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Western Justice is a nonprofit C4 organization formed to both unite the western horse industry in our common goals and to protect the rights of animal ownership, the welfare of livestock, and the future of the western horse industry for our future generations.

I formed Western Justice after conversations with multiple equine owners, breeders, and exhibitors. This group of knowledgeable horse people is rightly concerned about the increasing influence animal extremist groups are having on the horse industry and wanted to know what could be done to stop the insane legislation these groups push in all levels of government. Western Justice gives them and the entire horse industry the representation we so dearly need and frankly must have, to protect our rights and heritage with horses.

My career as an animal welfare and agriculture advocate started over 14 years ago. Most recently, I was the National Strategic Planner for Protect The Harvest. This spring, I started my own consulting business to continue advocating at a new level. My years at PTH were parallel to earning my PHD in politics. Representing Mr. Lucas and his vision for PTH was a privilege and I am forever grateful for the opportunity. Working in Washington, DC enabled me to form invaluable relationships and gave me the knowledge and the tactics needed to navigate government departments and agencies all while being recognized as the “cowboy with a voice.” I was proud to help make a difference for the individuals and groups we represented. I am looking forward to continuing that work for the horse industry.

It is a tragedy that Protect The Harvest pulled out of the horse industry earlier this year - not because the horse industry lost Protect The Harvest and Lucas Oil show sponsorships, but because Protect The Harvest walked away from the largest group supporting their mission: the horse industry. That abrupt departure showed me the value and the need for a membership-based organization vs an organization that is solely supported by a few corporate sponsors. For an organization like Western Justice to quickly become the strong voice the horse industry needs, the financial support should come from the individual people we are representing.

With my consulting business off and running, I knew I would need an experienced and dedicated team to ensure Western Justice’s success. Luckily, I already had one readymade. A couple things I’ve learned about advocacy are that you can’t unlearn what you know and it’s very hard to stop fighting when you know what is at stake. So, I called several former PTH team members, and all of them were on board to establish Western Justice.

Our team offers a robust level of expertise in policy, public relations, marketing, advertising, research and writing, and most importantly, we are all vested in the horse industry. We are multigenerational ranchers, vet techs, competitors, trainers and/or breeders.

We hit the ground running, diligently working to launch Western Justice. We now have a presence on all social media platforms as well as a growing website. We are researching the current issues and strategizing my next visit to Washington D.C. Membership numbers are on the rise as we work to educate the horse industry about who we are and what we offer. The faster we grow, the quicker our voice has power, uniting our industry to protect our western way of life. In reality, the western horse community is the largest segment of US horses and we encourage anyone that is involved with or just loves horses to become a member of Western Justice.

Sincerely,
Dave Duquette

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Most horse owners don’t realize that the horse industry is a $122-billion-dollar a year industry; to put this into context, the NFL is a $9.8 Billion dollar a year industry. Which makes us 12 times the size.

We are the largest recreational entity in the U.S. and western horses make up close to 80% of the domestic horse population.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲/𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐃.𝐂.

As well-heeled as the horse industry is, we could and should be one of the most powerful lobbies in the U.S. and we darn sure should not have to be afraid of the Animal Rights groups, nor should we be playing defense all the time.

While there are groups out there claiming to advocate for and protect the horse industry, most have been wholly ineffectual and do the bidding of one sector and do not have the best interest of the 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 in mind.

The time to save our industry is now before it is truly too late. Extremist special interest groups have been allowed to run rough-shod over us. These groups have been insidiously working behind the scenes to pass harmful laws, while those in a position to combat them have done nothing.

Western Justice is here for all of you—for the ranchers, top open level cutters, number 9 team ropers, jackpot barrel racers, rodeo contestants, ranch horse breeders, horse show enthusiasts, and weekend trail riders. We are here to fight for you, for your rights as horse owners, and for the true well-being of our animals and industry.

Western Justice will be where it matters most—informing and educating those who create industry policy and those who make local, state, and federal laws.

Our mission is simple...

We are a collaborated voice empowering the future of the western horse industry.

We are committed to upholding the rights and liberties of equine breeders, owners, trainers, and exhibitors while ensuring the welfare of livestock and our way of life.

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THE GROWING NEED FOR WESTERN JUSTICE

The western horse community is the largest entity in the equine industry, encompassing western disciplines such as rodeo, cutting, reining, team roping, barrel racing, reined cow horse, ranch riding, trail/leisure horses and the list goes on. This, by far accounts for the largest population of American horses.

For such a large industry, our voice in Washington D.C is negligible, and representation at the federal, state, and county levels is sadly insufficient.

The absence of an industry-focused group to address pertinent issues, such as bad legislation, is adversely affecting our industry and lifestyle at an accelerated pace. That's why we formed Western Justice!