Horsemen's Corral November 2022

Ashland Paint & Plain Saddle Club

Avon Lake Saddle Club

Black Swamp Driving Club

Buckeye Equestrian Association

Central Ohio Saddle Club Association

Central Ohio Wagoneers

Classical Attraction Dressage Society

Colorado Ranger Horse Association

Creek Side Mounted Archery

District One National Show Horse Dusty Boots Riding Club

Flatlanders Dressage & Combined Training Association, Inc.

Geauga Horse & Pony Association

Great Lakes Appaloosa Horse Club

Hoosier Quarter Pony Association

Knox County Horse Park

Lake Erie Mounted Vaqueros Massillon Saddle Club

Miami Valley Horse Show Association

Michigan Trail Riders Association, Inc.

Mid-Eastern Farriers Association

Mid Ohio Dressage Association Mid-Ohio Marauders

National Pole Bending Association Northern Ohio Dressage Association

Northern Kentucky Horse Network

Northern Ohio Miniature Horse Club

Northern Ohio Outlaws

Ohio Appaloosa Association O.H.I.O. EXCA

Ohio Foundation Quarter Horse Assoc. Ohio Haflinger Association

Ohio High School Rodeo Association

Ohio Horseman’s Council

Ohio Gaited Horse Trailriders

Ohio Morgan Horse Association

Ohio Paint Horse Club

Ohio Quarter Horse Association

Ohio Ranch Horse Association

Ohio State Buckskin Association

Ohio Western Horse Association, Inc.

Ottawa County Horse Foundation

Ohio Valley Team Penning Association

Pinto Horse Association of Ohio

Premier Mount N Trail

Pure Gold Stables

Tri-County Trail Association

Tri-State Rodeo Association

Wayne County Saddle Club

Western Reserve Carriage Association

The Corral Staff

Editor

THE HORSEMEN’S CORRAL is published monthly by Horsemen’s Corral, 8283 Richman Road, Lodi, Ohio 44254. (ISSN 0164-6591). Published as Periodicals at the Lodi Post Office USPS 889-180 with additional entry points of Cleveland, OH 44101 and New Philadelphia, OH 44663. Periodicals postage paid at Lodi, Ohio, and additional entry offices. Subscriptions may only be purchased through Horsemen’s Corral member clubs. Single copies, $3.00 at select distributors. For subscriptions, address changes, and adjustments, write to: Horsemen’s Corral, P.O. Box 32, Lodi, Ohio 44254.

Manuscripts, drawings, and other material submitted must be accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope.

POSTMASTER: All subscription addresses are properly screened through CASS per USPS requirements. The Horsemen’s Corral will not accept returns of magazines deemed undeliverable for any reason. Please discard copy of any issue deemed as undeliverable.

The Horsemen’s Corral cannot be held responsible for unsolicited material.

MAILING ADDRESS & PHONE: P.O. Box 32, Lodi, Ohio 44254

OFFICE: 330/635-4145

Bulletin

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Club

Ashland Paint & Pain Saddle Club

Swamp Driving Club

Ranger Horse Association

Dressage & Combined Training Association, Inc.

Knox County Horse Park

Erie Mounted Vaqueros

Saddle Club

Valley Horse Show Association

Trail Riders Association, Inc.

Marauders

Kentucky Horse Network

Ohio Dressage Association

Ohio Outlaws

Ohio Gaited Horse Trailriders

Ohio High School Rodeo Association

Horseman’s Council, Inc.

Ohio Paint Horse Club

Western Horse Association

Horse Association of Ohio

Mount N Trail

County Saddle Club

Reserve Carriage Association

The Last Ride

“So when we do make that last ride that is inevitable for us all to make, to that place up there, where the grass is green and lush and stirrup high, and the water runs cool, clear, and deep—You’ll tell us as we ride in that our entry fees have been paid. These things we ask.—Amen.”

JOSEPH H. ROHRL

Joseph Harold Rohrl, age 81, of Grafton, passed away Oct. 8, 2022, at Ames Family Hospice in Westlake. He was born in Wheeling, WV, and had lived in Grafton for the past 52 years with his loving wife and three stepchildren. He was a member of the US Marines, 1960-1964, Lance Corporal.

This was an important part of his life. He was also a 50-year member of the Ohio Paint Horse Club, Inc., American Paint Horse Association, Pinto Association and Elyria VFW. Joe worked as a machinist for Bendix Westinghouse, Elyria, Ohio, 1964-1973. This is when Bendix moved out of Elyria. Ridgewood Horse Transportation, Medina, Ohio, 1974-1977. CTI, Elyria, Ohio, over the road, home evenings, hauling auto parts into Ford. Joe retired in 2004.

Joe and his wife owned Rohrl Paint Horses, standing a stud, R Hot Chocolate APHA, breeding, raising foals, showing, and selling, traveling to many award-winning shows throughout the U.S. Joe enjoyed horses from grade school, Wheeling Downs, helping veterinarians with leg and foot injuries. He would skip school to work with horses. Several times the Priest would show up and back to school they would go. As a teen he managed the Oglebay Park, WV horse complex.

Joe was an Ohio State, Cleveland Browns and Indians fan. He played on the Bendix baseball, golf, and bowling teams. He loved Jack Russel dogs, Tootsie Rohrl was his last one who enjoyed going to the barn with him.

Joe left to treasure his memory his loving wife Roxann, who was a constant companion, and their beautiful loving family. Joe loved and enjoyed life to the fullest. He was always smiling, joking and happy, he honestly never met anyone that he did not enjoy, always seeing the good in everyone. He loved to travel (the Alaska traveling trip with the RV for three months stands out), and trail riding with his Thoroughbred through Cleveland Metro Parks. Joe, Roxann and their dog, went on a one-week trail ride starting in Colorado, crossing over the Rockies—a great experience in his life. He loved old time county music.

A priest attended and prayed with him every day he was in the hospital. He was so grateful for that. What would he change in his life: His last words in the hospital; eliminating the cancers growing in his body, the pain, weakness it brings. His words were also: Enjoy life, have fun, all my love to Roxann, family, and friends.

He is survived by his wife of 48 years Roxann L. Kovach-Rohrl (nee Handrosh); stepchildren Lori Weber (Kovach) of Grafton, Steven Kovach of Grafton, Michael Kovach of Grafton; stepgrandson Maxwell (Kristy) Weber; step great grandson Maverick Weber; siblings Robert (Dee) Rohrl of Ft. Mills, SC, Mary Rohrl of Brookpark, Kathleen Rohrl Dunn of VA. He was preceded in death by his parents Harold Joseph and Rose Ann Rohrl (Brinkmeyer); sister Joan Rohrl McConahay.

The family will have a Celebration of Life at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Ohio Paint Horse Club Scholarship Program, 6106 Dublin Road, Delaware, OH 43015. Four to five scholarships are awarded each year to Ohio Paint Horse youth, and Cancer Patient Assistance Program www. cancercare.org/financial.

WAYNE E. LEIGHTEY

Wayne E. Leightey age 98 of Upper Sandusky, passed away on June 19, 2022, in the house he was born and raised. Wayne was born on March 2, 1924 to Flavius Augustus and Jenni Marie (Stoneburner) Leightey. He married Grace Llavone Butcher on June 6, 1943, he later married Ann Beard on October 28, 1970.

Wayne raised 11 children on the Leightey homestead: Drucilla Rowe, Daniel (Jerry Greene) Leightey, David (Susan Black) Leightey, Dean Leightey, Douglas (Penny Himes) Leightey, Devon (Laura Wieging) Leightey, Tina (Tom) Patrick, Chris (Hope Armstrong) Leightey, Matt (Meredith Burroughs) Leightey, Dayna (Norm) Pahl, Davius (Jeff) Reichelderfer, 30 grandchildren, and 36 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, a son David and a brother Howard Leightey.

Wayne graduated from Upper Sandusky High School in 1942. He joined the US Navy on Jan. 23, 1945 in the construction battalion division 19th USNCB and division 58th NCB. Wayne was stationed in Okinawa where he operated heavy equipment in the making of the airstrips needed to land American planes. He received an honorable discharge on March, 27, 1946. Wayne retired from the Standard Oil Ohio Company with over 25 years. He worked at Flo’s Halfway Inn for 13 years.

Wayne served as a mounted deputy for the Wyandot County Sheriffs Department for 20 years. He was involved with 4-H as an advisor for over 50 years and was honored in the Wyandot County Fair Book for his service. Wayne loved anything horse, a gift he shared and passed on to many of his children. He was known by many for his love of driving his surry with the fringe on top, with him in his tux and top hat, for proms and anniversaries. He provided a horse and carriage service at weddings for both his children and grandchildren as well as many others in this and the surrounding communities.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to The Wyandot County 4-H Horse Committee in care of Bringman Clark Funeral Home, 226 E. Wyandot Ave., Upper Sandusky, OH 43351. Visit www.BringmanClark.com to view the life tribute dvd, send a condolence or share a memory.

Email submissions for The Last Ride to michelle@thehorsemenscorral.com

~Excerpt from ‘A Rodeo Cowboy’s Prayer’ by Clem McSpadden

Rider Body Position — Arms and Legs

by Terry Myers

Over the past few months we have been reviewing the importance of rider body position. This month we will discuss the shoulders, arms and hands. The rider’s shoulders should be open and even. If the rider pinches the shoulders together in the front or collapses the chest, the shoulders will roll down, shifting weight forward and the rider’s seat bones will lock down. I hope you are starting to realize that all of the pieces of the puzzle work together and one problem can cause a cascade effect on other parts of the body. Open shoulders will allow the rider’s back to be straighter while pinched shoulders will throw weight on the horse’s front end. The rider’s shoulders should also follow the horse’s shoulder without allowing one shoulder to be in front of the other. This month we have a good exercise for you to try. Ride your horse at a trot in an arena.

Count your horse’s foot beats and notice his cadence and movement. Try to determine if he sounds heavier on a front leg. Now pick up your inside arm (the arm closest to the inside of the circle). Hold your arm straight out in front of you and continue to ride at a trot for several laps around the arena. As soon as you pick up your arm, your horse will elevate his front end allowing his front end to be lighter. The horse’s inside front leg will no longer stab the ground and his shoulders will be more even. He will also drive better in the hind end. The front end has to be light and out of the way so the horse can come through in the hind end. Now lower your arm and see if you and your horse can maintain the lightness in the front end. If not, pick up your arm and continue to practice until you can maintain the same feeling without your arm held up. Reverse and try the other

direction. Is one direction more difficult for you? Don’t forget all of the other pieces to the puzzle as you try this new exercise.

Riders are sometimes taught to ride with their elbows at their sides and to pick up the reins by only bending at the elbow. This method causes the shoulders to twist and for the rider to lean slightly forward out of the correct position. As you are reading this article, keep your elbows at your sides and pick up your hands. Now try picking up your hands by using your whole arm and shoulder. Lifting from the shoulder will encourage your body to stay within the correct position and your horse will move more balanced. Also riding with hands forward with elbow opened and out of your side will help you to be lighter with your hands. Simply put, hold your arms out like you are airing out your arm pits!

If you are an English rider, you will be holding your reins in both hands. Try putting your hands in front of you and on your horse’s withers, in front of the saddle, extending your hands out from the shoulders. Now pick straight up. That should be the correct position of your arms and hands.

For the Western rider who holds split reins in one hand, also try this exercise for the starting position for your hands and arms. Many Western riders will start with this position but then turn their hand over with the palm up and move the hand to the side of the saddle horn when they are trying to turn their horse. When the hand holding the reins moves in this way, the rider’s shoulder will drop down and the hips will slide to the side. Try holding the reins in one hand and turn your horse by picking

up your hand towards the left shoulder, picking up your whole arm. Move your hand from in front of your belt buckle to the left shoulder and back to the belt buckle. Now try picking up your hand up from the shoulder and to the right shoulder. You should be making a V from the belt buckle and up to each shoulder. Proper arm and shoulder position are a few more pieces of the puzzle that help create that partnership with our horse which we all want. Hopefully with this and the previous few months articles about body position have help you understand all the different ways that your body position helps or hinders your horse. Work on a few pieces of the puzzle at a time, to build the total picture of a balanced rider.

Terry Myers is a national clinician and champion horse trainer with a depth of knowledge developed from over 50 years in the horse industry. Myers has been a popular clinician at multiple expos in the U.S. and Canada. To learn more about Myers’ Ride-InSync methods as well as clinic and training services available, visit www.tmtrainingcenter.com or on Facebook.

WRCA Needs You

by Cathy Rhoades

Fall came in like a lion and brought cool temps and intermittent rain. But our Swine Creek Picnic Drive was well attended in September. The partly cloudy skies held off from rain until after the drive. Fifteen people met in the covered shelter to enjoy the potluck. We had two new members join us and four who drove in the park. Floyd and Yvette Shipley, Ann Petersen and new members Melissa and Doug Shipman drove on the park roads and around the meadow.

The WRCA events in October will be covered in the next issue.

The National Drive was held in October at the Hoosier Horse Park. In the fall it is a week of driving, meeting new friends,

learning and just having fun. Coffee and donuts, marked trails, bonfire, safari drive, wine and cheese were just a few of the planned events. WRCA Stacey Giere was a clinician this fall giving interesting and entertaining talks. Jo Ann Murr, Cathy Rhoades, Mary Thomas, Kay and Henry Rish, Shauna Brummet, Jeff Skinner, Ann Petersen and her mom Polly, Linda and Brian Eick, Bev and Dave Patrick brought horses this year. Check the National Drive website for more information on the spring and fall drives.

November is the time for nominations. We have five board

members with three year terms. Two of the board member slots will be available as Barb King and Jon Roemer terms end December 2022. Cathy Rhoades, Jo Ann Murr, and Ann Petersen will remain for 2023. We are looking for new members to the board. We usually meet once in person but most of yearly business is accomplished either through Zoom or email. While there is a wealth of knowledge on the current board, we welcome new people and new ideas. After

the election, the board selects the officers during their meeting.

We also have appointed positions: Administrative Advisor, Insurance, Social Media (Deb Svoboda), Club Reporter (Cathy Rhoades), Membership Secretary (Henry Rish), Librarian (Sherri Olecki), Events (Cathy and Jo Ann Murr), Safety Committee (Barb King and Jo Ann). If you have any interest in participating in your club, please contact Jo Ann Murr, josiemurr@gmail.com.

PRESIDENT, Jo Ann Murr

VICE PRESIDENT, Ann Petersen TREASURER, Ann Petersen SECRETARY, Cathy Rhoades MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY, Henry Rish. WEBSITE, www.wrcarriage.com

Shauna Brummet and Stacey Giere at the National Drive.

Duke Shipman enjoying Swine Creek trails.

The shooting season is a wrap for the Northern Ohio Outlaws but we went out with a bang at the October shoot held at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Wooster, Ohio.

The weekend started with a fun shoot Friday night with all proceeds going to the Wooster Community Hospital Cancer Center. The club continued to honor those battling cancer by wearing pink as we ‘gunned down cancer’.

Congratulations to all our move-ups from the weekend and what a weekend it was!

Tye Alleshouse moved from a Men’s Level 2 to M3.

Jessica Soehnlen moved from a Ladies 2 to L3.

Gunning Down Cancer Shoot Results

Dora Psiakis moved from a Ladies 3 to L4.

Lisa Jones moved from Senior Ladies 4 to SL5.

Tammy Angeletti moved from a Senior Ladies 5 to a Senior Ladies 6 which is our club’s first SL6.

Congratulations to all the winners:

SATURDAY WINNERS

OVERALL OVERALL AND OVERALL COWGIRL: Sonya Morse

OVERALL COWBOY: John Roach

RESERVE COWBOY: Curtis Heald

RESERVE COWGIRL: Tammy Angeletti

CLASS WINNERS: L1 Linzey Evans; L2 Jessica Soehnlen; L3 Kierstin Fritsch; L4 Mollie Himes; L5 Sonya Morse; L6 Carla Spackman; M1 Sylvio Pellegrino; M2 Tye Alleshouse; M3 Cory Barger; M4 Curtis Heald; M5 Tyler Vhr; M6 John Roach; SL1 Rhonda Hamilton; SL2 June Schmidt; SL3 Dawn Wojtowicz; SL4 Lisa Jones; SL5 Tammy Angeletti; SM1 Steve Tschiegg; SM2 Mark Maxwell; SM3 Gregory Durnell; SM4 Alan Cornett; SM5 Tim Calvin; SM6 Tony Ruper; Wrangler Braelyn Ringer.

We had 31 clean shooters on Sunday which was very impressive considering the outdoor weather!

SUNDAY WINNERS

OVERALL OVERALL AND OVERALL COWBOY: Tyler Vhr

Jessica Soehnlen’s move-up dance.

OVERALL COWGIRL: Mollie Himes

RESERVE COWBOY: Braden Morey RESERVE COWGIRL: Karla Durnell

CLASS WINNERS: L1 Emily Hric; L2 Autumn Dennison; L3 Dora Psiakis; L4 Mollie Himes; L5 Karla Durnell, L6 Carla Spackman; M1 Sylvio Pelligrino; M2 Rich Gross; M3 Tye Alleshouse; M4 David Vhr; M5 Tyler Vhr; M6 Braden Morey; SL1 Johanna Vena; SL2 June Schmidt; SL3 Dawn Wojtowicz; SL4 Sue Wolski; SL5 Tammy Angeletti; SM1 Steve Tschiegg; SM2 Mark Maxwell; SM3 Gregory Durnell; SM4 Alan Cornett; SM5 Tim Calvin; SM6 Philip Webb; Wrangler Braelyn Ringer.

Enjoy the pictures of two of our move-ups—wish we could share them all.

Check out our website at nooutlaws.com for more information about our club or check out our Facebook page at Northern Ohio Outlaws CMSA.

Hope to see you all at the Ohio State Shoot!

PRESIDENT,

Tammy Angeletti’s move-up dance.

