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Nominations opened today for the 2014 Equestrian Social Media Awards!

Now, in their fourth year, the ESMAs are recognized internationally as THE online award for equestrian pursuits. There are many categories – and blogging is just one.

If you have enjoyed the content here on Horse Listening, and come back regularly to read the newest posts, would you consider nominating us in the Blog category?

Click here: http://www.equestriansocialmediaawards.com/nominations and click on Horse Listening in Section 14, the Blog section. You can make up to three nominations for the Blog category, so be sure to support all your favorite writers! But don't stop there! Take a look through the many other categories and nominate other equestrian sites from across the world!

In our second year, Horse Listening has expanded from a fledgling blog to a regularly read, commented on and shared information source. We have continued our original mission of "opening discussion about many and varied topics related to horses, riding, dressage and ultimately, life."  

The blog format affords a place for readers to share their knowledge, opinions and words of wisdom along with the topics being presented on the blog. In a way, this blog is becoming a virtual round table of like-minded thinkers who come together regularly to discuss a common theme that is up for discussion. In this manner, people learn, discuss, share and critique in real time, all in the interest of becoming the best we can be for the horses in our lives.

Readers come from many and varied riding backgrounds, styles, countries and professions. There are also a growing number of folks who don't have horses in their lives but are fascinated enough to follow the conversation.  Horse Listening boasts readers from over 80 countries around the world, making it a truly international community of horse lovers!

Last year, we were thrilled that Horse Listening was voted as one of the Top Ten ESMA finalists. We'd love to continue receiving your support to achieve a similar goal this year.

New for this year is that there will be two awards per category: one "Judge's Choice" ESMA and one "People's Choice" ESMA. The People's Choice award is 100% decided by the public.

If you are unfamiliar with the ESMAs, here is some information from the site

The PagePlay Equestrian Social Media Awards (ESMAs) were set up in December 2010 as a way of bringing together the global equestrian community through social media. The ESMAs are now a global affair with finalists representing from each continent!

Judging criteria are as follows: 

Judges and members of the public are asked to use the following criteria:

• Innovation – are they thinking outside the box?
• Individual – is their content original?
• Inspiration – are you compelled to act, buy or share?
• Interaction – do they involve fans/followers and encourage discussions?
• Information – is it accurate, interesting and useful to their audience?

Aside from maintaining the blog content in the new year, I will be working on other projects as well. Keep an eye out! 

Thank you for your readership, comments and support over the past year. If you do nominate the blog, I thank you in advance for your kindness and consideration. 

Kathy