Directions?
This year will be our 55th and final horse show. Due to ever increasing costs and decreasing energy it is no longer feasible for our club to host the show.
The reason for putting on a show was to raise money for our other activities during the year; clinics, the famous picnic ride, a Christmas party, etc.
However for some years now we have only made enough to cover the expenses of the show.
Most of the Golden Horseshoe Riding Club members are also getting into the ‘golden’ and ‘silver haired’ years and we just don’t have the energy anymore.
So 2009 will be our last hurrah show wise and we will try to make this last one great!
In honor of the 55th year show all classes will be $5 and the grounds fee $15.
There will be no stall deposits taken this year, all contestants will be on their honor to clean up after themselves and their horses.
So spread the word, July 19th is the last chance to ride in a GHRC show. Click the show button to learn more and get a class list. Patterns are also posted there.
After the show the club’s focus will turn to pleasure riding.
For the June second meeting we will had a plant swap.
The May fifth meeting centered on an intense discussion of the horse show. Between weather and gas prices the show has been just covering yearly expenses to do it again the next year. The intent of putting on the show is to provide funds for the clubs activities this has not been the case for a few years now.
The question is what to do. We could raise entries up to the levels of other shows around the area, taking our $5 entry up to $7 or even $10. Or just stop putting on a show that has a 55 year tradition. Neither is an easy choice, yet we must do something. With the economy shaky we have to wonder what will happen at this years show.
Taking a middle road, lets wait till after this years show to decide. We have made a few changes. ALL classes will be $5 and the grounds fee will go to $15. Our hope being that as the least expensive show around the volume of entries will be enough to cover our increased expenses. Regardless of turnout the fairgrounds, insurance, judge and ribbons must still be paid for. We hope there will be a bit leftover for the club to put on a clinic this year as we used to.
Members will be receiving posters and are encouraged to get them out everywhere.
We need more members!
Attending members received booklets on ticks a real problem this year.
Four made the April ride and had a lovely day, the weather was nice and the gnats did not come along.
Trivia question for May; "How many pages does the club website have?" "How many can you list?"
What about program ideas for spring!
Holistic and chiropractic Vet Tanya Holonko was the guest speaker for our April 7th Meeting.
The talk and discussion were GREAT. We are delighted to have Tanya as a vet in our area!
Weather permitting we plan to get together for a little time on the 'fun course' and trail ride at the farm in Westerlo.
Actual date and time when Ma Nature lets us know her plans.
Details are being finalized for this years horse show and all members have been assigned 'promotion' tasks. Be sure to
contact Deb with your list before the May 5th meeting so she can have your posters ready.
with weather and such we had no meetings in Jan, Feb and March.
Pete Holcomb spoke at the November meeting about natural hoofcare.
There will be a surprise guest speaker at the October 7th meeting. An animal communicator! Seven thirty sharp everyone!
The annual picnic ride on Saturday, September 13 went well. The weather cooperated with a comfortable mostly cloudy day, saving its rain for Sunday. The clouds only scared a few people off.
Some pictures were taken and hopefully we will soon have some images for the site.. stay tuned.
Six horses took to the trails with eager riders while other members traveled under their own power, preferring to hike.
The chicken was good and didn’t take nearly as long to cook as was feared. With the many tasty ‘side’ dishes it was a wonderful meal.
Grass was the main course for the horses who grazed happily while their riders stuffed themselves and chatted.
The show went well, details to come. The August meeting was at the co-op and plans were made for the annual fall picnic ride
to be held in Westerlo on Sept. 13th.
Details to be nailed down at the Sept. 2 meeting.
Directions?
The June meeting was June 1st at Sue Sutch's home, 9 am (or when you got there)
Five members horses benefited from Dan Kuhn of Natural Horse-Man Services (Pat Parelli's methods).
Five horses 'tested' Dan with everything from girthyness, spray phobia, crowding, to separation anxiety and all improved.
Lunch was delicious, the ‘dish to share” offerings were fabulous and Fred did a great job as cook and assistant host. Deb presented Sue with a fancy stick horse, the only kind she’ll be able to work with while her leg mends.
Positions for the July horse show were allocated, so if you missed the meeting get in touch with Marilyn to get your assignment. We need more people for the outside courses, including a timer and relief people for gate and ring steward duties. Remember active membership means working the horseshow.
There will be no July meeting.
Trail riding is on a ‘call and go’ basis.
May 6th meeting will be at Vorhesville. We will have an amazing video to watch.
April 1st meeting at Hilltown Farm and Garden Center for the FREE equine seminar starting at 6pm.
Was a great night, the speakers were excellent and the demo entertaining!
Christmas Party – Carrie volunteered her house in Duanesburg for the Christmas party.
A date of Dec. 9 was chosen, from 1-4PM. ( directions soon) Spouses are welcome.
We decided that members would bring a dish (see minutes for what other's are already bringing -no cost other than that).
Please respond to Niki who will be coming (by e-mail or call 479-4541)
If you were at the meeting and forgot to mention that you were bringing a spouse, please let Niki know.