2023 Show Dates Announced

by Chesna Wertz

Hi everyone! Sorry about the radio silence the past couple months. We had a couple big shows right after another, and I just plain forgot about the Corral article. Hopefully everyone is doing well, and enjoying the fall weather as the 2022 show season winds down. As of this writing, the All American Quarter Horse Congress has just started. I know we have several AP&P members competing there this year, and we wish all of you luck!

On Aug. 13-14, we had our last AP&P show of the season, under judge Rick Walters. Thank you to everyone who came out and showed with us! We had just under a 1000 entries for the weekend. The classes were full with many having multiple

splits, including our Generation Gap, having a record number of 27 entrants! We also enjoyed an exhibitors’ party on Saturday with delicious tacos from a local Mexican restaurant (so much queso!) and Whit’s Frozen Custard. At this show, we also named our 2022 class High Point and Reserve Champions, as well as our Horse of the Year.

For the second year in a row, your Horse of the Year was Coy Lil Frosty, owned by Taylor Rebman. Your reserve Horse of The Year, was Sierra Della Deluxe, owned by the O’Conner

family. Congratulations to both!

On Sept. 9-11 many AP&P exhibitors attended the NOHSA World Show in Cloverdale, Ind. AP&P was a tier two sponsor for this year’s world show. Our members held their own, coming home with many championships and placings in a wide range of classes. You made AP&P proud!

If you are interested in this organization and how to get involved, check out the National Open Horse Show Association on Facebook. This young organization rewards those who attend their local open and 4-H shows, and the World show in September is well worth the trip to Indiana.

On Sept. 22-25, many AP&P exhibitors made their way to the 16th Annual Tough Enough To Wear Pink show in Springfield, Ohio. While this show is always special to raise money for the Ohio Health Cancer Care, this year’s was even more so, being a tribute to Chip ‘Grumpy’ Jackson, who passed away earlier this year. While it wasn’t quite the same without Chip there, his memory lives on in many ways, including this amazing show he built over the years. AP&P was a gold sponsor this year, and we are happy to continue

AP&P had many class champions and placers at the NOHSA World Show. Pictured is Meredith Cluse and A Gift So Good.

supporting such an amazing show. Our exhibitors also did not disappoint, bringing home more wins, placings, and high point awards than we can count. Congratulations to everyone!

While it’s hard to believe the show season is winding down, we are already making plans for next year. Our 2023 show dates are as followed: April 15-16, May 2728, July 1-2, Aug. 12-13.

Don’t forget about our tack swap as well! This year’s swap will be held on Jan. 28. More information on that is on our Facebook page.

Thank you again to everyone who came and showed, supported, and sponsored our shows this year! You guys are what makes AP&P the amazing club it is, and we greatly appreciate the support year after year! We can’t wait to see you all next season!

PRESIDENT, Steven “Chunk”

SECRETARY, Melissa Green;

Terri Rafeld; WEBSITE, www.ashlandpaintandplain.com

Some of our awesome members that attended the Tough Enough To Wear Pink Show. Photo credit: Michelle Holcomb.

A New Website

by Kristen Humble

This fall has been a great season for the Michigan Trail Riders Association (MTRA). We just finished our criss-cross over the state of Michigan where many riders endured some chilly and rainy weather to earn their trophies. We moved into a very successful Fall Color Ride during the second week of October and our third virtual ride is wrapping for the season as well.

Along with our great rides, we are proud to announce the launch of our brand new website. Check out the new website at www.mtra.org. When you open the new website, you’ll see a beautiful map of our trails. This map shows where each camp is

located and you can really get a feel for the layout of the trail system. When you scroll down, you can see all of the other useful links. You can purchase your membership, sign up for rides, read about trail stories from the past, view photos from the rides and so much more! We are hoping that the rollout of this new, user friendly site will help to increase membership and continue to build up our great club.

It is so important to pay membership dues in trail riding clubs. The dues for MTRA help to build and maintain trails, along

with making purchases or repairs to keep our bus and camps fully functional. The MTRA is always looking for people to become members so we can keep our club active, continue to build and maintain our trails and have a larger voice in legislative battles as well. Please remember to renew your membership each year in January and find a way to contribute with your individual talents. The club needs you!

There are so many great things always happening in the MTRA club. We hope that you come ride with us. Check out our

website at www.mtra.org and our Facebook pages to keep up to date with all the happenings. Ride on!

PRESIDENT, Chuck Fanslow 1st VICE PRESIDENT, Al Davis SECRETARY, Kathleen Moss TREASURER, Mindy Ellis WEBSITE, www.mtra.org

mtra.office@gmail.com

September trophy riders.

Harry and Cheryl Struble surviving the rain.

Horse in fall leaves.

Midwest Regional Shoot and Eastern US Championship

by Steve Keech

The Marauders hosted the Mid West Regional Championship in September. Together with a lot of volunteers and support from the regional clubs it was a tremendous weekend. We had shooters from all over the country, including five of the top 10 cowgirls and cowboys. Congratulations to all the competitors, especially the class winners, and top cowgirls and cowboys.

MIDWEST REGIONAL RESULTS

Limited Wrangler, Trevor Peters; Open Wrangler, Alex Gornichec; Limited Cavalry, Cole Caster; Open Cavalry, Mark Hallink; Limited Rifle, Cole Caster; Open Rifle, Mark Hallink;

Limited Shotgun, Cole Caster; Open Shotgun, John Roach; Reserve Cowgirl, Rachelle Stevens; Reserve Cowboy, Cole Caster; Overall Cowgirl, Cara Penley; Overall Cowboy, Fred Conniff; Reserve Senior Cowgirl, Renee Calvin; Senior Cowgirl, Tammy Martin; Reserve Senior Cowboy, Terry Martin; Overall Overall, Curt Moore.

We also celebrated some moveups, Trevor Peters from Limited Wrangler to Open Wrangler, Colby Peters from Wrangler to M1, Missy DeForest from L2 to L3, Rob Moyer from M2 to M3, Cole Caster from M3 to M4.

Some of the move-up dances

were captured on video and shared on social media.

Check out the CMSA website for complete results, https:// www.cmsaevents.com/events/ event.php?id=12174&show=p oints&group=Revolver&type= National

The Marauders were well represented at the Eastern US Championship. The Calsonic Arena in Shelbyville, Tenn., is the new home for the Eastern US Championship. It is only about eight hours from Columbus, Ohio. You should add that to your list of shoots for 2023!

Eastern US Championship results: Jan Corum is the SL4 Champion. Jen Casey finished second in L6, and eighth overall

out of close to 300 competitors. Tye Alleshouse finished second in M2, Rob Moyer finished third in M2, Cole Caster finished third in M3.

As of this writing we are very excited, and the club was working hard to make sure we have an outstanding AAQH Congress shootout scheduled on Oct. 23. Thank you to all our sponsors and supporters for all your hard work so far and in the future.

As always, if you are interested in joining the Mid-Ohio Marauders, the Central Ohio club for CMSA, please visit us at Midohiomarauders.com or on Facebook at Mid-Ohio Marauders. See you soon!

PRESIDENT, Tim Calvin

Tom Byrne

Cole Caster, Terry Martin, Curt Moore, Renee Calvin, Tammy Martin, Cara Penley, Rachelle Stevens .

Alex Gornichec, Trevor Peters, and Beth Hall.

A Little About Danielle Menteer O’Donnell, NODA’s President, and USEF Professional Instructor/Trainer

by Danielle Menteer O’Donnell

My obsession with horses started as a toddler. I remember loving them before I ever had my first ride at age 3 on a pony at the fair. That feeling was magical and sealed the deal! But I didn’t have many opportunities after that. Once I could read, I checked out every library book in the Ravenna library that had anything to do with horses and read them cover to cover. Some of them multiple times. That was my only connection to horses until my parents were able to scrape up the money for weekly lessons when I was 10 years old.

My initial education was riding western at an Appaloosa show barn. But I had learned about this eventing thing and always thought that English riding was the ultimate challenge. Eventually I earned the privilege of lessons in an English saddle and riding bareback. I had arrived! I had few opportunities to compete at open shows and a couple of our county fairs. It’s all my parents could afford.

The fire was still burning and I needed more so, as a single mom, I entered the equestrian program at Lake Erie College. What an eye-opener! I thought I knew how to ride but I knew almost nothing. And that awareness just spurred me on even more. It was so exciting to realize there was so much more to learn!

The next several years took me from a student in college to an instructor at a local, busy hunter barn. It was great but I wanted to be in a more professional, high quality care environment so I

ended up at a stable that provided incredible opportunities to learn from world class dressage clinicians on a monthly basis and to be part of a growing program. This is where I fell in love with dressage. I still love jumping but dressage became my focus. Since that era, I became a freelance instructor in our area and then spent 10 years teaching and directing at the Albion College Equestrian Program in Michigan before returning ‘home’ and resurrecting my free-lance business.

Throughout this time, with the help of many, I earned my USDF Silver Medal, competed and placed in several regional finals, and earned the USDF Learner Judge certification with distinction and was accepted into the USEF “r” judges’ program.

In the past several years I have been instructing dressage in Northeast Ohio, providing clinics, and have been an instructor at NODA’s Adult

Dressage and More Camp as well as judged Ride-a-Tests and schooling shows, getting to know the many dedicated members of the dressage community. When I was approached about filling the role of president of NODA, I felt like it was my turn to help and the timing was right. I am still becoming familiar with how the gears turn and eager to see how my past experiences working for a college program can provide some fresh insights and ideas. It’s already been a pleasure to work with such a fine group of enthusiastic people and I’m looking forward to gaining more input and ideas from our membership. We can always use new blood and new ideas— we have so many programs and activities. It takes a village to run a successful USDF Group Member Organization (GMO) and we have a strong one here in northern Ohio!

Colorado Ranger Horse Association Colorado Ranger Posters Earns Youth Recognition

by Monica Doddato

Eli Ball entered the Ohio State 4-H Poster Contest this year with his poster on the Colorado Ranger Horse. His poster won third place out of 30 entries and was on display this summer at the Ohio State Fair Jr. Horse Show! He would like to thank Barb Summerson, CRHA Executive Secretary, for sharing lots of information with him and Donna Sorrell for allowing him to use some of her photos from

the 2021 National Show. Eli is a CRHA member and competed at the National Show this year with his Ranger Horse, PRR Majestic Prince

Stay tuned for 2022 National Show results in the next edition of the Corral. And as always for more information on the Colorado Horse, please visit the website, www.coloradoranger.com

PRESIDENT, Danielle Menteer VICE PRESIDENT, Kathy Kirchner TREASURER, Dee Liebenthal SECRETARY, Beth Scalabrino EMAIL, president@nodarider.org WEBSITE, www.nodarider.org

PRESIDENT, Toni Lukavich; 1ST VICE PRESIDENT, Charmaine Wulff; SECRETARY, Barbara Summerson; TREASURER, Jane Montgomery. WEBSITE, www.coloradoranger.com EMAIL, riderangerhorse@yahoo.com

Eli Ball

Back Country Packing – The Romance vs. the Reality

by Robert Eversole

We’ve

all seen photos of amazing scenery and bucket list-worthy places to visit on horse or mule back. It’s easy to romanticize traveling with our beasts and let me be very clear—it is a privilege to be able to partake in these adventures. Venturing into the backcountry with our horses can be a fantastic adventure full of the best memories we’ll ever look back on. You see the incredible photos on Facebook or Instagram and think, “I want to do that!” Unfortunately, what you see isn’t necessarily the whole picture. We should be more upfront about it, mention the less glamorous parts, and stop striving for perfection on social media.

I’ve visited the emergency room not once but twice during backcountry rides. There’s nothing Facebook-able about hospital stays. Do you think mosquito bites are itchy? Try wearing a cast over the summer after a mule slips in a river. You have no idea. There are also backcountry days in 90-plus-degree heat without a shower. The dust cakes on the sweat, and you have ten more days before you’ll have a chance to enjoy real cleanliness.

Despite these and other struggles, I still think that visiting the backcountry on horseback is one of the best things you can do if you can. As I said, it’s a privilege. The least exciting parts of my trips are also some of the most notable; some make for great tales years later, and there are a few that I would rather forget because they were rather grim. Sure, most of the time, it is spending quality time with friends and the

A camp spot that appears to be idyllic. Not shown are the mules that refused to eat the lush bear grass, which was the only grazing the area had to offer.

ponies. And that’s great! But can we stop pretending that it’s always perfect? There are bad days, challenges, and of course, the hard parts you weren’t expecting.

Of course, there are different types of backcountry excursions, and many people may opt for an organized or luxury vacation. Still, it’s different for those who are more into a DIY experience.

In the reality of horse packing, the positives outweigh the negatives 100 to 1. After all, you’re riding horses! However, I’m going to be blunt here. If you’re a prima donna, packing probably isn’t for you. Of course, you can still travel by horse and experience

new places by choosing an alternative option, but the reality of packing isn’t necessarily pretty.

There are days when you long for your shower because you know just how far to turn the tap to get the perfect temperature and the days when you want the comfort of your bed, not sleeping on the ground.

There are times you want just to be able to go to the kitchen and eat whatever is available. But I think the thing most people miss (I know I do) is the endless supply of clean clothes that home offers.

The struggles of the average backcountry packer are real. But that’s what makes the experience authentic. I wouldn’t trade a nearly sleepless night watching the stars with my wife for anything in the world.

The reality of packing is that it’ll improve your life: It will also leave you poor in money but rich in memories, experience, and life. Home is not where your belongings are; it’s where you unpack your heart; for me, that’s a remote wilderness area.

Robert ‘The TrailMeister’ Eversole owns and operates the largest horse trail and horse camp guide in the world, www.TrailMeister. com. When he’s not speaking with horse and mule riders at events across the US, writing regular feature columns in leading equine publications including the Horsemen’s Corral, Robert can be found riding and packing trail maintenance crews into wilderness areas throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Yes, this photo looks idyllic, and it was. What it doesn’t show is Celeste and I dipping water into buckets with coffee cups. Water under Montana’s Chinese Wall is in seeps and getting enough for the ponies was a challenge.

Leading a short string under the Chinese Wall. Not shown are the years of preparation to learn the skills required for such a trek; the months of planning and several long days in the saddle just get here. The trip was worth every minute of all of them.

Ayoung horse is considered a weanling once they are weaned from the mare until one year of age. Weaning can occur as early as 3 months of age, but more commonly happens at 6 months of age when the broodmare slows production of quality milk to support the rapidly growing foal. From birth to 3 months of age, the foal’s digestive system is not developed to fully to digest the concentrates and relies on milk as its primary source of nutrition. Foals will also begin to nibble on hay or pasture and establishes their hindgut microbiome for forage digestion. After 3 months of age, the foal develops the enzymes able to digest concentrates and relies less on milk for nutrition

From weaning to one year of age, the young horse is on the highest nutritional plane of its life, consuming approximately 3 percent of its body weight in dry matter per day. Because of their efficiency in utilizing nutrients for growth at this age, weanlings that grow too fast can be risk for developing developmental orthopedic disease (DOD). The key is to support optimum growth at a steady, consistent rate. Each weanling should be individually monitored and fed according to their needs. Feeding each weanling on an individual basis will not only allow you to keep your feeding costs optimized but create the best nutritional plan for each weanling based on their needs. Monitoring growth rate is key to ensuring a consistent plan for each weanling. Farm managers can utilize simple measurements like weight, body length, wither height, knee height, or hip height as measure of growth to track over time.

Weaning can be an extremely stressful time for foals. This stress is usually accompanied by a decrease in feed intake and thus slowed

growth, followed by a period of rapid compensatory growth shortly after the weaning period. In a study using Thoroughbred foals, average daily gain was reduced by 33 percent in the week following weaning, followed by an average of 68 percent of the pre-weaning rate in the following eight weeks. Utilizing a creep feed for foals prior to weaning has been shown to help during this transition period so that growth and development are minimally challenged.

Here are some quick nutrition tips for weanlings • High quality forage should be provided to weanlings as the basis of the diet. Not only will this help to provide amino acids, vitamins and minerals needed for growth, but feeding good quality forage will also affect the amount and type of concentrate that will be needed to supplement the weanlings diet to meet nutritional requirements. For example, feeding weanlings a grass type hay like timothy will provide less calories, amino acids and minerals, and a concentrate that provides more of those nutrients will be needed to complement that type of forage. But, many times, feeding an alfalfa or alfalfa-grass mixed hay will provide more of these nutrients and allow you to rely less on concentrates.

Kristen Janicki, MS, PAS is a Technical Marketing Specialist for MARS Horsecare US/BUCKEYE™ Nutrition, responsible for technical nutrition support, digital and social media, and working collaboratively with the Senior Nutrition Manager in providing high-quality nutritional content. Headquartered in Dalton, Ohio, BUCKEYE Nutrition has been manufacturing quality products since 1910. BUCKEYE Nutrition takes feed safety seriously, implementing many programs mandated in human food manufacturing facilities. With the backing of the WALTHAM Petcare Science Institute, a world-leading authority on pet care and widely renowned as an institution of the highest scientific caliber, our equine nutritionists provide scientifically based equine nutritional solutions which guide our formulations and our BUCKEYE Nutrition brand promise of being the highest quality, fixed formula feeds available. BUCKEYE Nutrition is a 100 percent equine-focused company, 100 percent medication-free facility, sourcing 100 percent traceable, pure ingredients for consistency. www.BuckeyeNutrition.com. 800/898-9467.

by Kristen Janicki, MS, PAS

Wayne County Saddle Club

Entire Show Season Ended on Successful Note

2022 has flown past so far. Thanksgiving is a few short weeks away, and, after that, Christmas. Well, those are still a ways off as I write this (Oct. 10). The 2022 season at ‘the Hollow’ has been another good one. Customary events such as the Contest and Pleasure point show series, the Friday night Fun shows, the Saturday Contest show at the Wayne County Fair and the ‘Roundup’ were augmented this year by a ‘Buckle Series’ with belt buckles as the awards in several divisions for poles and barrels. According to all reports the entire season ended on a very successful note.

