” accomplishments do not end there. He created the procedures for the collections of the feed fund, and ensured that the feed dealers received the necessary consumer education materials. He oversaw the grant program, from applications through selections, distributions, and follow-ups.

Take a look at the websites for the Maryland Horse Industry Board, the Maryland Horse Park, and the Maryland Horse Forum. Yes, he did all of those sites.

Equine Health Advisory Committee
Without a doubt, Rob’s diplomatic and political skills helped us establish the Equine Health Advisory Committee to the State Vet and Secretary of Agriculture. We, the equestrian community, wanted this committee created after the first equine herpes outbreak. The community was appalled at State Vet’s re-active approach to these diseases that had the potential to devastate the equine population and the industry. We determined that the State Vet’s office was too insulated from the day-to-day realities of the horse industry, and we wanted to create a citizens advisory committee that could not only help to articulate health concerns of the community (before they become crises), but could also work with the State Vet and the Department of Agriculture on the details of “Best Management Practices” and various containment and quarantine protocols and details (such as who pays for the tests if the tests are ordered by the State).

It took two more herpes crises before the committee was finally seated, but there is no doubt: the committee would never have happened if it were not for Rob’s patient and persistent advocacy on our behalf within the Department of Agriculture.

Since it was established, the committee has helped to ensure the establishment and implementation of effective industry and community communication vehicles; continues to review and advise on Maryland policies and protocols regarding reportable diseases; Maryland statutes and regulations relating to equine health; Interstate health requirements; Capabilities of Maryland State Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratories; and Emergency preparedness protocols. The committee has drafted close to 20 recommendations to the MHIB and the MDA, and to date, at least a third of which have been enacted. Those recommendations include such actions as recommending that all state agricultural fairs and shows require horses, and other susceptible livestock species, to be vaccinated for rabies; the elimination of certain diseases from the list of reportable diseases, and establishing a system that will allow vets to file electronic coggins reports with the State.

The committee strongly recommended that MDA develop the capacity to identify diseases such as Neurologic Equine Herpes Virus 1 in the Maryland State Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratories through the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for equine herpes virus-1, the causal agent of a common horse disease often called “rhino,” and MDA did so. Maryland vets are now able to find out whether or not a horse is positive for herpes the same day, or within 24 hours at most; prior to the acquisition of this PCR testing machine, Maryland vets had to wait 2 to 4 days (or more) for results.

Maryland Horse Park
When he was chairman of the Maryland Horse Industry Board, Greg Gingery had two clear visions for MHIB.

The first vision was more modest: to distribute micro-grants for clubs, research and start-up business. This goal was relatively easy to accomplish without an executive director. While it was not a streamlined process, the volunteer Board was nonetheless able to accomplish it with the help of the stable inspectors (who volunteered their time to help, as this work was technically outside of their government job descriptions).

Greg’s second vision was grander and would solidify Maryland’s position as the Mid-Atlantic mecca for equestrian sports: the creation of a Maryland Horse Park. In order to accomplish this, we needed someone, in Greg’s immortal words, to “honcho it.” The Maryland Horse Council had already been working on a funding program that would enable the Board to hire an executive director (MHIB, as a quasi government agency, is prohibited from active lobbying; MHC’s mission is to provide the community with a legislative voice). With the vision for a Horse Park, the need for professional leadership became more urgent. But we got it done, and we hired Rob.

Meanwhile, we had a smooth transition of MHIB volunteer leadership when Jim Steele took over the chairmanship from Greg Gingery, and took over the quest for the Horse Park.
Unquestionably, we would not have gotten as far as we did with the Horse Park concept if we did not have a professional steward. If you visit the archives on equiery.com, scroll down to Maryland Horse Park to see the amount of work that has been accomplished already. If and when enough acreage and enough funding is ever secured in central Maryland, the Maryland Horse Park is “shovel ready.”

Who’s Next?
It is an understatement to say that the next executive director has big shoes to fill…but who that person is rests squarely on the shoulders of the current members of the Maryland Horse Industry Board. Hiring the Executive Director is, more than anything else they do, the most important job of the members of the Board.

The Maryland Horse Industry Board is only a “quasi” government entity; it is housed at the Maryland Department of Agriculture (like any other commodity board) because that was the only way to ensure it had a roof over its head and an official mechanism through which funding could be collected (the feed fund, which is tied into the Office of Weights & Measures at MDA).

But MHIB is entirely self-funded and self-directed.

By being “housed” at MDA, we merely have a mechanism through which payroll and other human resource services can be administered. So, although the executive director receives a paycheck cut by the State of Maryland, and has the other benefits and protections of a state employee, he or she is by no means a “typical” state employee. The executive director works for the Maryland Horse Industry Board, and thus it is the responsibility of the Maryland Horse Industry Board to find the best possible replacement for Rob Burk.

