About EquiFAVA and me . . . first, a brief synopsis of why EquiFAVA exists . . . and then, me.

EquiFAVA 

Over the last one hundred years, thousands of hours of film and video have been produced that has documented the horse and its uses, as well as focusing on the people who admired, loved or simply appreciated the wonderful creature which has been mankind's companion and ally throughout history.

Since the invention of the motion picture camera in the late 1890's, the ability to capture the image and movement of the horse and its relationship with people has fascinated film makers and educators around the world. In more recent times, the evolution of video tape technology expanded the opportunities for individuals and companies to create informative, educational, and entertaining images covering all aspects of the equine. Today's digital world provides an opportunity for anyone to document not only the horse and its use in sport, recreation and work, but also the lifestyles of those people involved with them.

*   Much of the film from the early years has been lost or is rapidly deteriorating. Even video materials created in the last thirty years are at risk of disappearing because of the fragility of video tape and the absence of any focused effort to preserve them.

*   The public is rapidly losing images of great horses, legendary riders, respected trainers, extraordinary performances, events, competitions, documentaries and even feature fillms and 'Saturday morning' serials. With the loss of these materials, the horse industry and equestrian communities throughout the world lose an important part of their heritage and past.

Equifava researches, locates, acquires, restores, digitizes and catalogs every type of moving image (movies, short films, television programs, videos, newsreels, etc.) that can be identified and preserved so that generations to come will be able to appreciate the extraordinary equine heritage which has been documented over the past one hundred+ years.

In the future, perhaps Equifava can also assist in the funding of educational and documentary video and film projects focusing on the equine, providing grants, guidance and expertise to producers seeking production funds and distribution.

501 C Corp designation is being sought at this time.

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Sally Lasater - Founder

"Now a semi-retired grandmother, Sally Lasater, the creator of EquiFAVA, has been involved in the horse world her entire life – as a horse owner and breeder, as a competitor, as a horse show and event organizer and even as a producer of a nationally-acclaimed syndicated television series about horses. 

She is a proven innovator and entrepreneur who not only has provided strategic planning and consultant services to numerous companies, but has also successfully created business enterprises utilizing unique applications of developing technologies and services.  

Working within the equestrian industry, she co-produced the first nationally syndicated television series about horses (The American Horse and Horseman with Dale Robertson, 1973), with husband, Charles, created one of the first successful equestrian Internet portals (HorseNet.com, 1994), revolutionized and jump-started the equestrian home media industry in North American with the creation and development of proprietary wholesale and retail videotape distribution systems (EquiVid in 1987, The Discovery Trail in 1988 and Equestrian Vision US in 1989), produced an award-winning video documentary chosen by Equus Magazine as one of the five top videos of the year (The Complete Mule, 1992), founded and was instrumental in the creation of the original HorseTV concept and program distribution network (1999), created the first 24-hour-a-day streaming television channel on the Internet (The HorseTV iChannel, 2004), created and developed NickerNetwork.com, a breakthrough on-demand television programming service on the Internet (2007), created the Pegasus Television Network, a 24/7 digital television network distributed through affiliated channels in local television markets and mirrored on the Internet, and most recently, has devoted herself to making the knowledge and information of the horse world created through the years freely available to the thousands of horse lovers throughout the world.

Outside the equestrian industry, Ms. Lasater was the founder and CEO of Sallyforth, Inc., dba The Video Schoolhouse, the largest distributor of informational and how-to videotapes in North America (1985). Heading a company which distributed more than 10,000 video titles in 36 subject categories to consumers, schools, libraries and retail stores, she was an acknowledged expert in the distribution of information and education via video media, accepting key-note speaker and panel invitations from organizations such as the American Library Association and the American Booksellers Association. Profiled in both Venture and TV Guide Magazines, she also published a book about educational videos with McGraw-Hill in 1986.  In this capacity as an educator utilizing video as a conduit of knowledge, she served as a consultant to companies such as The New York Times, ConAgra Corporation, PBS and others. 

Sally has also focused her organizational and creative skills in other areas. At the age of 18, she was featured in the American Quarter Horse Magazine as the youngest manager and organizer of an AQHA-approved show (Horses of Houston, 1962), as well as organizing and managing numerous other sanctioned and approved breed shows and discipline-specific competitions throughout the years. These included shows for Appaloosas, Arabians, Hunter/Jumpers and Saddlebreds as well as Eventing, Dressage, Cutting and Rodeo competitions.  

The all-youth horse show she founded at the age of 14 in Houston, Texas, was the country’s largest all-breed junior horse show, with over 1000 horses and even more children competing over four days in a show completely managed and run by teenagers. A full page photograph of Sally and her horse on the front page of the Houston Chronicle's Zest Magazine in 1960 identified her as representing the future of the horse industry in Texas. 

As a California state board member and dual-congressional district coordinator for the Ross Perot presidential campaign in central California during 1992, she successfully worked with Mr. Perot and his team in developing and leading a grass-roots campaign that delivered almost 25% of the Central Valley vote on behalf of third party candidate Perot against Bill Clinton and George Bush, Sr. 

As a young adult working as an out-source “temp” for her family’s business, one of the oldest temporary staffing companies in Texas (established 1951), she specialized in providing superior organizational, administrative and management support to senior level executives on a short term basis. By working closely with the successful CEOs and presidents of numerous, diverse companies, she received a general working knowledge of a wide variety of industries from a top management perspective, an incalculably valuable education in hands-on business management and strategies. 

Sally is an accomplished horsewoman, having competed in many different English and western disciplines. She was computer and Internet savvy before most people had even heard of Microsoft or the world wide web, is uniquely well-versed and knowledgeable in regard to the equestrian consumer’s television and video viewing habits and is a proven business strategist. 

On a miscellaneous level, Sally soloed in a Cessna 150 at the was 16, was accepted into Mensa at the age of 18, and owned and managed over 100 horses while running a 2500 acre equestrian facility north of Houston in what is now The Woodlands. She attended the University of Texas at Austin from 1962 - 1965 with a major in Psychology, and raised three children to successful adulthood together with her late husband, Charles. "

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PS from Sally -- all equipment and software used in the creation of EquiFAVA is anywhere from 10 to fifteen years old  :-)