The ‘Roundup’ was blessed with great sunny weather (a little cool on Saturday) and strong attendance for the shows and inspiring country Christian music Saturday evening. As usual we offered some vintage

Set Weanlings (continued)

• Although a good quality forage source helps, weanlings will still need a concentrate to meet all their nutritional needs for growth. Either a grain ration specifically formulated for weanlings, or a ration balancer would be suitable. Make sure to follow the feeding instructions and provide the amount indicated for age and forage type.

• Protein, especially high-quality protein that provides the essential amino acids, is vital for muscle, ligament, and tissue development. Research has shown that lysine is the first limiting amino acid in a young horse’s diet, followed by threonine. Therefore, it is vital to make sure that forages and concentrates are providing adequate amounts of lysine and threonine.

• Previously, it was thought that over-feeding protein could lead to DODs in growing horses. This has since been proven to be false and providing adequate amounts of the essential amino acids in the diet are key to supporting proper growth and development,

timed events along with current standards. As strong as the adherence to poles, barrels, flags and ball race is, it’s kinda cool to try some different events. One such event was Speed and Control the original pattern. Another, perhaps a bit more recent was the Quadrangle Stakes. Several other classes filled out Saturday and Sunday. A special thanks to all who came and helped make this a fun, cool activity. Thanks also to you folks who helped put on the show in the entry booth and the ring!

The final fun show/buckle series show wasn’t until October 28. I know the buckle series was an exciting addition to the Friday night fun shows and to our show season. I can tell you the buckles

and awards were presented on the 28th. Thank you folks who made the series possible!

Of course all our events are produced by various volunteers. This year that meant 21 shows had to be put on by folks who love this super organization enough to invest their time to “Get’r done.” Some of you people have been involved for years. Others are new this year. While it’s really cool to watch new folks share in the pride and satisfaction of a well-performed horse show, I can’t forget those who have been part of our production for, literally, years.

I reckon that’s actually what we’re all about: fine folks— young, old and in between —getting together to enjoy a connection with the good Lord’s awesome critters, horses. Some people come to show; others to help; some to watch and/ or any combination of the aforementioned.

Ah, yes. The mid-October colorful fall foliage adorned trails are calling me. So I’ll shut ‘er down for this month and wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Via con Dios!

~Stan

especially during times of rapid growth.

• Overfeeding energy (aka calories) in the absence of adequate amino acids, minerals and vitamins to support growth, can cause rapid growth and increases the risk for DODs.

• Research has shown that growing horses benefit from free exercise or turn out. A study from Michigan observed a reduction in bone density via radiographs when yearlings were stalled compared to those on 24hour turnout.

Take Home Message

Weaning is an important time in a growing horse’s life because of the increased needs for proper nutrition to allow for optimal, consistent growth rates. It is best to feed each weanling individually with a forage-first approach and monitor growth rates to minimize the risk of nutritional DODs. Reach out to your veterinarian or equine nutritionist for help in balancing your weanling’s diet.

PRESIDENT, Stan Bosler VICE PRESIDENT, Angie Didinger & Jaimie Horsky; SECRETARY, Tricia Crilow; TREASURER, Beth Eikleberry WEBSITE, www.waynecountysaddleclub.com

‘Original style’ speed and control class at the Roundup ‘22.

Riding the High Country in the Canadian Rockies

by Richard Anderson

It doesn’t get any better than riding the high country in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, which was what our trail riding group was able to do for this last summer adventure, just outside of Banff, Canada. The six day expedition started at the Warner Stables in Banff, where fellow riders and guides were met, as well as horses, which were assigned that were specifically chosen for each rider, who knew just where to step so they could be trusted to travel along the treacherous mountain trails. It offered a trail ride through the back country to the Sundance Lodge to spend the first night.

Day two featured a nine mile ride along the winding historic Erling Strom Trail to Halfway Lodge, where two nights were

spent, and it followed in the footsteps the early explorers of the Canadian Rockies nearly a century ago. The Halfway Lodge was located midway between Baniff and Assiniboine Mountain, where weary travelers have been stopping to rest since the 1920s.

Day three featured a thrilling clime up Allenby Pass on horseback, at an altitude of 8,100, which, for many, represented the highlight of the trip, with its breathtaking view of the jagged rock formations and the enormous amphitheater of mountains stretching to the far horizon.

Day four was considered a day of rest from the strenuous trail rides of the last two days at the Halfway Lodge, where riders could rest, take a hike, or whatever else sounded good to do with the day off, all the time

viewing the jagged peaks of the nearby Rocky Mountains.

Day five was a time to say goodbye to Halfway House and hit the winding trail along Brewster Creed back to the Sundance Lodge, finally leaving the beautiful retreat in the mountains, criss-crossing the valley in the historic footsteps of the early pioneers, and stopping for lunch along the way, with a shower and a glass of wine waiting back at the Sundance Lodge.

Day six was the last morning at

Sundance Lodge, with a goodbye breakfast and a final nine mile trail ride back to Warner Stables, stopping along the banks of Healy Creek for lunch.

The trip was spectacular and a highlight of any western trip you that would be imagined.

As in the past, you are welcome to join us, we do not require a gaited horse to ride along with us. Call 614/582-3202 for more information and to join us for another great year of trail riding adventures.

Tim Scarbrough horseback riding in the Canadian Rocky mountains outside Banff, Alberta Canada.

Valerie Carlson on board her horse in the Canadian Rocky Mountains near Banff Alberta Canada.

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Fall Season is Underway

by Tana Drew

We are well into our OHSRA 2022-23 fall season! Last weekend we had our second rodeo of the season at Crazy Woman Ranch in Lancaster, Ohio. In our high school division, Emma Wyant took the win in the Breakaway roping and Goat Tying, Meghan Morey had two smokin’ fast runs to win the Pole Bending, Grace Taylor and Tana Drew split the Barrel Racing, Cade Cummings won the Tie-Down Roping, Klint Shamblin took the win the

Steer Wrestling, Arly Kisner and Jarica Winkleman took the win in the Team Roping and Dawson Edwards took the win in the Bull Riding. In our Jr High Division, Morgan East took the win in the Barrel Racing, Carlie Wears won the Pole Bending, Madi Corsi took the win in the Girls Goat Tying and Reid

Strickler and Trent Hendrick split the win in the Boys Goat Tying, Braelynn Gardner won the Girls Breakaway Roping and Strickler won the Boys Breakaway Roping, Matt East won the Tie-Down Roping and the Ribbon Roping with his sister and partner Morgan East, Matt East also won the Team Roping with his partner Wesley Gardner, Gardner also won the Chute Dogging. In our shooting sports, Klint Shamblin won the High School Trap, Mya Dimmerling won the High School Light

Rifle and Byson Shriver won the Junior High Light Rifle. After the rodeo, contestants had some fun at the dummy roping, put on by our High School and Junior High Officer Teams.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to join us for the rest of our rodeos in the spring! Visit ohiohighschoolrodeo.org to become a member!

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, Nikki McCarty

Bump Postlethwait

RODEO

Andrea

Ohio High School

Rodeo Association;

High school bull rider, Tony Stone.

Meghan Morey, 12th grader, pole bending.

Arly Kisner, 11th grade, goat tying.

Ifyou are like me, anytime you hear about storms, fires, hurricanes and other natural disasters in the news, my mind quickly goes from the people in these areas to the animals that are in their care. It was hard to hear stories of Hurricane Ian without thinking of all the horses, livestock, and pets that are also affected by this tragic event. Natural disasters can often come up quite unexpectedly, but if we can learn anything from these situations, it is that when you have animals, you should have a plan and every minute counts when there is an impending disaster. In the Midwest, we are quite fortunate when it comes to many of the natural events that can affect the rest of the country. The main things we need to be concerned with are tornados and winter storms. Since we are approaching colder weather, we will focus on some of the things to do to prepare for winter storms around the barn, although some of these tips can be useful for any natural disaster.

Get A Game Plan. Remember when we were in grade school, and we were tasked with going home and asking our parents what our plan was in case of an emergency?

It might be time to take an evening and redo this homework assignment. Figuring out a plan is the first step to being prepared for tricky situations. In the case of winter storms, the things that will often become an issue are accessibility especially on roads off the property, maneuverability on the farm, power outages and availability of water. Thinking ahead on how to navigate these potential issues is a great place to start.

Frost Free Water. Having fresh accessible water is a number one priority for your horse. Horses still need to drink an adequate amount

of water in cool temperatures to prevent dehydration and colic. Horses also prefer water that isn’t too cold. While the normal set up for your barn and pasture may be a heated bucket or tank heater, if the electricity is out, these options won’t work. An easy solution is to have some thermal buckets that don’t require electricity to work. Lack of electricity may also lead to loss of a water source or pipes freezing. It’s a good idea to have at least some water stored back in a container that can be kept in the house. Water tanks that are used for trail riding and trailers can be useful in these circumstances as long as you can keep them in a space that doesn’t get below freezing. It is also important to note that a horse is not able to ingest enough snow to keep them hydrated, so snow cannot be a replacement for water.

Feed For Days. Having enough grain and hay on hand is vital to weathering any storm. A good rule of thumb is to have two weeks worth of feed for all animals onsite. While it’s not likely that you are going to be snowed in for two whole weeks, depending on the storm’s impact, there might be a shortage at local stores if deliveries were delayed. Just make sure that whenever storing feed it is secured in bins that prevent rodents from contaminating the supply or moisture that can cause the feed to spoil. While it is always a good idea to have hay for the cold weather season, if you are expecting ice and snow, bringing down extra into an accessible area will make feeding in bad conditions that much easier. If the storm coincides with frigid temperatures, feeding extra forage can help your horse stay warm.

Invest In A Generator. While they can be a little pricy, investing in a generator is one way to ensure that your family and animals will have access to electricity. This is a game

by Lisa Kiley

changer for when the power goes out any time of year and has so many practical uses, you might wonder how you ever lived without one. The key to utilizing a generator is proper storage and maintenance. Additionally, you can’t rely on a generator if you don’t have fuel, be sure to stock up if you see inclement weather in the forecast. One word of caution: be aware that you know how to properly use the generator and beware of circumstances that could lead to carbon monoxide emissions leading to toxicity, stay safe when operating. Maintenance Matters. Before it even gets to be storm season, there are several things that you will want to address around the barn. Look at branches that once weighted down with ice or snow could pose a risk to breaking on the barn or fencing. Ensure that the siding and roof of the barn is in good shape to withstand storm conditions, same goes for gate latches and hinges. Can doors be easily closed to prevent drafts and drifts of snow from coming in the barn? Double check that the tractor or farm vehicles have been fueled up and plugged in as needed so that they will be ready to help you dig out of the snow. While most northern roofs are made to withstand heavy snowfall, it may be necessary to remove snow off roofing to prevent collapse or if ice dams are forming it can cause damage to the rooftop and may need to be addressed. If this is the case, make sure to exercise caution and consult with a professional.

Don’t Forget the Basics. Once you have created a plan and addressed some of the above-mentioned items, it’s time to make sure some of the other basics are covered. It’s always a good idea to check the human and animal first-aid kits in the barn to make sure they are fully stocked. If you have a horse on required medications, make sure that they also have a back-up supply. It’s a good

Miami Valley Horse Show Association

All Smiles at the Tough Enough to Wear Pink Horse Show

WEBSITE, www.MVHSA.com

by Rebekah Martindale

The Miami Valley Horse Show Association (MVHSA) is winding down and finishing up our 2022 show season—what a

season it has been! For our last event of the year, we partnered with the Tough Enough to Wear Pink Horse Show to help raise funds for OhioHealth Cancer Care. Pictured are a few of our

Storm Warning (continued)

time of year to make sure that some of the smaller items like shovels, ice melt (or cat litter), extra warm gloves, hats and other gear are accessible. Stock up on batteries for flashlights and keep them in a common area. Back-up chargers for phones can also be very helpful to keep you connected. Everyone in the

family or working on the property should know how to turn off/on water, electricity, and utilities and a phone list should be made for emergency contact numbers. While we never look forward to these difficult situations, it pays to be prepared and it can make all the difference in keeping you and your animals safe from the storm.

members sharing smiles and making memories—in pink!

Over the next few months, we will begin to plan our annual banquet. Last March, we gave away $7,000 worth of prizes

to those who earned year-end awards.

Please visit our website to become a member, www.mvhsa. com

Lisa Kiley is a lifelong horse enthusiast who has worked in the equine industry and shown horses for many years. She is a proud member of the Cashmans Horse Equipment Team. Cashmans Horse Equipment, located in Delaware, Ohio, has been providing top quality products to the equine and agricultural

community for 40 years. They have a commitment to sourcing environmentally conscious merchandise and items made in the U.S.A. Cashmans strives to educate customers and provide products that put safety first so you can enjoy more time with the horses you love.

www.cashmans.com

PRESIDENT, Kenny Matthews VICE PRESIDENT, Beth Roosa SECRETARY, Rebekah Martindale TREASURER, Emily O’Daniel SHOW CHAIR, Betsie Moore EMAIL, bekahmartindale1133@

View

by Sarah Vas

I’vebeen thinking about the big stall set ups at horse shows. Historically, the bigger the event, the higher the expectation for elaborate decorations. Many farms will make the shed rows unrecognizable, transforming stall fronts into false building fronts like the main streets in a spaghetti western. Heavy stall drapes and promotional banners stretch across every inch of real estate. Luxurious bar sets and lounging couches are common place among the most prestigious barns. Some farms even lean towards an air of denied access to their aisles, discouraging all but only those in the know. Show stopping displays have morphed into a badge of honor for professionals and clientele alike. But there also exists a slippery slope between Inviting and Intimidating.

I grew up dreaming of the day my own farm would become a

Cheap Seats

Embracing Our Inner Hillbilly

member of the Fancy Stalls Club but by the time I reached that status, I’d lost my enthusiasm for it. The work required to execute grand displays always outweighed the number of hands I had on deck to get it done at any given show. Even our most elaborate farm set ups were never too ostentatious. Some navy drapes, a homemade farm sign, and the occasional display of flowers are the most I’m willing to do anymore. I want my clients comfortable and to feel proud about being connected to me but the judges don’t hand out prizes for interior decorating.

And maybe that’s the point. Are these over-the-top set ups just another way our equestrian sport sends this misconstrued message of elitism and unattainability?

What prompts the professional ranks to charge clientele an extra premium for home away from home extravagance? When did the stall set up become something translating as more

show off and snobbish than approachable and inclusive? Perhaps it’s not so much the message but the delivery. Should we all be listening to the crowds shouting that only the privileged and wealthy can enjoy the thrill of competition? Let’s be honest. The majority of competitive horse owners are living like paupers. Our hobby is a money sucking black hole. If I were to be transparent about my equine reality, my show set up should represent that, no?

Instead of stall drapes, I’d trick out the shed row with an aluminum sided mobile home façade. A wonky, fiberglass extruded set of steps would jam up against a covered porch fashioned from pallets snatched from the feed store loading dock. There’d be a screen door with a bent frame and a “Beware of Dog” sign stapled to the door jam. I’d have dead shrubbery tangled up in blinking Christmas light strings and an old toilet out front stuffed with seasonal flowers, fake of course. My farm sign would be one of those neon pieces of work that buzzed a steady low hum. There’d be a rusty dorm fridge full of plain old yellow beer and popsicles. The snack bowl would be a rusty wheelbarrow with a blown tire. No name brand foods on this adventure. Only store brand snacks but not the fancy singleserve sizes. Nope, everyone would have to dig in bare handed and grab a fist full from bulk store sized boxes. It’s debatable if chip clips even made it to the show, let alone were dutifully clamped onto the half-eaten bags. Don’t go digging in the coolers for individual water bottles, either. If the hose is good enough for the horses, it’s good enough for us.

We’d turn on the Bug Zapper at night and start every morning with a rooster crowing. We’d hang out on the porch in mismatched aluminum lawn chairs. At least one person’s bum would unexpectedly punch through the broken webbing of the sketchiest chair at every show. We’d hang our ribbons on a laundry line between the socks and underwear already strung up. Of course, we’d throw a bash of a barn party around a 55 gallon drum turned charcoal grill with my hubby frying up greasy burgers and mystery meat

hotdogs in his Big Daddy apron and flip flops. I’d serve box wine in plastic cups between classes. We’d have music booming and bottle rockets at dusk. Every hour, there’d be a Hold My Beer contest to see who could lose the most digits by the end of the show. Our golf cart would end up on blocks, tires gone, graffiti sprayed on the hood, the batteries dead, and the bumper still crunched from the time Grandma didn’t know she was in reverse. By the end of every horse show, there’d inevitably be a litter of stray kittens born under the porch. The dog would end up tied out to a cinder block with a knotted up lunge line, reeking of fresh skunk spray. We said Beware of the Dog!

I know what you’re thinking. I’m making fun, being trashy. Nope. I grew up just as humble and horse poor as anyone so, I feel like I have a bit of authority on this subject. My point is this. The Cheap Seats ticket holders far outnumber the one percent every day of the week. We live like paupers and pour our pennies and our souls into this equine lifestyle at a sacrifice to ourselves. So, let’s not put on airs. Nascar has it figured out. That sport has built a billion dollar profit base and sure, corporate sponsors are climbing over each other to get into the game. But more importantly, Nascar thrives because of the overwhelming support of their working class, beer drinking, noshame-in-their-game fan base. If horse shows have half a chance of serving as advertisement to new blood, the draw to bring in the business, perhaps the pageantry can be reserved for the ring. The back side may

Watch Facebook and Website for Upcoming Events

Hello everyone, Massillon Saddle Club (MSC) hopes that you had a wonderful summer and are enjoying the cooler weather with your family and friends. It seems as if the show season passed far too quickly this year. By the time that this is printed, the MSC show season, and the fun shows, will have been

Inner Hillbilly

to lighten up and let down its hair, though. Our sport could really use less tail braiding and more tail gating? I mean, both activities require cussing but one is definitely a lot more fun.