We will have an optional $5 grab bag
The August meeting was held at Carol Wilsons house. Dan Kuhn was introduced and gave club members an hour long seminar on his Horse Man Service,
handing out a folder to each member with his articles on Foundation and a score sheet, which he explained; then gave a couple of demonstrations on balance and control.
The annual show was July 15 and went very well if you took Mother Nature's ring watering in stride.
See show page for results, photos expected soon.
Dues are due! Dues are now $5 a person.
June 2nd there will be a trail ride at the farm in Westerlo with Deb. Look for the plastic horses...
Rain or shine up to you, no one to call and ask... Deb will be there...
We will stay by the trailers to eat, so bring your own lunch and drink and a chair. Don’t forget bug stuff as the beasties will surely be around by then.
This will be a slow easy ride and a good training session with experienced horses to help the greenies or horses with issues along. Plenty of shade and water along the way, most of the trails are through the woods.
Ride to meet between 10:30 and 11:30 we will visit and eat, then head out about 12:30.
The parking area will have plenty of grass for horse lunches. and some tape pens will be available for horses that understand tape fence.
Early start time of 7 pm because we have a speaker for the June 5th meeting. Liz Chauvot of Every Body Counts therapy barn will give a presentation and video on what they do.
The May meeting was Saturday the 5th at Sue's house two members brought horses.
Lovely weather for riding...
Hey! Me too...
Fifteen members showd up to have a great time...
Time to get down to business.
Center of attention and loving it...
Time for some fun!
We made horse cookies at the meeting. Kat's mare assures me they are delicious.
The May meeting HAS BEEN MOVED to Saturday the 5th at Sue's house About 10ish or when you get there, with or without your horse. We will play around the pen and/or take a short trail ride.
This is a great informal chance to acclimate a horse to working away from home.
Lunch will be served and the meeting afterward.
The address is 5894 Greens Corner Road, Galway, NY 12074-2304.
We're doing Mexican - tacos, burritos, chips & salsa, guacamole. Diana wants
to make chili. Every body can bring what they want to drink. Sue will get the
other food & everyone can chip in few bucks for expenses. Sue will also do
hotdogs on the grill for those who don't care for mexican food.
Come meet Sue’s ‘baby’.
Rain date Sunday.
Fifteen members arrived for the meeting in Nov.
Corey Hedderman spoke for an hour on hoof care, bringing up interesting points and answering questions. Remember we keep a list link from the 'horsing around' page.
After much discussion and voting the results are in… this years Christmas party will be on December 17th from 1 to 4 at the Voorheesville Co-op building.
Due to the club's lack of funds this year, each participant will pay $10 to defray costs and bring either an appetizer or dessert. Children may come at no charge.
The club will supply coffee and tea and everyone is to bring whatever else they wish to drink. The menu will include salad, cheese and crackers, fruit and pasta dishes. To reserve contact Sue Sutch by Dec 10th.
There will be NO gift exchange. Members are to bring an item to donate for a silent bid drawing to boost the clubs finances. There will also be a 50/50 drawing. Be sure to bring some small bills with you.
Deb will be in charge of decorating again and anyone wishing to help should contact her about coming early.
October 1st it poured for this years picnic ride to be held at Bob's Trees. The rain date is Oct 15 Everyone is to bring their own meat and drink along with a dish to pass. Contact Sue Sutch to list your 'dish'.
We will be doing our own food prep for this years Christmas Party. Details to be worked out at the next meeting.
Some members are behind in their dues, please correct this ASAP.
The clinic went well with five members bringing their horses. A big thank you to Kat for all her helpful advice.
The monthly meeting was held during lunch.
September 30th with a rain date of October 1st has been chosen for this years picnic ride. Be sure to answer the questionnaire sent to all members. Sue Sutch is looking into our holding it at Bob’s Trees again. Alternate location is Locust Knoll Farm.
Bring bits (and/or bridles) to the September meeting for a discussion.
We will be doing our own food prep for this years Christmas Party. Details to be worked out at another meeting.
Some members are behind in their dues, please correct this ASAP.
HOT, HOT, HOT, the weatherman threatened and people believed him and stayed home. Course he was mostly right... Only about 50 horses turned out for this years show.
August meeting has been moved to the weekend of the 5 weather permitting (6th rain date) at Marilyn's house, bring your own lunch and drinks.
The meeting will be held during the lunch break. The day will be devoted to a ground work clinic with Kat Caprio. Participants will each have their own time slot,
and everyone(any member) can watch the other sessions. If you need a time slot contact Deb.
For information on this years horse show click the 'show' button on the left.
Only 2 members braved the threat of rain and had a wonderful three hour ride at Partridge Run.
The July meeting was well attended and we went over proceedure and questions for the horse show. Everyone has their assignments and a crew will meet at the fairgrounds the day before to set up.
July 16 is the Horse Show and members are reminded to maintain 'active' status you must work the show and/or the day before for set-up.
So be sure to contact Nicole Vanderpool to get your job assignment. Non-active members are not
entitled to participate in any of the club activities/events without paying.
