American Shetland Pony Club & American Miniature Horse Registry: Small Equine World Mourns Loss of Noted Show Announcer

Source: News Release

Small Equine World Mourns Loss
of Noted Show Announcer
Mark Bullington Passes Away

Morton, IL — Renowned horse show announcer Mark Bullington of Salem, OR, passed away May 14, 2012, following an ongoing illness. Bullington was on vacation with family and friends at the time, living his life to the fullest despite worsening health.

The American’ Shetland Pony Club, Inc.’s, Breed Promotion committee posted the following statement regarding Bullington’s passing:

“Today we lost the voice of ASPC/AMHR, our Mark Bullington. Congress and Nationals will never quite be the same without his voice to announce our champions and our grand champions. It leaves a hole in our hearts and an empty chair at center ring. The Bullingtons, Sharon and Mark, are part of the ASPC/AMHR family, and Mark is forever in our hearts. Our condolences to Sharon and the rest of Mark's family.”

Bullington was announcer for some of the ASPC’s biggest shows for many years. He was voice of the American Miniature Horse Registry’s National Show, the largest small equine show in the world, from 1999 to 2011. In 2000, Mark added the ASPC’s National Congress, one of the oldest breed championships in the United States, to his schedule.

Shetland and Miniature Horse enthusiasts responded quickly to the announcement of Bullington’s passing with many posts on the social networking site Facebook as well as on forums and websites devoted to small equine.

One of Bullington’s admirer’s wrote, “A great voice. An amazing person.”

Bullington was well known for his enthusiasm as a show announcer as well as for the humor he leant to shows and the vast knowledge of music he brought to these jobs. Another admirer wrote, “Mark had a gift announcing. I think he could have announced anything he chose, but he chose the small equine world. We are all richer from him sharing his humor, emotion, music and many other things with us.”

In addition to being the voice of the AMHR Nationals and the ASPC Congress, Bullington served as announcer at many other prestigious horse shows across the country, including many important small equine regional and national-level shows. He also announced a variety of state fair, multi-breed, Saddlebred and Arabian shows.

Bullington was also known for his support of many programs related to small equine and was a member of both national and local organizations within this industry. He was also an enthusiastic supporter of youth activities for small equine.

One 12-year-old exhibitor who has never shown at a Nationals or Congress without Bullington at the microphone wrote of Mark: “Even though I did refer to you mostly as my favorite speaker guy, I do know four important things about you: 1- you were very funny; 2- you were a good friend; 3- you were just straight up awesome like nobody's business; 4- you will be missed.”

A celebration of Mark's Life will be held June 2, 2012, from 2-6 p.m., at the Salem Convention Center. Arrangements are by Unger Funeral Chapel, Silverton.

Presently, several groups of small equine enthusiasts, some regional Shetland and Miniature clubs and the ASPC/AMHR are considering options for remembering Bullington at the major shows he loved.

No announcements have been made by ASPC/AMHR regarding which announcer many be asked to fill Bullington’s chair at the 2012 Congress and 2012 AMHR National Show.

To learn more about the American Shetland Pony Club, the American Miniature Horse Registry, the American Show Pony Registry and the National Sports Performance Pony Registry – as well as their breeds and their array of programs –visit www.shetlandminiature.com.

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