Vas, a second-generation

completed. The achievements of our favorite horse/rider teams will be celebrated at the awards banquet on Thursday, Nov. 10 at Nickjajack Farm. Hopefully, everyone was able to attend—all are welcome to attend the banquet; members and nonmembers, family, and friends. In addition to the class awards, the evening will include the drawing for the $500 Visa gift card, the presentation of the year end awards, silent auction and raffle items as well as the election of 2023 MSC officers and trustees. Banquet reservations are prepaid only, and due Nov. 1. No tickets will be sold at the door. 2022 show season has just

ended, but, the MSC officers and trustees have already started planning the 2023 season. MSC is looking for suggestions for 2023 pleasure judges, or, areas where the show day could be improved. Please let us know what you would like to see.

Would you like to become more involved in MSC, but, are not able to commit to being an MSC officer or trustee? Please consider volunteering to help during the year for a shorter span of time. Do you like creating flyers, or have suggestions for things you would like to see additional content added to the website or Facebook sites? All suggestions and volunteers are welcome!

MSC is also looking for pleasure show office help, and, an announcer, for the 2023 show season. In addition, if anyone would like to complete their volunteer hours prior to show day, your help mowing the showgrounds or maintaining the flower beds is always welcome. Please watch the MSC website and Facebook page for upcoming events in the next few months.

Thank you for a fantastic 2022 show season! MSC hopes that everyone has good rides, great horses, and sunny days with friends and family!

writes about her decades of adventure and mayhem among several breeds and disciplines, and countless equine educational endeavors both as student and teacher. Sarah owns and operates a continuation of her parents’ original business,

Winfield Farm & Forge, Ltd., that which couldn’t currently exist without constant gratitude for Kevin, her very forgiving, ridiculously supportive husband. Together, they are quietly beginning to explore the Farm’s newest chapters, both in and

out of the horse world. They are returning to Sarah’s family roots, this time as breeders of Arabian/ Welsh Sport Ponies for dressage and carriage while husband and wife indulge their pent up creativity producing a variety of rustic décor and iron work.

PRESIDENT, Leanne; VICE PRESIDENT

, Shae. VICE PRESIDENT

Jeff; SECRETARY, Francine;

, Kathy

massillonsaddleclub@gmail.com

NOVEMBER 2022

NOV. 1-17 — North American International Livestock Exposition, Kentucky Exposition Center, 937 Phillips Lane, Louisville, KY. FMI: www.livestockexpo.org

NOV. 3-6 — Dressage Professionals Initiative (Nov. 3-4) and Open Clinic Rides (Nov. 5-6), Flow Equestrian, 9269 Stafford Road, Chagrin Falls, OH. FMI: www. nodarider.org

NOV. 4-6 — Harvest Classic, MSU Pavilion, 4301 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI. FMI: Michigan Quarter Horse Association, 616225-8211, www.miquarterhorse.com

NOV. 5 — Ruggles Arena IBRA, NPBA Speed Show, 2651 Township Road 155, Cardington, OH. FMI: Janet, 419-210-7204

NOV. 5 — Horse Auction, 11 a.m., Pine Creek Horseman’s Camp, 23937 Big Pine Road, South Bloomingville, OH. FMI: 740478-2520, www.pinecreekhc.com

NOV. 5 — Tiedown and Breakaway Cold Calves Series, Cooper Mare Ranch, 6090 N. St. Rt. 53, Tiffin, OH. FMI: 567-287-6339, www.coppermareranch.com

NOV. 5 — Southern Kentucky Team Penning Association Show, WKU L.D. Brown Expo Center, 406 Elrod Rd., Bowling Green, KY. FMI: Greg, 270-646-8495

NOV. 5 — Kids Day, Kentucky Cowtown Arena, 210 Wainscott Rd., Williamstown, KY. FMI: 859-801-6066

NOV. 5-6 — Foster Equine Boarding & Rescue Snowball Series, 60500 Patch Rd., New Concord, OH. FMI: 740-291-3556, www.facebook.com/fosterequine

NOV. 5-6 — 4 Man Ranch Rodeo (5th) and 3 Man Ranch Roping Competition (6th), Smoke Rise Ranch, 6751 Hunterdon Rd., Glouster, OH. FMI: 740-767-2624, www. smokeriseranch.com

NOV. 5-6 — Happily Ever After Horse Show Series, Delaware County Fair, 236 Pennsylvania Ave., Delaware, OH. FMI: meghan@fairytalehorsefarm.com, https:// happilyeveraftershowseries.com

NOV. 5-6 — Riding in the Rein YEDA Show, Champion Center, 4122 Laybourne Rd., Springfield, OH. FMI: Brandy Napier, 330317-2928, www.showyeda.com

NOV. 5-6 — Movie Horses Come To Life 9th Annual Equine Extravaganza (Nov. 5, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m./Nov. 6, 2 p.m.), Transitions Equestrian Center, LaPorte, IN. FMI: 219-778-9592, www. transitionsequestriancenter.com

NOV. 6 — Breakaway Series, Treharne’s Training Center, 49053 Fredericktown Clarkson Rd., Negley, OH. FMI: 330-6921271, dttrainingcenter@gmail.com

NOV. 6 — MET’s Annual Benefit Hunter Pace, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Masterson Station Park, 3051 Leestown Rd., Lexington, KY. FMI: www.mastersonequestrian.org

NOV. 11-13 — On The Road with Dawn & Clea Half Baked Series, Circle G, Lewisburg, OH. FMI: www. ontheroadwithdawnandclea.com

NOV. 11-13 — Customer Appreciation— Team Sorting/Cattle Weekend, Smoke Rise Ranch, Glouster, OH. FMI: 740-767-2624, www.smokeriseranch.com

NOV. 12 — Mt. Hope Horse Sale, 8076 SR 241, Millersburg, OH. FMI: 330-674-6188, www.mthopeuaction.com

NOV. 12 — IBRA Veteran’s Day Charity Barrel & Pole Show, Pine Creek Horseman’s Camp, 23937 Big Pine Road, South Bloomingville, OH. FMI: 740-478-2520, www.pinecreekhc.com

NOV. 12 — Southern Ohio Heart of Horsemanship Fall Finale Pattern Show, Home of Joy Farm, 3315 Lake Rd. NE, Lancaster, OH. FMI: 614-209-2154

NOV. 12 — CS Roping Series, 9918 Ridge Road SE, Uhichsville, OH. FMI: Cooper, 330340-2255

NOV. 12 — Rockin R Ranch Youth Rodeo, Rodeo Run Arena, 11641 Alspach Rd. NW, Canal Winchester, OH. FMI: Raynelle Rickly, 740-538-1491, www.facebook.com/ rockinrranchyouthrodeoassociation

NOV. 12 — Chilled Classic 2023, Sundance Arena, 310 Fredonia Rd., Fredonia, PA. FMI: Alicia Zygarowski, 724-679-0186

NOV. 12 — Mobile Confidence Course, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., OH Stables, 6118 Cedar point Road, Oregon, OH. FMI: Carol, 419836-7751, www.confidenthorsecom

NOV. 12 — Northern Kentucky Horse Network Education Clinic, 9 a.m., Cowtown Arena, Williamstown, KY. FMI: www.NKHN.info

NOV. 12 — Penn-Ohio Barrel Racing Association Show, Buckhorn Ranch Arena, 108 Simmons Lane, West Sunbury, PA. FMI: 724-290-6949, www.buckhornarena.com

NOV. 12-13 — Champion Center Open Horse Show Series, 4122 Laybourne Road, Springfield, OH. FMI: 937-324-4353, www. championscenterarena.com

NOV. 12-13 — Blue Lakes Farm Winter Series Contest Show (12th) and Pleasure Show (13th), 14037 Auburn Rd., Newbury, OH. FMI: 440-564-7303, https:// bluelakesfarm.wixsite.com/website, tomsnyder8@gmail.com

NOV. 12-13 — Shipshewana YEDA Show, Michiana Event Center, 455 Farver St., Shipshewana, IN. FMI: Terri Rafeld, 419564-5401, www.showyeda.com

NOV. 17-18 — 1st Annual Eastern Draft Breeders Event, Mt. Hope Event Center, Mt. Hope, OH. FMI: Monroe Yoder, 330695-5900

NOV. 18-19 — The American Finals Rodeo, 7 p.m., Garwood Arena, 2538 Middleton Rd., Columbiana, OH. FMI: 610-413-5010, www.aprarodeo.com

NOV. 19 — Crazy Woman Ranch IBRA Barrels, 6450 Lancaster-Circleville Rd. SW, Lancaster, OH. FMI: Joyce, 614-595-1850, joycehanes@att.net

NOV. 19 — Pine Creek Horseman’s Camp Mountain Trail Challenge, 10 a.m., 23937 Big Pine Road, South Bloomingville, OH. FMI: 740-478-2520, www.pinecreekhc.com

NOV. 19-20 — University of Findlay Ranch Horse Team Buckle Series, 14700 State Route 68, Findlay, OH. FMI: 800-472-9502, NOV. 19-20 — YEDA Show, Treharnes Arena, Negley, OH. FMI: Molly Niese, 419957-7379, www.showyeda.com

NOV. 25-26 — Mid Ohio Equine Expo & Yearling Standardbred Sale, Mt. Hope Event Center, 8076 SR 241, Millersburg, OH. FMI: Robert Hershberger, 330-231-6209

NOV. 25-26 — Black Friday Horse and Tack Sale, Sugarcreek Stockyards, 102 Buckeye Street, Sugarcreek, OH. FMI: 330-8311720, www.sugarcreekstockyard.com

NOV. 25-27 — 2022-2023 Youth Rodeo Series, Garwood Arena, 2538 Middleton Rd., Columbia, OH. FMI: 330-717-4329, www.garwoodarena.com

NOV. 25-27 — On The Road with Dawn & Clea Half Baked Series, Circle G, Lewisburg, OH. FMI: www. ontheroadwithdawnandclea.com

NOV. 25-27 — 17th Annual Cowboy Christmas Horse Show, MSU Pavilion, 4301 Farm Lane, E. Lansing, MI. FMI: Rochelle Rondy, 989-763-3276

NOV. 25-27 — 13th Annual IBRA Preferred Show, C Bar C Arena, 253 Stardust Rd., Cloverdale, IN. FMI: 502-239-4000, shane@ibra.us, www.ibra.us

NOV. 26 — Buckeye Mini Horse & Donkey Auction, 8:30 a.m., Wayne County Fairgrounds, 199 Vanover St., Wooster, OH. FMI: Daniel Schrock, 330-763-0905, schrocksauctioneering@gmail.com

NOV. 26 — Carhartt Classic Fuzzy Performance Show Series, Copper Mare Ranch, 6090 N. State Route 53, Tiffin, OH. FMI: 567-207-6339, www. coppermareranch.com

NOV. 26 — El Winter Bash IBRA Buckle/ Award Series, Edmiston Arena, 670 Carpenters Creek Rd., Hustonville, KY. FMI: Ashley, 859-779-0397

NOV. 26-27 — Outlaw Mounted Shooters Saddle Series, The Circle Bar C Ranch, 1424 Bluegrass Pkwy., LaGrange, KY. FMI: 502322-4861, www.circlebarcranch.com

DECEMBER 2022

DEC. 1-4 — The IKI Winter Circuit, C Bar C Arena, 253 W. Stardust Dr., Cloverdale, IN. FMI: 765-720-3251

DEC. 3 — Ohio 4-H Horse Program 4-H Horse Judges Clinic, Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, 2201 Fred Taylor Dr., Columbus, OH. FMI: Dr. Kimberly Cole, 614-292-2625, www.horse.osu.edu

DEC. 3 — 33rd Annual Lebanon Horse Drawn Carriage Parade & Festival, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (parades at 1 and 7 p.m.), Downtown Lebanon, OH. FMI: www. lebanonchamber.org/carriage-parade

DEC. 3 — Rockin R Ranch Youth Rodeo, Rodeo Run Arena, 11641 Alspach Rd. NW, Canal Winchester, OH. FMI: Raynelle Rickly, 740-538-1491, www.facebook.com/ rockinrranchyouthrodeoassociation

DEC. 3 — Tiedown and Breakaway Cold Calves Series, Cooper Mare Ranch, 6090 N. St. Rt. 53, Tiffin, OH. FMI: 567-287-6339, www.coppermareranch.com

DEC. 3 — Rodeo Action, Treharne’s Training Center, 49053 Fredericktown Clarkson Rd., Negley, OH. FMI: 330-692-1271, dttrainingcenter@gmail.com

DEC. 3 — Southern Kentucky Team Penning Association Show, WKU L.D. Brown Expo Center, 406 Elrod Rd., Bowling Green, KY. FMI: Greg, 270-646-8495

DEC. 3 — Oakland County Tack & Craft Sale, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Springfield Oaks Activity Center, 12451 Andersonville Rd., Davisburg, MI. FMI: Debbie Morgan, 248347-3860 x279, morga194@anr.msu.edu

DEC. 3 — Christmas at the Barn, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 14755 St. Rt. 226, Albion, PA. FMI: https://www.facebook.com/ events/671484867736875?active_ tab=about

DEC. 3-4 — Champion Center Open Horse Show Series, 4122 Laybourne Road, Springfield, OH. FMI: 937-324-4353, www. championscenterarena.com

DEC. 3-4 — YEDA Show, Garwood Arena, Columbiana OH. FMI: Molly Niese, 419957-7379, www.showyeda.com

DEC. 3-4 — Foster Equine Boarding & Rescue Snowball Series, 60500 Patch Rd., New Concord, OH. FMI: 740-291-3556, www.facebook.com/fosterequine

DEC. 4 — Fulton County OHC 7th Annual Cowboy Christmas, WB Ranch & Arena, 1640 County Road B, Swanton, OH. FMI: Jo Neeley, 419-356-1350, www.fcohc.com

DEC. 9 — Holiday Crossbred Sale, 3 p.m., Mt. Hope Auction, Mt. Hope, OH. FMI: 330674-6188, www.mthopeauction.com

DEC. 9-11 — On The Road with Dawn & Clea Half Baked Series, Champions Center, Springfield, OH. FMI: www. ontheroadwithdawnandclea.com

DEC. 10 — The Basics of Therapetuic Shoeing Clinic, Tuscarawas County Fairgrounds, 259 S. Tuscarawas Ave., Dover, OH. FMI: Lori McDade, 330-447-7534, https://www.facebook.com/Mid-EasternFarriers-Association-154249264686929

DEC. 10 — Mt. Hope Horse Sale, 8076 SR 241, Millersburg, OH. FMI: 330-674-6188, www.mthopeuaction.com

DEC. 10 — Crazy Woman Ranch IBRA Barrels, 6450 Lancaster-Circleville Rd. SW, Lancaster, OH. FMI: Joyce, 614-595-1850, joycehanes@att.net

DEC. 10 — Chilled Classic 2023, Sundance Arena, 310 Fredonia Rd., Fredonia, PA. FMI: Alicia Zygarowski, 724-679-0186

DEC. 10 — El Winter Bash IBRA Buckle/ Award Series, Edmiston Arena, 670 Carpenters Creek Rd., Hustonville, KY. FMI: Ashley, 859-779-0397

DEC. 10-11 — Blue Lakes Farm Winter Series Contest Show (10th) and Pleasure Show (11th), 14037 Auburn Rd., Newbury, OH. FMI: 440-564-7303, https:// bluelakesfarm.wixsite.com/website, tomsnyder8@gmail.com

DEC. 10-11 — YEDA Show, University of Findlay, Findlay, OH. FMI: Molly Niese, 419957-7379, www.showyeda.com

DEC. 11 — Breakaway Series, Treharne’s Training Center, 49053 Fredericktown Clarkson Rd., Negley, OH. FMI: 330-6921271, dttrainingcenter@gmail.com

DEC. 11-12 — Youth Equestrian Development Association Show, University of Findlay Western Farm, 14684 US-68, Findlay, OH. FMI: Molly Niese, 419-9577397, www.showyeda.com

DEC. 17 — Carhartt Classic Fuzzy Performance Show Series, Copper Mare Ranch, 6090 N. State Route 53, Tiffin, OH. FMI: 567-207-6339, coppermareranch@ gmail.com, www.coppermareranch.com

DEC. 17 — CS Roping Series, 9918 Ridge Road SE, Uhichsville, OH. FMI: Cooper, 330340-2255

DEC. 30-31 — Waynesburg Barrel Show “Racin’ To Midnight Show”, Garwood Arena, Columbiana, OH. FMI: Lora White, 412-956-3211

DEC. 30 — New Years Eve Special Sale, Sugarcreek Stockyards, 102 Buckeye Street, Sugarcreek, OH. FMI: 330-8311720, www.sugarcreekstockyard.com

DEC. 31 — Rodeo Action, Treharne’s Training Center, 49053 Fredericktown Clarkson Rd., Negley, OH. FMI: 330-6921271, dttrainingcenter@gmail.com

DEC. 31 - JAN. 1 — Champions All Breed Association Show, Champions Center, 4122 Laybourne Rd., Springfield, OH. FMI: 937324-4353, www.championscenterarena.com

the Time to Join NKHN

by Nancy Kissinger

After such a busy summer, we were able to get together and do some trail riding. The first weekend of autumn presented us with a beautiful day for our Annual Hamburger Ride at A J Jolly Park in Campbell County, Ky. We had 30 riders. The Northern Kentucky Horse Network (NKHN) trail committee, who maintains the trails at the park, worked hard keeping the trails in good shape and they put up new signage on the trails. The signage includes mileage and QR codes. A big thank you to Donnie Orth and his committee for their hard work. Thank you to Michelle Simon, Extension Agent at Campbell County who furnished the food

and to retired Campbell County Extension Agent Don Sorrell for doing the cooking. If you have never been riding at A J Jolly, you might want to check it out. Camping and stables are available at the park and there is plenty of trailer parking. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped make this day a success.