There was an excellent turnout for the June 6 Meeting at Diana's house with early start time of 7 pm. Mike Grden an equine massage therapist and experiential learning facilitator was the guest speaker.
Mike started with massage then moved on to Epona, a meeting of mind, soul and spirit between horse and human. Anyone who hasn't read "The Tao of Equis" is greatly encouraged to do so.
More info on to come.
A trail ride at Partridge Run has been set for June 25th. The ride will head out at 11 am from the parking area off Route 6, Bring your own lunch.
DIRECTIONS: From Route 85, before village of Rensselaerville, turn onto County Route 6, (road immediately bears left), follow Route 6, at bottom of steep downhill, there will be White Birch Road on the left
and very shortly beyond that there will be Partridge Run Road on the right, the meadow is on the right immediately after you turn onto Partridge Run Road. There is also now, a shale bank area across Route 6 from the end of Partridge Run Road that has room for several trailers as well.
mapquest if you need it
July 5 Meeting - rescheduled to this date – NOTE CHANGE !!!!
The Long lining program started shortly after 7 pm at Diana's house and used Java as an 'unstarted' example and Jetta(who had 1 previous lesson)
allowed members to practice on him after the demo. The business meeting followed with the following results.
POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN May 21st, 11 a.m.– Ride at Bob’s Trees - POSTPONED TOO SOGGY
June 3/4 - Drill Team at Marilyn Miles home. CHECK WITH MARILYN ABOUT DATE AND TIME OR CANCELLATION
April 22 (April 23 rain date) -and boy did it ever.... so the Long lining Clinic has been moved to the May meeting and turned into a demo.
Long lining is another tool for improving control and communication between horse and handler.
As we all know the more you do with your horse, the more you can do and the safer and more of a pleasure he becomes.
April saw a productive meeting with many dates set for future events (see list below). Dues were collected and those not at the meeting need to remember to get that taken care of.
Positions were assigned for tasks at the horse show. More hands are needed. George Peters will be the judge for this years show.
Mitzi will be contacted about doing next year and possible a clinic this year.
Members were briefed on how to prep their horse for long lining and got to practice some on each other.
Long lining is another tool for improving cotrol and communication between horse and handler.
As we all know the more you do with your horse, the more you can do and the safer and more of a pleasure he becomes.
The March meeting saw ten members in attendance. In clearing up old business we decided to try for George Peters for this years horse show judge.
There were no candidates for office and so it was moved to keep the current slate of officers. President; Deb Tompkins, Vice President Diana Reed-Coonradt, Treasurer; Marilyn Miles, Secretary; Niki Vanderpool.
Equine and human massage dates are still undetermined.
We are getting items on the barn sale page so check it out.... Do you have anything to add?
April is dues month, be prepared at the next meeting with your $3.
At the April meeting we will be advised on what the horse should know before attempting to long line so we can prep them for the clinic.
Bring saddle and bridle along with halter and lines (if you have any, loung line ok) to the April clinic. In addition to learning to line drive we will have a rider evaluation for ‘non-working’ body parts. Locating and addressing stiffness in ourselves that interferes with our horse being able to perform.
The May ride at Bob’s Trees is tentatively slated for the 13th or 20th depending on the whims of Mother Nature.
June 3rd is set for the first ‘drill team’ practice so start working your horses.
Kat Caprio although very sore and rather stiff was on hand for a brief introduction to ‘Rider Dance’ a method of improving horse/ human communication through a better physical partnership. We expect our horse to move to our ‘tune’ but tend to get out of ‘sync’ ourselves, just as we want them to be ambidextrous, yet we aren’t.
Trail ride pics are finally here, see the 'picnic ride' page...
We covered a lot of ground, making up for the cancelled January meeting.
Everyone approved the Christmas party and unanimously agreed to do it that way again.
Remember that March is for nominations and April will be elections and dues.
Marilyn enlightened (and frightened?) the members on the procedures for pulling together and operating a horse show. From insurance coverage and ordering ribbons to entry forms and exhibitor questions. Procuring a judge,( and we could use to hear of some different ones) to stall use and finances.
Various forms of advertising were introduced (Steed Read, NY Horse, whinney.org)and we will look into trying some of them. Posters will be ready and passed among the members at the June meeting for spreading around the area.
To combat rampant thirst we will buy a case (or 2) of bottled water and have it at the booth for parched workers. This will be much more cost effective than buying it that day.
We explored ‘Kat’s’ point sheet method and decided to try it at this years show. Several suggestions for streamlining paperwork will also be experimented with.
A letter will accompany the show grounds deposit in hopes of getting some of the issues, like the faulty gate fixed before this years event.
The Starter classes will have a ‘horsemanship pattern’ in place of the command class this year. It will be held on an outside course. We are in hopes it will work out better for staff and competitors.
An entry form will be made available on line along with the class list.
Helmets will be required of all juniors
Several suggestions were made for upcoming activities;
Due to winter weather the January meeting was cancelled. See you all in February.
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