The members of MHIB should start by reviewing the original job description crafted by the 2001/2002 Board.

The 2001/2002 Board appointed a small committee to draft that job description (which the entire Board approved prior to its publication), to oversee advertising for the candidate, to review resumes, to select and interview candidates and then to make a final recommendation to the entire Board (a first choice and a second choice).

This small committee consisted of then Chairman Greg Gingery, the late Malcolm Commer, PhD., the livestock economist for the University of Maryland and me. We reviewed the applications , and interviewed (if memory serves) three candidates. Rob Burk was, by far, the best candidate for the job. My only personal hesitation about hiring Rob was that I worried that he was actually too good for us, and he would be quickly snapped up by someone else, leaving us with barely launched projects. (I am delighted to say that my fear did not materialize, and seven-plus years at a job with no ability to be promoted was a tremendous tenure.)

The accomplishments of Rob Burk during his MHIB tenure attest to the success of this Board-driven process. The current Board should not become complacent and allow the Department of Agriculture to fill the position internally. This job is too important to us, the community (not to mention, it is the community’s money which pays the salary for the job).

No doubt, the MHIB executive director could be seen as a plum job for some career bureaucrat who “likes horses” and is adroit enough to manipulate the internal political process to navigate his or her way to that job. That is not to say that there might not be a career bureaucrat somewhere in the system perfect for the job…there very well could be! But it is the responsibility of the Horse Industry Board, not the Department of Agriculture, to ensure that the right person is hired.

The Maryland Horse Industry Board members are volunteers who advise. The MHIB executive director is the one responsible for executing the Board initiatives, so finding and hiring the executive director is the Board’s most important responsibility.

Please do not let the community down.

And to Rob, The Equiery wishes you success in your new position as the Executive Director of the USDA’s National Agricultural Research, Extension Education and Economics Advisory Board. It has been a pleasure working with you.

MHIB Accomplishments 2003-2010
The following are a few of the highlights of the many accomplishments of the Maryland Horse Industry Board during the tenure of executive director Rob Burk:
- 2003, completed the first equine census in Maryland;
- Organized the 2004 & 2009 Maryland Horse Forums, at the requests of Governors Ehrlich and O’Malley;
- Spearheaded the feasibility study for a Maryland Horse Park;
- Launched the initiative with USDA & MDA and conducted a feasibility study to establish an animal import/export, quarantine & research facility at or near BWI;
- Created the critical marketing awareness campaign, “What the Horse Industry Means to Maryland,” an education piece featuring statistics from all relevant studies;
- Established the protocols and policies for the collection of the feed fund revenue;
- Almost doubled the number of licensed stables via awareness and education;
- Created digital databases and record keeping for the stable licensing program;
- Developed a procedure and investigative system for complaints against stables;
- Spearheaded the establishment of the Equine Health Advisory Committee to the Maryland State Vet and Maryland Secretary of Agriculture;
- Helped to establish a clear need for the State to acquire a PCR testing machine so that Maryland vets could find out whether or not a horse was positive for Neurologic Equine Herpes Virus 1 in hours rather than days;
- Spearheaded advisory task force to the Maryland Ag Land Preservation Foundation for the purpose of expanding the allowable equine uses of farmland in the preservation program;
- Distributed over $147,000 in grants, from 2003-2010

Background on Rob Burk
Rob Burk is a lifelong horseman and avid three-day eventer hired by the MHIB as its first official Executive Director in December 2002. Growing up in Northern California, Rob worked as a rider, trainer and groom with many of the country’s most accomplished dressage and eventing professionals. Moreover, as a teenager Rob worked as a groom for an Olympian, the late Captain David Foster of County Meath, Ireland. As a young rider, Rob earned several state championships in California and when he headed off to college, he was an “H-A” rated member of the U.S. Pony Club. While in college, Rob was an IHSA Regional Open Over Fences and Flat champion and the fourth ranked AQHA Open Western Reining and Horsemanship Collegiate Rider in the nation. Rob earned a Bachelors of Science in Equine Science from Otterbein College and a Master of Science from Virginia Tech. At Virginia Tech, Rob managed the main project of the Middleburg Agricultural Research and Extension Center sponsored by Waltham Nutrition under the guidance of the late Dr. David Kronfeld. In 2009 Rob was accepted as a fellow into the LEAD Maryland Foundation’s Class VI. Rob is married to Dr. Amy Burk of the University of Maryland Equine Studies program. They have a 3-year-old daughter named Emma Elizabeth and are expecting the arrival of their second daughter in March.