On Oct. 15 and 16 NKHN hosted a Cow Sorting Clinic and Show at Cowtown Arena in Williamstown, Ky. These ranch horse clinics are getting very popular and we hope to host many more in the future.

Our next big event is ‘Let’s Go Show!’ The date is Nov. 12. This is a one-day event to be held at Cowtown Arena. The arena is enclosed so rain

or shine the show will go on. This hands-on clinic is geared at preparing the rider and horse to be show ring ready. Clinicians are Dr. Coleman, Dr. Camargo, both from the University of Kentucky, Charlie Poppe, and Richard Lockhart. Topics are carriage driving, western, saddle seat, dressage, and English. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. The clinic begins at 9 a.m. And, it’s free! You can register online or at the door. Additional information is available on our website or Facebook page. All are welcome!

NKHN always welcomes new members and invites all to join our network of dedicated horse enthusiasts and dedicated sponsors committed to ‘promote,

protect and educate’ the equine industry. Please check out our website, follow us on Facebook, or email us at nkhn@nkhn.info if you need additional information.

UPCOMING EVENTS

NOV. 12: Let’s Go Show Clinic, Cowtown Arena, 210 Wainscott Road, Williamstown, KY. FMI: Jackie Holland, 859/816-1095, nkhn@nkhn.info

JAN. 29, 2023: Annual Membership Dinner, Boone County Enrichment Center, Burlington, KY. FMI: Trisha Kremer, 859/743-0296, nkhn@ nkhn.info

Pinto Horse Association of Ohio Awards Banquet Date Announced

by Leslie Watson

As the weather gets colder outside it is time to reflect on the very busy summer that The Pinto Horse Association of Ohio was able to have in 2022. We hosted five shows this past summer along with the Jubilee in New Castle, Ind. We had an increase in membership this past year and horse show participation. We had members from several different states join us for all of our shows—Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland to name some. Our

shows, while they were long this past year,were enjoyed by all and are still among some of the best attended shows in the country for PtHA. Looking forward to 2023, the Board of Directors are busy planning shows and the annual year-end awards banquet. We are finalizing the showbill and show locations. That information will be made available after we have obtained national approval. Ohio Pinto offers classes for all types and sizes of pintos and will continue to in 2023.

The 2022 Year-End Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 at the Thirsty Pony in Sandusky. Stay tuned for more information on the website and Facebook page.

We are looking forward to another fun-filled year of showing our spotted friends. We will be posting new information on our Facebook page PtHAOPinto Horse Association of Ohio as well as the website, www. ohiopinto.net. We look forward to seeing everyone soon.

PRESIDENT, Trisha Kremer

Tracey Schoen

Susan Dickinson

Monica

Some of the riders from our Hamburger Ride.

New signage at trailhead at A J Jolly.

PRESIDENT, Kaylee Clagett VICE PRESIDENT, Angie Wolfe SECRETARY, Leslie Watson TREASURER, Amy Leibold EMAIL, diamondkfarm20@gmail.com WEBSITE, www.ohiopinto.net

Close Competition at KCHP Contesting Shows

by Donny Cline

Hello Cowgirls and Cowboys!

October 1 was the Arena Trail Challenge with two age groups. The challenges were backing, walking over poles, walk through pool noodles, roping a steer mount (Chester), walking a bridge, aluminum can hoop, tarp, clothes lines of plastic bottles,

dragging a tire, and pushing the barrel cart. Ken Niner won the 14 and over and Madisyn Roberts won the 13 and under age class. The challenge was a fun event for all the contestants. Parents and members helped with the trail challenge, repair the bridge so that the event could go on without a hitch. Thank you all. After the trail challenge came our last contesting show for the buckles. The classes

came down to a close finish, just two to three points between the first and second contestants. For future events, if you want to compete for a buckle you better plan ahead and attend all shows. With that being said here are your placings:

19 AND OVER OPEN CLASS: 1. Chantelle Looney; 2. Sara Hall; 3. Tonya Cooperider; 4. Jane Serosi; 5. Sydney Gallagher 14-18 OPEN CLASS: 1. Madi Rule; 2. Anna Maglott; 3. Kristin Constance; 4. Rebecca Hinkle; 5. Taya Shultz 13 AND UNDER: 1. Raylyn Roberts; 2. Madison Roberts; 3. Brealynn Gardner; 4. Emery Scott; 5. Jessica Hall

19 AND OVER WALK/TROT CLASS: 1. Claude Robertson; 2. Debbie Cole; 3. Pam Niner; 4. Miranda Harris; 5.

Lisa Lyons

14 AND UNDER WALK/TROT CLASS: 1. Noah Cochran; 2nd Raylyn Roberts; 3. Brealynn Gardner; 4. Madison Roberts; 5. Matti Wolford

Congratulations to all the contestants for a great year! Hopefully you all will continue to show up for next season.

As of this writing we still have a Halloween Show. Scheduled for Oct. 29 this show had costumes and walk/trot classes.

We have meetings the second Monday of each month. November we will be voting on officers and trustees. Thank you officers and trustees for a successful year.

PRESIDENT, Donny Cline

VICE PRESIDENTS, Travis Ross and John Weekley

TREASURER, Pam Niner

Debbie Cole

dcline458@gmail.com

Knox County Horse Park Inc

How to Keep your Pasture Nice

by Laura Stern DVM, DABVT ASPCA® Animal Poison Control Center

Pastures are more than a pretty place for horses to play. They are a source of nutrition and enrichment. Here are some tips for making them safe and beneficial for your horse.

Regularly Walk Your Pasture

• Inspect your pasture regularly for any dangerous situations for your horse. Are there animals living in your pasture (such as groundhogs) that might make footing unsafe? Are there holes that need to be filled in? Is there fencing or wires in need of repair that could post a risk of injury or allow horses to get out of the pasture? Are there areas of deep mud that need to be avoided to prevent injury?

• Regularly inspect pastures for the presence of toxic weeds, trees, or shrubs.

• Horses are more likely to eat toxic plants during times of drought, in the early spring, when pastures are overgrazed, if herbicides have recently been used, if they are thin or in poor condition, if clippings have been thrown over the fence, or if a recent storm has blown down tree limbs. If any of these conditions are present, be extra vigilant about detecting and eliminating toxic plants.

• Keep weeds down in the pasture by using good pasture management and grazing practices. When found, eliminate toxic weeds by manually removing them or by using herbicides (see below for tips on using herbicides safely). Even weeds that don’t pose a risk of poison are lower in nutritional value and can prevent your horse from getting adequate nutrition. Consider renovating the pasture if it is overgrown or there are a large number of weeds.

Using Herbicides Safely on our Pastures

• Herbicides are not a sole method of weed control but can be a very valuable tool in your arsenal against weeds.

• Herbicides should be used according to labeled directions, should be labeled for use in horse pastures, any withdrawal times should be noted, and horses should be kept off the pasture until it is safe to return

• Be aware that herbicides may make some plants more palatable as they wilt. Horses may eat plants that they normally leave alone. Be sure that there aren’t any poisonous plants in the pasture prior to spraying with an herbicide. You may need to keep horses off the pasture for 7-10 days if there are poisonous plants.

Applying sound pasture management techniques results in productive, high-quality pastures. Grass is a horse’s natural food source and good pasture management goes a long way to keeping your horse happy and healthy.

Even with good pasture management, accidents can happen. The ASPCA® Pet Health Insurance program for horses, the first standalone insurance coverage for the health of your horse, can help with veterinary costs related to accidents*. To learn more about plan details go to www.ProtectYourHorse.com.

*Pre-existing conditions are not covered. Waiting periods, annual deductible, coinsurance, benefit limits and exclusions may apply. For all terms and conditions visit https://www.aspcapetinsurance.com/more-info/sample-plans-for-horses/. Products, schedules, discounts, and rates may vary and are subject to change. More information available at checkout. Product not available in all states.

The ASPCA® is not an insurer and is not engaged in the business of insurance. Products are underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company (NAIC #21113. Morristown, NJ), produced and administered by C&F Insurance Agency, Inc. (NPN #3974227), a Crum & Forster company. Through a licensing agreement, the ASPCA receives a royalty fee that is in exchange for use of the ASPCA’s marks and is not a charitable contribution. C&F and Crum & Forster are registered trademarks of United States Fire Insurance Company.

Performances and Personal Growth Closed Out Summer Series

Scheffler; 3. Becky Jarvis

GREEN HORSE: 1. Shae Marshall

NON-PRO: 1. Jen Peterman; 2. Katie Finley

YOUTH: 1. Jordan Scheffler; 2. Kelcee Gauder

RIDE SMART: 1. Becky Jarvis

PRO: 1. Kayla Schlabach [A]; 2. Kayla Schlabach [B]

high point champion buckles to each of our division winners, and will have some fun raffles throughout the evening. Visit our Facebook page for more details,

and contact an officer to make your reservations for the evening. Thank you to all of our racers, volunteers, and sponsors for another successful race season!

The O.H.I.O. EXCA hosted The Summer Round-Up Race, our final race of the season on Sept. 17 at S bar L Arena in Sugarcreek. It was a beautiful day for a race! All our contestants put forth their best efforts and continued their personal growth, closing out the summer series with our best performances yet. This race presented us with a fun variety of obstacles, from horseback soccer to barrel drags to steer roping. Judges Jimmy McDonald and Phillip Mullet shared their knowledge and gave all the racers valued feedback to help improve their horsemanship. Congratulations go out to our top placers in each division:

YOUNG GUNS: 1. Sunny Baker; 2. Hazel Miller

NOVICE: 1. Katie Finley; 2. Bethany

The Summer Round-Up Race was proudly presented by ShaeMar Snaps and Customs and Tickled Pink Ink; both of these fabulous businesses have been amazing supporters of our club, and we cannot thank them enough! Check out ShaeMar Snaps and Customs for your photography and graphic design needs. Tickled Pink Ink is your one-stop shop for all things custom made (they even have our EXCA logo on hand so you can get a personalized EXCA jacket!). Check out our Facebook page or go directly to ShaeMar’s website to see the beautiful photographs Shae took of the event.

We will be celebrating our successful season this year with our year-end banquet on Nov. 12 at the Carlisle Inn in Sugarcreek, catered by Der Dutchman restaurant. We will present our

Ohio Paint Horse Club General Membership Meeting Held Early November

Saturday, Nov. 12. The Board meeting is at 10 a.m., Amateur meeting 10 a.m., a lunch will be provided at noon by OPHC, with the GM meeting at 1 p.m. The Youth meeting will follow the GM meeting.

by Hannah Dunn

Hello, Corral readers! The Ohio Paint Horse Club (OPHC) wishes you well as we approach

holiday season. We will be having our general membership meeting this month at Champions Center, Springfield, Ohio, on

At the time of writing this article, we haven’t gotten to showing at the Fall Color Classic yet.

Lastly, the OPHC would like to extend our condolences to Roxann Rohrl for the loss of her husband, Joe. Joe and Roxann have been long-time supporters of Paint Horses and the OPHC. Thank you both for your passion and dedication to our club.

PRESIDENT, Jimmy McDonald TREASURER, Elisa Holmes SECRETARY, Taylor Long WEBSITE, ohioexca.weebly.com

PRESIDENT, Tim Snapp VICE PRESIDENT, Luke Wadsworth TREASURER, Jill Krofft Davis SECRETARY, Heather Collins WEBSITE, www.ophc.org

Lake Erie Mounted Vaqueros

A Whole Lot of Thanks at our Last Event of 2022

by Karen (Chilipepper) Davis

We held our last event of the 2022 season on Sept. 1718. It was a small event with 20 riders and two wranglers on Saturday and 20 riders and one wrangler on Sunday. After the shoot on Saturday, about 6 p.m., we got together, had popcorn and watched the movie ‘Comancheros’ starring John Wayne. It was a really good movie!

Now we are getting ready to plan our awards banquet that we will have sometime in January 2023. The date and time will be announced later!

I would like to thank everyone who came out ‘Runnin and Gunnin’ with the Lake Erie Mounted Vaqueros this season

to make it successful and fun for everyone. I would also like to thank our balloon setters who ran hard for us Joe, Bekah, Cooper and Shelby. They did a fantastic job and kept everyone moving. And to everyone who helped set up, set up stages and helped tear down at the end thank you!

It was good to see riders we have not seen for quite a while to come shoot with us, Tony Ruper. Congratulations to Emily Hric for her second qualified win and to Amanda Katz for her move up to a Ladies 2! A special thank you goes out to Gages Concession for all the food they had at our events. Great tasting food as always!

SATURDAY WINNERS

OVERALL CHAMPION: Ron Kiko

OVERALL COWBOY: Sylvio Pellegrino

OVERALL COWGIRL: Amanda Katz

OVERALL SR. COWBOY: Ron Kiko

OVERALL SR. COWGIRL: Sue Wolski

OVERALL RESERVE: Sylvio Pellegrino

RESERVE COWBOY: Mike Sheets

RESERVE COWGIRL: Emily Hric

RESERVE SR. COWBOY: Greg Durnell

RESERVE SR. COWGIRL: Colleen Kelly

L1 Amanda Katz; L4 Mary Chambers; M1 Sylvio Pellegrino; M2 Mike Sheets; M3 David Spackman; M4 R. David Davis; SL1 Terri Robb; SL3 Diane Schmidt; SL4 Sue Wolski; SL5 Colleen Kelly; SM2 Brian Hric; SM3 Greg Durnell; SM6 Ron Kiko. WRANGLERS: Lily Farnsworth and Arden Sloan.

SUNDAY WINNERS

OVERALL CHAMPION: Ron Kiko

OVERALL COWBOY: James Chambers

OVERALL COWGIRL: Carla Spackman OVERALL SR. COWBOY: Ron Kiko OVERALL SR. COWGIRL: Sue Wolski OVERALL RESERVE: James Chambers RESERVE COWBOY: Sylvio Pelegrino RESERVE COWGIRL: Amanda Katz RESERVE SR. COWBOY: Tony Ruper RESERVE SR. COWGIRL: Colleen Kelly L1 Emily Hric; L2 Amanda Katz; L6 Carla Spackman; M1 Sylvio Pellegrino; M2 Mike Sheets; M4 R David Davis; M5 James Chambers; M6 George Hampe; SL3 Diane Schmidt; SL4 Sue Wolski; SL5 Colleen Kelly; SM2 Brian Hric; SM3 Dwayne Joyner; SM6 Ron Kiko.

WRANGLER: Lily Farnsworth.

Again, congratulations to all of our winners! I hope to see everyone and more next season. We will post our schedule as soon as the dates are approved by the fairboard and CMSA.

I would like to thank Mike and Jessica Sheets for hosting our September meeting.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Big Dee’s Vet and Tack Supply where you can get all your pet supplies and everything they need; CMSA; Lonesome Pine Ammo; Uncle Jimmy’s Brand Products for all your pet treats; The Corral; Stagecoach West; Park Side Trailer Sales and Services, Inc., new or used horse trailers or parts or service on the one you have; Siracki Realty, if you are looking for a new house, apartment or need a place to rent); Altmeyer’s Trailers Sales in Jefferson, Ohio, for new or used horse trailers, cargo trailers, car mate trailers, American Haulers; Rockin C Leather, Ben and Tammy Clark for all your leather needs and accessories (chaps, chinks, purses, spur straps, etc); Wendy Shaffer MMCP, Agile Equine Bodywork; Rocks Farm and Garden; Junction Buick, GMC in Chardon and Kiko Meats, Ron and Diane Kiko for great tasting roasts, burgers, steaks!

Mike Sheets

Ron Kiko

R David Davis

by Christine Weisgarber

Ihadthe opportunity to take roping lessons this year from Rick and Faydra Young at Circle Y Arena in Navarre, Ohio. It didn’t go unnoticed that many of the things they were telling me in the box were also true in the rest of my life. It’s funny how that happens. If you have ever had a lesson in roping, you might have heard these words too, “you need to reach” and “keep your eye on the target”. When the speed picked up in practice so did the degree of difficulty. Every movement became more important, and I found that mentally my focus would become poor because I was trying to think of every detail all at once.

What does roping have to do with running a business? I have had the opportunity to help many businesses start, gain traction, and grow. That process is very similar to getting yourself in position in the box, giving your nod to go, and roping your target. If you are a business owner you need to have a plan for success like a rider does in the box, you take that leap of faith that you’re ready to do the hard things to make your business work when you give that nod, and with your eyes fixed on the target or goal you have for your business you succeed and you make a catch.

In that moment when you are making your run, what the others have done or are doing does not matter. What matters is how you conduct yourself. If you focus on other things like your competitors’ price, you’ll miss your target. In fact, competing on price is the fastest way to fail. The better thing to do is plan your winning run by determining your target and the steps you need to take to get there. Set yourself up by knowing the steps you need to reach that goal. This can happen in the form of identifying your strengths and weaknesses in your business by doing what is called a SWOT analysis and breaking down your big goal into smaller goals or steps.

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. By doing this you can ‘practice’ different scenarios. You need to do this because when your business takes off like a calf from the chute things are going to happen that are out of your control and will be hard to stay focused. That is the nature of the sport and the nature of running a business. Being prepared to act by doing your planning (think practice) you will be able to make the necessary adjustments to still reach your target and be successful. Knowing the steps to get there is going to help you know you are doing things right.

Figure out what your target is for your business and make your run. “Remember to reach!” It is OK if you must adjust if you remember to reach for your goals. “Keep your eye on your target.” Focus on your target, after all it is your run and no one else’s, make the most of it! If you want help establishing and tracking your businesses goals I am here to help. I am always happy to talk on the phone, 330/474-9984 or send me an email Christine@brazenbusinessservices.com. Using accounting software like QuickBooks Online and a bookkeeper like myself will make your focus clearer and your target obtainable.

