December Newsletter
Dear Area VII Members,
I hope everyone had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday spent with family and friends. I hope many of you made arrangements to attend the national USEA meeting in Reston, Virginia, December 2-6th. This is always an exciting convention at a time when things are pretty quiet up in Area VII.
Our Area VII Annual Meeting is coming up next month on January 23rd at the Inn at Gig Harbor. Check the Area VII website (areavii.org) for the current schedule of activities, silent auction items leaderboard results and sponsors of the Area VII Annual Meeting. Most of this is still in progress at the time of sending this off to the press. Beyond the business meetings for the Organizers, Young Rider and Adult Rider in the morning, a great line up of educational activities as well as open forums for thought provoking discussions is planned.
Leaders in our industry will be there including Dr. Mark Revenaugh or Dr. Sue Emerson at the Equine Performance Institute. Janis Linnan will share her perspective from judging dressage locally and across the nation, with an emphasis on collective marks on your dressage tests and how they can affect your score at the end of the day. We will be introducing the new dressage tests coming up in 2010. Later in the afternoon and evening will be the cocktail party, silent auction, dinner and awards presentation.
We still need your help with the meeting though. If you haven’t already participated in sending in a contribution to the silent auction or sponsorship of the annual meeting please consider this your invitation. We are encouraging all of our members to participate in the production of silent auction items and meeting sponsorship.
Consider joining your local barn community and put together a great basket of items that will be auctioned off for the benefit of Area VII. In the past there have been some outstanding items in the silent auction including weekend getaways, spa treatments, fishing expeditions, horse and health products, barn tools and supplies. Anything conceivable is fair game; consider going to one of the local merchants that strongly support Area VII events such as Gallops Saddlery, Gift Horse Saddlery, Olson’s Tack Shop, Kerrits or Toklat, just to name a few.
This small step of sending in a barn basket purchased from one of Area VII event sponsors supports Area VII in at least four ways – A) our sponsors of local Area VII events are rewarded for their participation, B) Area VII receives a charitable donation, C) money received from the auctioned item goes back into the Area VII community and D) our members get the opportunity to buy something they needed. You may send your silent auction items to our Annual Meeting Coordinator Anni Grandia, PO Box 928/17616 S. Vaughn Rd KpN, Vaughn WA 98394.
Another thing we are looking for is photos for the annual meeting. Even if you aren’t able to attend the meeting send me your favorite photo from 2009 and we’ll include it in the annual meeting slide show and possibly on a slide show for the website. Send them to Luigi@areavii.org
Thank you to everyone for your participation in Area VII in 2009.
See you in Gig Harbor
Luigi
Adult Riders Report:
The last event for Area VII's 2009 season seemed like the ideal time and location for the 2nd annual So Far So Good Team Championship. Teams of 4 that had to include at least two different levels with the results announced after the first two phases (hence the name). This format works well as you found out if your team won without having to stick around till the end of the event. We ended up with 7 teams. All but 2 teams were put together at random by me.(might have looked a bit suspicious if my team had won!) It was VERY random. The competition was tight with only 6 points separating the top 3 teams in the end. Things changed quite a bit after XC. Only one team didn't finish.
The winners were a scratch team consisting of Carrie Hopper, Karen O'Neal, Sarah Haff and Whitney Weston. They won a $100 gift certificate to Gallops Saddlery and a fleece cooler. Second place went to Little John and his Merry Maids! - Maggie Rikard, Liza Lind, Heidi West and Little John Meriwether They received a saddle pad and $50 gift Cert.
Third place was Bits and Pieces- Lou Leslie, Chris Gianini, Mari Kerola and Terri Hook. They received a hold all and $20 at Gallops. HUGE thank you to Gallops for co sponsoring the prizes!
Despite chilly evening temperatures we had nice gatherings at the BBT all 3 nights. It was great to see some new faces. Hopefully next year we will have even more teams.
Adult Rider Membership:
As you are renewing your USEA membership remember to check the box for joining Adult Riders. You do not need to join USEA to be an Adult Rider member. You can join direct by filling out the membership form on the website, in the calendar or by contacting Maggie magsnags@aol.om. Full membership is $25 but you will receive $10 Adult Rider bucks which can be used for AR camp, clinics, clothing or when you take a lesson or clinic with a USEA certified instructor. The AR bucks can be collected and used any year. You can also join for free. This will only entitle you to the e mails and auditing any AR activities for free. Full members get discounts at camps and clinics. They are eligible for great prizes both through out the year, and year end.
With the USEA involved in collecting memberships there have been some problems keeping our data base up to date. Please allow a month to receive your AR bucks. If you do not receive any e mails from me or from Nancy (slo_poke_rodriguez@hotmail.com,) we may not have you on the list so please contact me magsnags@aol.com. You should get something at least once a month.
Maggie
Young Rider Update:
Area VII Young Riders sent five members to ride in the YR colors in the CCI*, CCI* w/o steeplechase, and Training Three Day divisions at the Galway Downs International Three Day Event in Temecula, CA on Oct. 29-Nov. 1, 2009. All of our riders had successful rides and great learning experiences at the event.
Our riders were stiff competition in the CCI*. Mackenna Shea and Landioso won the division on their dressage score of 40.0! Tessa Beckett and Sound Prospect took home the second place ribbon with a three day score of 56.5, and Brooke Bayley and Savoy Six came in fifth place with a final score of 72.4. In the CCI* w/o steeplechase, Erin McPherson and Kiss the Sky finished in 7th place with a three day score of 63.4. All the Young Rider One Star competitors were double clear on all phases of Cross Country. Emily Pestl and Meads Traveller were introduced to the full format three-day by completing the Training Three Day Event at Galway. They learned a lot, not only through competition, but through the instructional meetings offered for the competitors at the Training Three Day level.
Many thanks to Jonathan Elliott, our Young Rider Coach, for offering his services for Young Riders throughout the weekend, and to Anni Grandia, our Stable Manager for the weekend, for helping our competitors keep their horses in top condition throughout the event with excellent stable management practices. The success of the weekend is attributed to the expertise, support, and experience of everyone who helped our riders before, during, and after the event, and we wholeheartedly thank those individuals!
Please remember to renew your Young Rider memberships through the USEA, either in the online or mail-in renewals.
The Area VII Annual Meeting will be held on Jan 23rd, 2010, in Gig Harbor, WA, and this year will offer a track of educational sessions and activities specifically designed for Young Riders. Those wishing to join Young Riders are also welcome to attend. It will be a great learning experience for all, and we hope to see you there!
Erin McPherson
Area VII Young Rider Council Representative
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