Christine Weisgarber has been around horses for more than half her life having experience with equine businesses and showing. She is a Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor, member and supporter of the Massillon Saddle Club, and a proud mom of three young children. Her children were the deciding factor in opening her home-based business, Brazen Business Services LLC. Brazen, or brave, is exactly what it takes to start and run a business. She helps business owners navigate business decisions by providing accurate, up to date financial information for a more profitable business without wasted time and stress. Her services are online based with great customer service for bookkeeping and income tax services. For more information visit www.brazenbusinessservices.com

Trail

Thank You for a Great Season and Fall Fun Show Fundraiser

by Amanda Fowler

What a fantastic turn-out for our Premier Mount N Trail (PMT) fundraiser. We had so many great costumes, lots of fun, loads of laughs and even better company! Thank you to all of the board members who came to help run the event and

donated raffle baskets and cakes for the cake walk. It was so nice to see our regulars and some new faces come and play. Thank you to everyone who joined us for the fun and relaxing day to finish up the season! Congratulations to all

Black Swamp Driving Club

who took home ribbons, cakes, gift cards, or park passes. Enjoy your winnings.

Also, a big thank you to Creekside Horse Park for the donation of your park for this event. We are grateful that you

never charge us for any of the PMT events, and for donating all of the meals, ribbons, as well as your donation of Creek Side Park passes as awards for this PMT event.

Black Swamp Driving Club’s Year Winding Down

PRESIDENT, Sharon Hayhurst VICE PRESIDENT, Angela Hohenbrink SEC. & TREAS., Susan Murray WEBSITE, www.blackswampdrivingclub.com

by Mary Thomas

Julie Emmons scheduled a beautiful fall day for the Parker Bridge drive Sept. 24. Matt Owen had mowed the area beside the historic structure, providing plenty of picnic space and parking. Dale and Molly Owen brought a fire ring to keep their chili and hot dogs tasty and hot. More than two dozen members

brought a myriad of dishes for the noon potluck held just below the bridge. Spanning the Sandusky River, it was built in 1873, is 182 feet long, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located north of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, and has been well maintained. During the meal members had a chance to catch up before setting out on the five mile route on quiet country roads.

Rebecca Rich and Mary Thomas enjoyed the National Drive Oct. 4-9 at the Hoosier Horse Park, Edinburg, Ind. Four well marked trails led turnouts to various parts of the park, including the combined driving obstacles left intact from the Indiana CDE Sept. 16-18. So many activities are scheduled that it takes careful planning to try them all. Always popular are the free seminars, the driving derby, the mimosa drive, the swap meet, parties, etc.

Three clinicians were on hand to provide lessons.

Angie Hohenbrink missed the National Drive since she was on the Carriage Assoc. of America’s trip to the Netherlands and Germany. Planned stops included notable carriage collections and top level driving competitions.

The annual year-end banquet is Nov. 12 at the Good Hope Lutheran Church, Arlington, Ohio. The fun starts at 5 p.m. with bingo complete with prizes. Sharon Hayhurst is supplying a ham for the potluck. Ron

Hayhurst is giving out free tickets for door prizes while a silent auction is ongoing throughout

the evening. Wrap up a great unwanted ‘white elephant gift’ for an unusual gift exchange.

PRESIDENT, Cynthia Bauman

PRESIDENT, Amanda Fowler

Heidi Daugherty

Stephanie Tarr

JUDGE, Kelly Chapman

premiermountntrail@gmail.com

www.premiermountntrail.com

Julie Emmons and her Percheron framed by the historic Parker Bridge. Photo by Bobbe Polvony.

by Rob and Tanya Corzatt

TandI constantly joke that we are unable to make any plans because as soon as we do, something happens, and we have to change those plans. We rarely get to act but are getting very good at reacting. Because of our work-week schedule, weekends are really the only time we have to get ahead of things or make some progress on long overdue projects around the house and barn. October marked the two-year anniversary of when we officially ‘moved in’ to our barn home. We have gotten a lot done in our living space and are very comfortable. However, we still have not constructed the shower in our master bathroom, still need to finish a lot of trim work and hang doors on closets throughout the house and still don’t have a finished ceiling in our tack room. I can point to many weekends throughout

Plan B

the past two years where we had every intention of trying to knock out some of those projects. Something always seemed to happen to derail us.

One of the major side tasks was dropping the construction on our own living space in order to build an apartment for the kids up in our barn loft. That consumed hours and hours of time as well as a lot of the money earmarked for our own improvements. However, we were blessed to be able to do it in order to provide our kids with a place to stay. We ultimately got far enough along with that work that we could switch back to our own projects. We had stone scattered across our entire living room back in early April that was going to go up on the surround we built for our wood stove. Didn’t happen.

Long story short, the cement board we purchased and hung would not provide a good stick for the mortar. After a few hours

of trying many consistencies of mortar, we gave up, packed it all up and the stone has been sitting in our garage ever since. You all know how hard it is to get ahead during the warmer months because if you are like us, most of your spare time is spent just keeping up with general maintenance of the barn and pastures.

I have often remarked that I struggle to come up with a topic for an article until it gets down to the wire to meet our submittal date. I joke that I am waiting on divine inspiration for my articles. Ironically, the inspiration for this article came when we were trying to get the horses fed on a Sunday morning in time for us to go to our church’s 9 a.m. service. For us, that means a 5:30 wake up to go out to feed, get cleaned up, eat some breakfast, drive 25 minutes to the church and hope we get there in time for the last couple songs the choir sings. Because of Covid and our busy schedule, we did not attend service for quite a while. We would rely on live stream or a replay of the podcast to watch the weekly service. But nothing can substitute for actually being present at our church for service. It is an uplifting experience to hear our Pastor’s message and then get to visit with friends we might not actually get to see other than at church.

So one weekend in early October, we planned to go the Quarter Horse Congress and then go down to visit my parents for the afternoon on Saturday and then we were going to go over and help some friends build stalls in their new barn after service on Sunday. Day one went according to our plan. Day two not so much. T and I have a routine we each follow every morning when we feed. It is a process of divide and conquer. I was getting the grain set in the stalls, while she was leading some of the horses into their stalls. She stopped and said “I can hear the fence ‘ticking’”. If you have any electric rope fence, you know ticking is not a sound you want to hear. You hope it is just a broken filament on one of the strands that is arcing across the gap and is easily fixable with some electric tape. What we saw

were the bottom two strands of wire along one section of the fencing that were laying on the ground and sparking. We also saw several horses standing a respectful distance from the downed strands and acting like they had nothing to do with it. We did a quick calf count and they all appeared to be accounted for as well. Fortunately, the strands were along an interior stretch of the fence and not along the property line. Regardless, it had to be fixed. But we had to wait until we could see better to do so. Consequently, our plans for attending service were scrapped so we could fix the fence as soon as it was light enough outside to do so. It wasn’t a difficult fix, but it still took time to do so.

I could go on and on with many more examples of things happening to make us scrap our original plans and move on to Plan B. As aggravating as it can be, I also want to make sure everyone knows that the events we had to react to could have been so much worse than what they seemed to be to us at the time. In fact, most all of our Plan B reactions were just inconvenient, not life changing. Many other close friends and family right now are dealing with their own Plan B and it may be due to a devastating or tragic event in their life. Hurricane Ian destroyed both friends and family’s homes in the Fort Myers area. Fortunately, our family members were able to evacuate before the storm made landfall and our friends were here at home in Ohio at the time. However, nobody’s Plan A involves cleaning up after six feet of storm surge and rain floods their property.

When asked what my

Tanya and Rob Corzatt

Association

Fall Round Up Results, 2023 Show Season Discussion

always, OWHA would like to sanction more shows, especially pleasure shows. If interested please reach out to OWHA for details. End of the year banquet plans were finalized. The annual awards banquet is set for Nov. 19 at the Moose in Kenton, Ohio. Details are posted on our website and Facebook page. Please come and enjoy food and fellowship.

Hello Corral readers! And just like that November is here and the holiday season is fast approaching! Before all the festivities begin take time to look back on this year and remember all the things we are grateful and most thankful for. We as horsemen and horsewomen get to experience all the joys of loving, caring and paying for our equines. Also, remember to give thanks to all the family and friends that support you in all your ‘horsing around’ adventures!

Ohio Western Horse Association (OWHA) held the October meeting on Oct. 6 at AM VETS in Kenton, Ohio. The officers in attendance discussed details of our annual Fall Round Up. The weather was cooler than normal and wet for the Sunday show but we still had a good turnout for our annual show. Also, the club started discussing the 2023 show season. As

Plan B (continued)

plans might be, I typically try to respond, “Lord willing, I plan to……..” I do that because of the passages in James 4:13-15 (New King James Version): “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’, yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that’”. Some might say what’s the point of making a plan if you can’t stick with it? We still need to make plans, but just need to be able to move on to Plan B if the original plan doesn’t work out. We have learned to roll with it. We often laugh about it. We totally believe our plans change because they weren’t what God had in mind for us at that time anyway.

There is one plan you can make

Many youth look forward to the Annual Fall Round Up for our Youth team tournament. The team consists of three youth/ horse or pony members. The teams compete in pleasure and speed events. Many of these youth step out of their comfort zones and compete in events they may not normally ride in just to try to earn points and have fun. This year OWHA had 11 teams. The team placings are as follows.

1. Maddie Gossard, Michaela Haundenschield, Easton Haundenschield; 2. Ava Gosnell, Shelby Spradlin, Kenzie Spradlin; 3. Shelby Spradlin, Lauren Wills, Kaylee Schlechty; 4. Laney Ledley, Michaela Haundenschield, Laney Ledley; 5. Bella Conyers, Kylee Stevers, Bella Conyers; 6. Maddie Duvall, Jacob Duvall, Kolten Scott; 7. Cole Mason, Taylor Schoen, Cole Mason; 8. Maddie Gossard, Taylor Arthur, Renee Sweigert; 9. Kayler Shaw, Garett Shaw, Kiley Rudasil; 10. Addie Stevens, Jessa Green, Daylin Robison; 11. Harley Mertz, Zara Spees, Harley Mertz.

In addition to our team

tournament winners, the following is the High Point Pleasure and Contesting winners.

LEAD-IN PLEASURE: Easton Haundenschield

8 & UNDER: Michaela Haundenschield

9-13 PONY PLEASURE: Laney Ledley

9-13 HORSE PLEASURE: Ava Gosnell

14-18 PLEASURE HORSE: Shelby Spradlin

LEAD-IN CONTESTING: Bella Conyers

8 & UNDER CONTESTING: Michaela Haundenschield

9-13 CONTESTING: Maddie Duvall 14-18 CONTESTING: Kylee Stevers

OWHA would like to say thank you to all those who came out and supported the Annual Fall Round Up! We would like to

recognize Carrie Haundenschield and Weston for your wonderful tasting food booth and MGF Tack for all our tack needs. A special thank you to Peg and Ken Siemer. Ken is one of the best ring stewards in the business and is always a pleasure to work with! Thank you to all that helped in any way with the Fall Round Up and other shows this season. It’s the dedicated and helpful people of this association that makes it such a fun and family oriented association to be a part of. OWHA is grateful and thankful for all its members and supporters.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

that is 100 percent guaranteed to never deviate from the original plan. You can plan for your eternal salvation by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior of your lives. It’s a promise. In this case, Plan B is definitely not something you or your loved ones want to fall back on. God bless you all, now go ride your horses before it gets too cold again!

The Corzatt family owns and operates the Cowboy Perseverance Ranch (CPR) in Marengo, Ohio.

CPR is a faith based operation and our mission is to build a strong foundation and relationship with our training horses and students.

We are blessed to be able to provide western horsemanship lessons infused with biblical scripture to students of all ages.

One student has described her time here as “CPR for the soul!”

Visit our website at www.cpranch. wixsite.com/home or follow us on Facebook.

PRESIDENT, Marc Beck

VICE PRESIDENTS, Loretta Rudasill, Renee Liedel

SECRETARY, Jonda Cole TREASURER, Eric Haudenschield WEBSITE, www.owha.org

by Kelley Bitter

It’sgetting to be that time of the year. WDAA worlds are over and congrats to all those who participated. Shows are winding down as the leaves are turning reminding us that another season is coming. That’s right, it’s post-training season. Now is the time that I review all the test remarks and make lists of what each horse and rider need to work on now. One comment that I have seen come up several times is the horse is dropping a shoulder. This is a very common occurrence so I thought to kick off a post-season training session, I would talk about what a dropped shoulder is and how to fix it.

What does it mean when someone tells you that your horse drops his shoulder. Picture yourself standing feet shoulder width apart. Notice that your shoulders are in line with your hips and your feet. Now drop

Dropped Shoulder

your left shoulder down. What happened? First you notice that your shoulders are not straight, your head tilts a little to the left, you are no longer in line with your left hip or your left foot. In fact, your weight shifts to the left. Feel that? That’s also what happens to the horse.

Imagine your hips and feet are the horse’s leg and hoof. The horses shoulder moves off the leg and the weight shifts to the dropped shoulder. They become unbalanced. The horse’s weight is not over the leg anymore and this can throw off your bend and circle. You can usually feel your horse lean to the inside as well. You may also feel the hind end move out of the bend if the horse is really off balance. You may get remarks on your test reading “dropped shoulder, off balance in the circle”, or even, “watch geometry.”

What I see a lot of riders do when their horse drops the

shoulder is pull up the inside rein and use the leg to try and bring up the shoulder. When that does not work, they get frustrated. One thing I always ask the rider is how does the horse move off your leg in any situation. The answer is usually the horse speeds up. That tells me the horse does not understand the aids well. Pulling on the inside rein just lets the horse bend its head into the dropped shoulder and can become even more off balanced. Think about this, if the horse does not know what is being asked, how can they respond? If the horse was taught leg pressure means go faster they go faster when leg is applied. So here is where teaching the horse aids first comes in handy. You as the rider need to be able to move the horse’s hind end each way, the front end each way, bend the head both ways, move forward and back easily off your legs and rein. If you can get the horse to move laterally in both directions, you’re even further ahead with your horse. Being able to move each body part of the horse will aid in correcting most problems including a dropped shoulder. How I work horses with a dropped shoulder is to first put them in to a small circle. The circle must be enough for the horse to move freely but not too big where the horse can get away from you. The horse’s head should be bent slightly into the circle. I put my inside leg near the cinch and keep pressure there. Some horses may naturally want to move faster, if so keep the circle small and keep the leg pressure. The horse will figure out that moving slower is easier. The horse may also lean into your leg. However, if the circle is small enough, there is nowhere for the horse to lean in, so the shoulder comes back up. As I apply pressure my goal is to get the horse to step forward but also out to make a bigger circle. When moving out into a bigger circle,

the horse must lift the inside shoulder. As the horse moves out and forward, I will remove my leg pressure with each step that is correct. Remember the basic concept that horses learn from release of pressure.

If you start with a small circle and work to a bigger circle and the horse drops the shoulder again, go back to the small circle and start over. This can take several small circles over several days. That is normal. It is important here to be consistent with what aids you use. The horse will come to understand the aids and soon will not drop the shoulder. Practicing the basics in post season will get you further ahead for next year’s shows. Keep up the good work and the shoulder.

Until next time, enjoy the ride!

Kelley Bitter is the owner of Buckeye Performance Horse Center and The Winning Edge Mental Performance Coaching in Newbury Ohio. A secondgeneration horsewoman. Kelley began riding and showing at 4 years old. In her teens, she started riding Arabians in various discipline and won several Regional and USEF titles over the last 50 years. Kelley started riding Western Dressage in 2016. In 2018 Kelley attended the WDAA Train the Trainer program. She has won several titles including placing two of her Arabians in the WDAA World show in 2020 top 15. At the WDAA International Challenge 2021 she placed with her Quarter Horse, Arabians and her student received top ten in the Gaited Division. Kelley currently runs The Western Dressage Academy. Kelley also holds certifications as a Mental Performance Coach, Equine Massage Therapy, Equine Laser Therapy and Equine Nutrition. Kelley has also completed the WDAA Judges training and is currently working on her “r” status.

Ohio Horseman’s Council, Inc.

Member of American Horse Council ohconline.com

SECRETARY Ranee Vititoe 740/505-2713 secretary@ohconline.com

TREASURER Jo Ellen Reikowski 330/806-3146 treasurer@ohconline.com

Greetings From Your President

Catherine and I attended the annual ‘Founders Day’ celebration at Caesar Creek State Park last weekend, hosted by the Warren County chapter. We celebrated the 50th anniversary of OHC. The event was well

County Lines

attended. We highlighted the growth in OHC from a small group that asked to ride their horses on public land to the current statewide organization.

The winter meeting this year will be on Jan. 15, 2023 at Salt

PRESIDENT Eric Estill 513/266-9823 president@ohconline.com

MEMBERSHIP Catherine Estill 513/319-2517 membership@ohconline.com

VICE PRESIDENT Nancy Strayer 740/694-1007 vicepresident@ohconline.com

OHC COUNTY LINES EDITOR Martie Ackerman 713/553-9644 countylineeditor@ohconline.com

Fork State Park. I hope that many of you will be able to join us. We will host a day of informative seminars. The winter meeting is a great opportunity to meet other OHC members from across the state.

The OHC membership renewal drive for 2023 began Oct. 1. Members may join or renew online at ohconline.com or submit a paper membership form to their chapter treasurer.

~Eric Estill, President

ASHTABULA

Happy Day! Sunshine and 65 degrees in northeastern Ohio. We were considering an ark last week at this time, I don’t believe I have seen that much rain in 24 hours in my life. It has pretty much dissipated because we were so dry. Enjoy the lovely fall days and get out and ride while you can. We will be seeing that white stuff piling up before we know it.

It has been a pretty busy time for this club. We had two backto-back events, the worker bees were barely finished with the new ‘Picture Race’, and the Dice Ride was ready to roll. Both events went without problems, and as usual, everyone had a great time and a lot to eat. The winners were Kathryn Ring, Curt Meyers, and Sharon Potter. Their time was 1 hour and 33 minutes. Second place was right behind them at 1 hour and 38 minutes. The weather was a significant factor in low attendance for both events.There was some water and chilly air, but thankfully nobody fell in the water or froze to death. We can get all prepared but have no control over the weather. We will try and get organized earlier so we have our flyers out early and can make some of the other county events.

We nominated officers at our last meeting; President Sylvio Pellegrino, Vice President Kathryn Ring, Secretary Christy Burdick, and Treasurer Mallissa Vincent. We will vote in November. No meeting in December.

When you read this, we will have had our Christmas party,

which is always a lot of fun and laughs. Always a great game of ‘Dirty Santa’.

‘Til next time, give thanks for all the good things and give your horse a hug.

~Pearl Ann

CARROLL

Carroll County OHC recently held our annual joint fall ride with Jefferson County OHC at the beautiful Jefferson Lake State Park. It was a rainy weekend, but we found time to ride between rainstorms. We had our first horseback poker run and were impressed with how readily our horses walked right up to the buckets hanging in trees. Next year we’ll have to put treats in there for the horses!

Our next meeting will be Nov. 6 with a time and location to be determined. Keep an eye on our Facebook page (www.facebook. com/CarrollCountyOHC) or call/text CCOHC President Ron Wilson II at 330/238-0753 for more information. If no answer, leave a message and he’ll call you back when he’s able.

Also, as long as we can get enough participants, CCOHC will be starting a youth horsemanship program in the spring of next year!

This would be a program for all experience levels of youth, ages approximately 8-18. We would focus on learning, practicing, and refining horsemanship skills, such as general safety with horses, ground manners, basic ground work, trailer loading, troubleshooting common

behavioral concerns, and understanding equine psychology. It would be free to any primary or secondary member of the Carroll County OHC. Primary memberships are $10 for a youth or $35 for a family. Secondary memberships (for those who are members of a different county chapter of the OHC) are $3 for an individual or $5 for a family. We would meet one to two times per month from spring through fall in the Augusta, Ohio area. We hope to also have a fun show and a group trail ride once per year for our youth. Text Kristin Davies at 330/323-1705 if you have a child who may be interested.

CLARK

The weather could not be better for getting out on the trails. It seems that all organized chapter rides have been very well attended with lots of fun activities. Warren County hosted Founders Day at Caesars Creek State Park and I stopped by to

Driving a cart.

Trail maintenance crew.

ride with Becky and John Porter. They had live music both nights and I visited again to hear the Hip Shakin’ Daddy’s on Saturday night. It was certainly fun trying new things and what a clever way to celebrate the 50th anniversary. I hope everyone got their bingo cards turned in by Nov. 1. My trail miles are down this year but my arena riding hours are up and I am spending more time with all of my horses. I have four horses of different breeds but was able to ride a standardbred which is a new breed for me. My bucket list has always contained riding a mule which I was also fortunate to try this year. Miss Daisy was very patient with me trying to trot her around. Driving a cart was not on my bucket list, but I am so happy that I had the

Ron Wilson II and Cherokee during the poker run.

opportunity. Of course, it was just a couple of times around an arena but what a fun hobby! I am not looking for a new hobby, I do not have a horse for that, no need to invest more money in other equipment for another hobby…or is there? My hat is off to all who drive and I hope you all enjoyed new adventures this year also.

Clark County prepared for our fall campout with a trail maintenance day in September. We would like to thank Brenda and Max Anderson, Anne Hunter, Becky Porter, Chris Price and Scott Gannon for their time on a beautiful Saturday. As we were finishing two 4-H groups from Greene County with about 25 riders were having their annual trail ride. We are happy they chose Buck Creek for their ride and glad the trails were ready for them.

Our holiday party will be on Dec. 4 at The Plattsburg UCC, 1715 S. Urbana Lisbon Road, S. Charleston at 5:30 p.m. Please bring a dish to share. Hope to see you there!

Come ride with Clark County! ~Jonna

CUYAHOGA

In the upcoming months there will be much to fill our minds and time. Parties, celebrations, friends and family gathering, baking and shopping for gifts. Be sure to include time to calculate your trail miles, trail work hours, and send in your membership renewal early. If you are not sure how to do any of these tasks contact one of your chapter officers or go online to www.ohconline.com where you will find information and instructions on most any question you may have. New members are always welcome!

The last gathering Cuyahoga Chapter has for 2022 is Nov. 28, 6 p.m. at the beautiful Look About Lodge in the South Chagrin Reservation of Cleveland Metroparks. We celebrate the success of the year with food, friendship and fun. Reservations are a must as the lodge has an attendance limit and we need to know how much food to buy. Add your RSVP to the above list as you don’t want to miss the fun. Send to mdessoffy@ sbccglobal.net. We hope to see you there. Primary, secondary/ dual members are encouraged to attend and we also hope to see members from other chapters. Your entrance fee is a box of

your favorite wrapped snacks, candy, cookies or crackers for our park appreciation gift boxes. This replaces the homemade cookies we did in the past as they last longer and are good for grab and go snacks.

Winter hints. Flexible hoses are great to fill water buckets, drain, toss in a container and bring in the house so they don’t freeze. Lightweight sturdy and they shrink down to almost nothing. Sets of heavy, clear vinyl strip curtains like they have on docks or freezer sections of stores can be put across stall doors so horses can go in and out at will but the snow and cold wind does not enter the barn. They keep stalls dry and cozy. Strap on cleats for our boots (not the round rolls but stud type) make walking on ice much safer for us as we head out. Stock up on hay, grain, bedding and bring in items that may freeze. Start getting ready so you can truly enjoy the beauty of winter. Can it be that time already? Go ride!

~Penny

DELAWARE

Wow! It is hard to believe that we are almost to the end of the year! Fall seems to go by much too quickly especially when you have been waiting all year for some of the most ideal riding weather.

Speaking of fall, our chapter’s annual fundraiser, ‘Autumn at Alum’ took place the second

weekend of September. Due to the forecast of rain over the weekend, we elected to condense all our festivities to Friday evening. Members and guests enjoyed a plentiful potluck, dessert buffet, live auction, and Chinese auction. Without the contributions and help from member volunteers and guests, this event would not have been possible. A big thank you to our auctioneer extraordinaire, Bob Sweeney, and his daughter, Kathy Sweeney-Kerr, for conducting a lively and successful auction. The monies generated from our event are used for bridle trail maintenance/improvements at Alum Creek State Park. In fact, one of the first projects to be accomplished using some of the proceeds was the complete refurbishment and re-decking of Selena’s platform on Winterhawk East. Mark your calendars to join us for next year’s event!

Our trail maintenance volunteers have been hard at work, meeting every Tuesday morning, weather permitting, to repair and/or improve various sections along our Alum Creek bridle trails, such as Selena’s platform. In addition, we look forward to having The Flats (the farthest extent to Maple Glen trail between Dunham and Big Run Roads, south of SR 36/37) cleared by the park maintenance department who can use their larger park tractor and 8 foot bush hog. Other areas that saw attention recently include Soggy Bottom along Winterhawk East and the mud grids on Winterhawk West.

Our horseback riding visitors are reminded to wear bright colors while riding as fall and winter hunting season has begun. The Flats is a popular location for archers. Winterhawk East is open to hunting during season. Winterhawk West is trapping only. No hunting on Sundays except for waterfowl. To download a copy of the official hunting map for Alum Creek State Park, go to https:// ohiodnr.gov.

As I write this article, our October chapter meeting has not occurred yet. Members Dan

and Sherry Chambers will have been our guest speakers for the evening to share their experiences from their vacation at a working cattle ranch in Montana. I look forward to sharing highlights of their presentation in next month’s column.

Our chapter officer election is slated for Friday, Nov. 4. We welcome and encourage nominations for any of the four officer positions. Serving as a ‘co-officer’ is always an option. Our chapter will not continue to grow and thrive without the willing contribution and dedication of its officers and members. Won’t you consider volunteering some of your time to help support the club?

In closing, I paraphrase one of the early State OHC presidents, Tony Conner, “…Think of all the accomplishments the OHC has made. None of those things would have been done without the hard work, dedication, and perseverance of a lot of horsemen.”

~Theresa Burke

ERIE

Greetings from Erie County! Happy fall, when the riding gets better with no bugs and beautiful scenery is splashed with color! This year we hosted our annual poker ride in combination with our NW Regional Showcase Ride. Great weather and two nights of camping at Edison Woods made for a perfect weekend! We had 115 riders register for the poker ride. Music could be heard throughout the day as our MC, Dan Novoleski played everyone’s favorites and made announcements. Lunch, raffles and an auction were enjoyed throughout the afternoon. ECOHC offered T-shirts this year with new colors and design. I think we have a few left. This year’s top hands went to: Youth Lily Rusko, Female Mary Ann Schuh and Male Larry Williams. Congratulations to this year’s winners. Saturday night dinner was followed by an ice cream social. Since it was actually Richard Hayes’ birthday, I figured we might as well have cake with the ice cream. Happy birthday Hayes and OHC! Sunday morning even started off great. With a little help from members Eric and Cheryl, and a donation from Coles Energy. We were greeted with boxes of hot coffee, all the fixins, and

Autumn at Alum 2022

Finished Selena’s Platform.

Working on Selena’s platform.

boxes of fresh donuts! We also enjoyed fruit cups. This not only happened at Smokey Road but also up on Mason Road! How cool is that? It was a successful and fun weekend. It was fun seeing old friends and making new ones! Some had never been to Edison Woods and they said they really enjoyed our trails and will be back. This was a big event with a lot of planning and hard work. However, our club did a great job and we had fun to boot! Harvest Days happened again this year at Osbourne Park in the Erie Metro Parks. Our club provided the petting zoo for children and adults to enjoy. We truly love animals and always have such a diverse selection of farm animals to share.

Members have been seen riding at Van Buren, Beaver Creek, Hinckley, Mohican, Pleasant Hill and Benezette, Pa., to name a few. Lynn and Tim had a trip planned to Brown County in October. Can’t wait to hear how the riding

was. Definitely a beautiful time of year no matter where you ride! Life is better on the trail!

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy friends, family and your four-legged friends! We have a lot to be thankful for!

~Shelley

FULTON

Hello from NW Ohio! September and October were busy months for our chapter. Members attended events at Edison Woods, Mohican, Van Buren, Reed Road and Harry Hughes. We’ve been working on our November and December plans for indoor events as the colder weather makes riding a little more challenging, sometimes too challenging for the faint of heart.

Some of our members attended the Erie County poker run at Edison Woods and several of our members attended the state ride and chili cook-off at Mohican. They all reported back that they had a great time and enjoyed the trails and events. The NW region event at Van Buren was awesome again this year. FCOHC members Michelle and Cheryl were posted near the entrance as the welcoming committee so many of you saw them or met them. Their Halloween decorations were amazing! I heard that the riding was great and I got to experience the Saturday evening festivities. This was my first time at this event and it is on my list to go for the whole weekend next year. There were many activities for the kids including a movie on the outdoor big screen Saturday night. Cheryl’s horse Rebel wasn’t too sure about the movie; it was Hocus Pocus. It sure was great to see kids there!

Our Oaktoberfest weekend at Reed Road Ranglers was blessed with good weather, great trails and awesome food.

We welcomed members from Defiance, Cuyahoga, Hancock, Sandusky, Wood and Medina Counties to share in our taco bar dinner and dessert auction on Saturday. Sunday many of our attendees rode in the Oak Openings metropark and Maumee State Forest for the Harry Hughes Ride-A-Thon and then enjoyed a hobo dinner provided by HHYEC for all riders. It was great to see a good turnout for this event as it is their major fundraiser and they are still trying to procure the funding for the announcer stand/ office project.

As the weather gets colder and the hours of daylight shorter, camping is winding down. A few hardy soles planned a trip to Hueston Woods which was probably the last one for the year. Now we’ll move on to the off-season events such as the state meeting and celebration and other indoor activities. I know some of our members will continue to ride in spite of the colder temperatures. I tell myself every year that I too can ride in any weather like I used to. We’ll see how that goes this year.

And before you know it, our Christmas party on Dec. 3 and Cowboy Christmas Shopping, Tack Swap and Auction at WB Ranch in Swanton, Ohio, on Dec. 4 will be here. We’ve been working on plans for both and reservations for spaces at the tack swap are coming in. In addition to the tack sales, vendors and auction, there will be raffles and the auction items can be consigned the same day.

If you’d like to know what we’re up to in real time or want more information on our activities, check our website fcohc.com, Facebook group Fulton County OHC or Facebook page Fulton County Ohio Horseman’s Council. Come see us at our chapter meetings which are usually on the first Monday of the month at 7 p.m. and are currently

held in the banquet room at The Bunker Bar in Holland. Anyone and everyone is always welcome. We hope you are well and safe and look forward to seeing you on the trails or at the indoor activities!

~Kathy

GEAUGA

It has been a busy fall for our county chapter. The celebration of the 200th year at the Geauga Fair was a great success. The booth looked fantastic. It included educational information, history, pictures and an example of a horse camp. Beautiful sunflowers and cornstalks completed the booth features and were donated by Fugman Farm in Auburn Township, Ohio. Thank you for all those dedicated members who sacrificed their time and contributed their talents to making this booth one of the best. Who doesn’t like chocolate? Linda Golding organized a fantastic chocolate experience at Dutch Country restaurant. We were able to learn how chocolate is made and sample many delicious varieties. The presenter was the owner of Whitehouse Chocolates in Middlefield, Ohio, Ken Butler. It was a delicious event. Due to weather conditions our regional ride has been postponed. Look for information to come in our newsletter for a new date. October 30 was our costume ride at Holbrook Hollows.

Remember Nov. 8 will be our chapter voting meeting at Mangia Mangia. Hope to see you there!

“The unique connection between horse and rider opens up new directions for growth, change, and

Rebel watching Hocus Pocus on the outdoor movie screen.

Sandy and Becky at the HHYEC Ride-A-Thon.

Geauga Fair booth,2022.

Chocolate

recovery.”—Dr. Arthur Lavin, leading Cleveland pediatrician ~Cec

GREENE

Welcome to fall! It’s a wonderful change after the heat of summer. According to the weather guys we really weren’t as hot as some years, not many days over 90. But it sure seemed like it was hot. That’s Ohio for you. Most people I know prefer riding in the fall, less bugs, less humidity and the trails are usually drier. I hope everyone has been able to enjoy it. I haven’t ridden as much as I’d hoped but with any luck, that will change before this is printed.

We had a very good showing at the Delaware All Horse Parade. I don’t remember just how many people rode from our chapter, but it was quite a few. I have photos from the parade this month, thanks to Jeannie Nicol, and will have more as time goes on. For the winter, anyone riding at Caesar Ford should park in the main parking lot. The horse trailer lot is closed for the time being, as the park is using it for

staging while they construct the overnight horse camping facility. It will be well worth the wait. Please clean up any manure from main lot since it isn’t specifically for horses.

That’s it for this month. I hope everyone had a nice Halloween (I go big for Halloween!) and has a great Thanksgiving.

~Mickie

GUERNSEY

The love just never ends! Trail work that is. In the picture you see Dave holding the chain saw as he and Don spent a day cleaning up from the last storm that blew through Salt Fork.

No one has submitted any photos of recent rides they’ve been on, so I’m going to tell you about the ending of one era and the beginning of a new one.

The picture of the horse, with the white star, looking directly into the camera, is my beloved horse Ben Ben is a registered Paso Fino and he and I have close to 15,000 miles of riding the trails together. Ben was about 10 years old in the picture, he is now 25.

Last month I took Ben to Fallon Park to ride and to support the Coshocton OHC, in their annual fundraiser. We rode with some friends one day and after a sevenmile ride Ben was done! He was favoring his left front leg. I sent my friends on ahead while rested for about an hour, then we headed back to camp. Once at camp, several of us determined the foot and all the joints were not the problem. The problem appeared to be in the muscles above the knee. Right there, at Fallon Park, I officially retired Ben! I just couldn’t do that to him again. Funny thing is, when I loaded him on the trailer to go home, he was perfectly fine!

The picture of me on a horse between the rocks is at Garden

of the Gods in Illinois in 2018. Believe it or not, I’m riding my new horse: Dee Dee, a Tennessee Walker! Here’s how that happened. My sister Linda and I had planned a trip to Garden of the Gods in October. As I talked about our trip, it turned out that almost the entire Guernsey OHC club ended up going with us. A special thanks goes to Don McIntyre; he ended up doing most of the logistics for the trip. Garden of the Gods needs to be on your bucket list! There were close to 20 horses and riders that went with us. All you heard from those riders as we went down the trail was a whole lot of “wows”!

Just a couple of weeks before our trip to Garden of the Gods, Ben was favoring that same leg, so he was out for the trip. Reservations and deposits were already made, and there was no way I was missing the trip of a lifetime! In desperation I called out to my horse friend Erin and said, “I need a horse to ride at Garden of the Gods!” As it turned out, her neighbor had one he wasn’t riding. That horse was Dee Dee. She was wonderful. She and I rode over 100 miles together in 2018!

Last fall, Ben was once again favoring that same leg. I tried to buy Dee Dee then, however the owner wasn’t willing to part with her. Last week Erin called me and said, “Dee Dee’s for sale!” I replied, “I’m on my way with the money right now!” And, out the door I went!

Dee Dee sure needed a tune-up!

Why? She hadn’t been ridden since I rode her in 2018. In the last three days we put in 14 miles together. I think Dee Dee is going to be a great horse! For one thing; she follows me around like a puppy! For another, she loves attention and especially likes to be petted and shown affection. When she’s groomed or messed with in any way, she never moves. She just stands there. And here’s a bonus—she jumps right in the trailer! When I did all the alterations to Ben’s tack, I loaded her in the trailer and we headed to the New Bedford Harness Shop. Those guys are the best! We made everything fit her perfectly. This week I’m meeting some friends at Salt Fork to put a few more miles on Dee Dee. Then in two weeks we head to Elkin’s Creek for a week of riding in the autumn leaves. Yee-haw! Let the fun begin!

See you on the trail! Remember, I’ll be riding a tall black horse this time!

~Lee Randolph

HARRISON

Hello from Harrison County! The club has been busy with all kinds of horse activities from trail riding, trail obstacle competitions to organized fun shows!

Members continue to try and keep the trails at Harrison State Forest open and there are still plans to reroute the Blue trail. Time was spent on the Green trail to make it passable and safe for riders and horses.

The club held a fun show on Sept. 17 at the Harrison County Fairgrounds in Cadiz, Ohio, and had a great time! Classes included Bareback, Simon Says, Egg and Spoon and the Clothing Race. (Be sure to look at the pictures and notice what clothing was involved!) It was a great time for kids, as well as adults! The

Herb Rider and Diva.

Elizabeth Smith and Lucy.

Dave

Ben

Garden of the Gods.

The smile says it all!

horses seemed to enjoy it as well. Lastly, the Harrison County Ohio Horse Council chapter planned to remember their beloved member, Dorothy Glover, on a ride on Oct. 22, 2022 at Harrison State Forest Horsemen’s camp. Hopefully, when you are reading this the weather cooperated and it was a great day for this memorial.

Winter seems to be approaching too fast. As I am writing this, we seem to be finally getting some warmer fall temperatures and beautiful riding weather. Here’s to hoping it is not our Indian Summer yet, but it may very well be. Time to stock those barns up for whatever might happen during the winter months.

Happy trails and enjoy the beauty of the fall y’all!

~Lori Mayher

HOCKING

Summer is over and fall is sneaking in. Some will miss the long summer days but not the bugs and heat. Others will cringe because they know that winter is just around the corner.

What a busy summer it has been! Most recently the Hocking County Fair was held in September. Many of our youth members competed with their varies 4-H projects during the day. In the evening, us adults enjoyed trying to figure out what food we wanted to eat. A large group of us also got together to watch the rodeo.

Another exciting development is the announcement of a new Forest manager at Hocking State Forest. Will McCormick just started a few months ago and many of us are already seeing improvements. He attended our monthly meeting in September and seems very positive and dedicated to fixing, improving and possibly expanding the bridle trails, with the continuing help from OHC members and clubs.

One of our members, Joy S. MillerUpton attended a meeting with a box of her books to talk about and sign. There was a line of people waiting to purchase them and we all enjoyed the stories she shared with us.

By the time this article comes out we’ll have had our Halloween ride at Great Seal.

It is time for officer nominations and elections. Please attend the meeting if you want to be part of this important process. Our club is very family friendly and meet at the Olde Dutch Restaurant and Banquet Haus (Oak Room),

in Logan, the third Sunday of every month at 7 p.m. Come in earlier for dinner and relaxed conversation prior to the meeting. Watch our Facebook page for more information about our club and upcoming events!

~Donna Shade

HOLMES

Here we are at the end of October 2022, with some of the best riding weather ahead of us. When this newsletter finds its way to print in November, the 50th anniversary year of the Ohio Horseman’s Council will be winding to a close. This has been a year full of celebration, weather challenges, and a return to normalcy in some areas. Bruce and I are very proud of this organization and hope to contribute in a small way to preserving our Ohio trails for horseman’s use.

Our club had a successful Labor Day Camp. We had great weather, riding, and food. A raffle, along with silent auction, covered dish, and Cowboy Church were held. This camp celebrates all the volunteer hours the club worked this year, and there were many due to the extreme weather. Our work weekend Sept. 23-25 was well attended. Our thanks to the Jacobson’s who brought an UTV and Bob Picklesimer and his trusty Steiner. A major improvement was made at the muddiest creek crossing and a general cleanup of the camp and day parking area was done. A gentle reminder to all day riders and campers to throw hay and manure into the woods before leaving. Thank you for this small step to help us maintain Mohican. Every little bit helps. A pizza sale fundraiser is planned for November.

Also, in club news, I would like to mention more Holmes County Fair 4-H news that didn’t get here in time for last month. Emily Wise and Ethan Wise had a very successful fair

Vicki Zook, Shar Milner and Shar’s granddaughter, Lena on the Labor Day ride.

with their horse projects, Ethan winning Sr. Western Pleasure with a third in horsemanship and a third in showmanship. Emily was second in western pleasure, horsemanship, hunt seat equitation and junior hunter under saddle with a third in showmanship and sixth in versatility. We all enjoyed seeing them out and trail riding at Labor Day Camp, and I got to meet their puppy, a super cool happy girl.

Some of our members joined Wayne County for a week at Pine Creek Oct. 3-9 for some riding at Hocking Hills. Always a good time. The Cowboys for Jesus Camp work weekend was Oct. 28-29. It is sometimes a little frosty, but great riding and food. Bruce and I have been busy but made it to both September camps and Malabar and Mohican for a couple of day rides each. We need to keep ourselves and the horses in shape for the Hocking camp coming up. We enjoyed a great breakfast and ride at Malabar with members Tom Ames and Wayne Miller. The view from Mt. Jeez is fabulous but it’s the glacier rocks in the woods that I enjoy the most. Be sure to check the State website for information and reservation forms on the anniversary celebration event Nov. 5 and the State meeting Nov. 6. Should be a good time.

~Bev Hanna

KNOX

As I sit down to write this on Oct. 4, I recall that the night

Monna having fun!

Mark Westlake

HCOHC President

Joy S MillerUpton

Improvements at Hocking.

Hocking County Fair

Group picture after dinner at the Labor Day Camp.

Part of the work crew near the muddy crossing.

County

before we had a frost advisory. It reminds me that even though it’s early fall, our riding season is sadly coming to an end. Our last ride on our Knox County OHC schedule is Nov. 4-7 at Hocking Hills. As we have done for a few years now, we celebrate several members birthdays during this event. Unfortunately, this conflicts with OHC 50th anniversary celebration this year, so several of our members offer their apologies as they were attending to business elsewhere.

In the saddle for the battle! In support of the Susan G. Komen cure for cancer, Knox County Chapter of OHC held an event at Fallon Park (AEP Conesville) in Coshocton County Oct. 8 with donations going to Susan G. Komen cure for cancer. There was a poker run, a silent auction, a 50/50, and a hog roast Saturday evening. This was a worthwhile event. Pictures were on Knox County OHC’s Facebook page.

The tie-line at the gas station in Kilborne was down the last time we stopped there, so Knox County OHC voted to provide a replacement at our last meeting. We are to check with the Delaware chapter before proceeding.

Knox County OHC will hold our annual election of officers for 2023 at our Nov. 21 meeting. If you would like to be nominated as an officer, or serve on a committee (awards, events, trail maintenance, trail rides), please contact a current officer with your nomination. We would like the nominations to be submitted before the meeting. OHC, which serves the horse community in general, cannot exist without officers and volunteers.

We meet the third Monday of the month at 7 p.m. Location has varied this summer as the Long Branch in Centerburg decided to remodel which is taking a long time. Discussion on moving to Donato’s Pizza where there is a limited meeting room is being investigated. Watch our Facebook page for an update.

Come on over to Knox County where the gates are wide open, the grass is greener, the horses leaner, as we do ride them, and everyone is welcome.

~Terry L. Baker

LAKE

Autumn is awesome! Our Lake OHC members often enjoy Lake Farm Park activities. One of our members recently took a

class on ‘Horses Small to Tall’. It was a great experience. She drove a pair of mini-horses pulling a carriage wagon, rode a Thoroughbred, off the track, and then bounced along atop a Belgian draft horse. What a fun time, laughing and loving these horses. She also has brought her niece and friends from Holland to Lake Farm Park’s Haunted Halloween hayride. More fun experiences for all. This same member also attended Geauga Park’s Amish buggy experience. Dottie Drockton, then led a trail ride through Swine Creek Park. This trail ride ended with a spontaneous tailgate lunch. This was one of the nicest lunches ever had on an organized ride. Everyone shared food and stories with riders and guests to the park alike. Rosemary, Ken, and Michelle S. went camping at Mohican Forest. They enjoyed the other riders and their stories from all over Ohio.

Speaking of other Ohio OHC members, several of our Lake OHC members attended the Great Geauga Fair. The display by Geauga OHC was wellplanned and set out nicely. Good job gals/guys.

Our Lake members also went to a chocolate demonstration at The Dutch Country Restaurant. Everyone loved the chocolate samples. Now I know why white chocolate is still chocolate.

Our Lake chapter meeting was Oct. 12 at Joey’s in Chardon. There we discussed voting for our officers, voted on donating $150 to Lake Farm Park to sponsor a light horse or a Draft horse and the upcoming October Beach Ride sponsored by the Mounted Police and the upcoming Moonlight Ride sponsored by Geauga Parks.

Speaking of sponsors, we thank Big D’s and Schneiders Saddlery for their continuous sponsorship. We certainly appreciate the Bonus Bucks from Big D’s and the 10 percent off at Schneiders.

Let’s continue our journeys with thankfulness and gratitude.

~Rayneen

LICKING

Hello fellow riders and horse friends. I hope this article finds you and your horses in good health. Since fall has now arrived in full force, we reminiscence about a season of riding gone by. Although we might still be blessed with some crisp, sunny

days for a few more outings. Our chapter has had a pretty good riding season with amazing get togethers we all enjoyed. At least I hope everybody had a good time. Next season I’d like to expand on our rides a bit and possibly add some overnight camping trips so we can have fun and ride even longer and hopefully we make up for those rides we had to cancel because of bad weather. We had a great attendance at our last ride of the season—our Fried Chicken ride at Lobdell Reserve. Seventeen people came out to have fun and food. Sadly, we had to cancel the soup ride that had been planned for Oct. 1 because of rain in the forecast I am happy to report our chapter meetings have been very well attended, especially our annual chili cook-off and potluck dinner. It was a great success. Nominations for next year’s officers are coming up so I’m hoping to report the results of the election in my next newsletter. I hope to see everybody at the 50th anniversary celebration of OHC on Nov. 5 at the Elks Lodge in Newark. Hopefully you got to mark off a lot of your bingo squares.

In the meantime, ride while you can, if you can, or enjoy your horses any other way you like!

~Sigrid Batten

LOGAN

Five Logan County members attended this year’s chili cookoff at Mohican State Forest and Marsha Brennan made our Logan County chili this year. Big thanks to Marsha and her efforts.

Marmon Valley’s Ride Through the Valley was Sept. 18. Logan County OHC donated $200 to Marmon Valley Farms camp scholarship fund.

Barb Corwin hosted a Logan County OHC ride Sept. 25, four members attended.

Everyone has been busy little beavers, working on these bingo cards. On Oct. 2, Marmon Valley Farm hosted a bingo evening for members who wanted to knock off some of those bingo boxes. Nine members and one guest did just that, checked off riding a mule, riding bareback, ride a different breed, try a different discipline, ride English and ride in cart or carriage. Afterwards 14 members met at Firehouse Pizza for dinner.

Cynthia Orr hosted a Logan County OHC ride Oct. 23.

November 13 will be our next meeting and we will hold our silent auction, bring your money to support the Logan County OHC.

~Cynthia Orr

Chili cook-off.

LORAIN

Wow, by now the trees have lost their brilliant leaves but we have Thanksgiving to look forward to at the end of this

Fried Chicken Ride.

Donna, Mitze and Nancy heading out on the trail.

Beth, Deb and Terry at the Chicken Ride.

Logan County OHC

month. Thank you to Willow Creek Veterinary Service for sponsoring our calendar for the month of November. Willow Creek Veterinary Service is located in Medina, Ohio. They care for horses, dogs and cats.

In September many individuals from Lorain County OHC took a course called ‘Stop the Bleed’. This hour and a half class was offered at the Litchfield Fire Department. We were trained on how to use tourniquets, compression bandages and blood clotting compounds. Thank you Litchfield Fire Department for offering this course; it was impressive to see such a fantastic turn-out as one never knows who may need help with a serious bleeding situation! Also in September, the Southern Lorain County Ambulance District trained us in CPR (adult, child and infant), AED, Heimlich maneuver, Epi-pen and Narcan. We were grateful to the team from Wellington that offered this course, as well as our members who took the time to attend this class. This was an American Heart Association program. Jim Wallace shared that we will now have well-stocked first aid kits on hand for our council especially for when we do trail work. The kits were purchased with money from a $250 grant that Jim applied for and received for this purpose. We’d like to thank Jim for applying for this grant and organizing these classes; and for all the participants. These are fantastic examples of how our council members are putting into

practice our motto, “Horsemen helping Horsemen”!

Our September was jam packed with camping trips and day rides including the Erie County poker run at Edison Woods, the chili cook-off at Mohican State Forest, the NW area regional ride at Van Buren State Park and Beaver Creek State Park.

November 5 we will be at Bedford Reservation for a day ride beginning at 11 a.m. Our membership meeting will be held at the Carlisle Visitor Center at the Black River room on Monday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. On Nov. 26 we will trot away that turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie so no one mistakes us for Santa. The ride will begin at the Carlisle Equestrian Center and will start at 11 a.m. Plan to save Dec. 3 for our LCOHC Christmas dinner party. Check your LCOHC email from Sept. 28 for details.

It’s time to renew your membership with OHC for 2023 prior to the end of the year, especially if you purchase horse liability insurance to avoid a lapse in your insurance. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

~Kathy Duncan

MADISON

The best Ohio weather is here!

Finally! No more pesky horse flies (I usually use much stronger words than ‘pesky’ for them), beautiful fall colors, the smell and sound of crunchy leaves nourishing the ground, and our horses enjoying the cool air. I hope everyone is taking advantage of this and enjoying good times with our horses—in whatever equine activity you choose.

Deer Creek State Park management (our chapter’s park for trail maintenance) asked our help in building new picnic tables, and many of our members stepped up for a work day that was productive and lots of fun. We even learned new skills, like using a torch to remove old nuts and

bolts from defunct tables to reuse the table frame with new wood.

We competed seven sturdy tables, many of which are gracing the day-use horse area in the shelter. Thanks to all who participated! We hope more people will use the trails at Deer Creek, as we have been working hard all year to have them all clear for pleasant riding.

Our members have been busy, riding many trails that are finally accessible and dry. Thank you to all who have worked so hard to get Ohio trails cleared after the devastating storms this year. We have had members enjoy Ohio trails—Hocking, Caesar’s Creek, Alum Creek, Buck Creek, Deer Creek (our home park), Prairie Oaks, and others that I don’t know about. Other members have ventured out-of-state with their horses to Illinois to spend two weeks at Shawnee National Forest. I’m jealous! They found that Horsemen Help Horsemen is everywhere, when a lovely person at their campground offered to lend them a horse to ride when theirs came up lame and also served as a guide to the trails on several occasions. This is what the world needs right now; people trusting and helping each other.

Four members from our chapter ventured even farther, to Wyoming, to ride the ranch horses for a week at the R Lazy S Ranch in the Tetons. The stay is in cabins, and dining is in the lodge with food prepared by a chef. Guests are assigned horses for the week, and can choose to ride all-day or half-day, or not at all. What beautiful scenery, looking at the Tetons and enjoying pleasant, steady mounts.

The Madison County Gymkhana series ended on Oct. 8, with season awards for high-points participants in each age group. Our Gymkhana is a

great way to introduce horses and riders to this sport, and we make ours a fun and educational series that can appeal to seasoned contest riders as well those who have never had their horse in an arena. We encourage all to try, and to help their horse learn new skills. We even applaud those who ask for a ‘do-over’ for no points or time, just to make sure the horse completes the pattern and becomes better educated. We hope you will consider joining us next year at the Madison County Fairgrounds in London. Watch our Facebook page or the Corral calendar for dates for 2023.

Our September meeting program presenter was Mindy Feldheim, an EMT and Firefighter, who also is an avid rider. Her presentation was Human First Aid on the Trail. The number one take-away is prevention of emergencies! We become complacent the longer we have been riding, so be sure to check tack before leaving the barn, wear a helmet to prevent concussion, and consider what you are wearing to be sure you won’t be caught up in your tack or by branches on the trail. Make sure your loved ones know where you are going, and be sure you have your emergency contacts in your cell phone. Check with others in your group to know if anyone has allergies (to bees, for example) or is diabetic, and be sure that they have their EpiPen or snack food with them to prevent a life-threatening event. We all want to be safe, and simple steps can help to make riding safe for all and more enjoyable. Mindy also showed

Beaver Creek potluck.

NW Regional Ride-Van Buren State Park.

Chili cook-off at Mohican State Forest.

Teton National Park: Jan Maki, Lisa Reynolds, Hugh Leslie, Judy Chambers and Susan Hunter.

Picnic table construction.

Picnic tables.

samples of what we might carry with us to tend to wounds on the trail—tape, band-aids, vet wrap, sanitary pads, gauze squares. We hope everyone is having a great riding season! Happy Trails, ~Lisa Reynolds

MEDINA

Just think, a park exclusively for horseback riding! Whitacre Greer in Stark County was the destination for our most recent day ride. Thanks to Ken Sims for leading Barb Vega, Karyl Getson, and Bonnie Bennington over some beautiful rolling hills and lush forests. The trails on these 2,000 acres are being developed by Stark and Carroll County chapters as well as the Tri-County Trail Association. We can never have enough trails! We’ve gotten a lot accomplished this year and trail funds donations to the Conservancy of the CVNP by private contributors as well as from OHC chapters and from the Dalton Family Foundation have put us over the top.

Speaking of over the top, we’re over the top to announce that the Valley Trail has reopened from Peninsula to Everett after a longterm closure. Riverbank repairs were completed where Akron Peninsula Road and the trail had washed out. Then trail work was done by members of Medina and Summit OHC to the tune of over 150 hours! Working in almost knee-deep water and draining the trail that some crafty beavers had re-engineered was just part of it. The trail was so overgrown we actually had to free a bridge from the over and undergrowth. Then came the spreading of rock and trail mix to complete the labor. Our inter-chapter cooperation has really paid off, we are indeed “horsemen helping horsemen”! When you’re in the valley be sure to try this part of the trail again. Cool, dry riding weather is ahead, but so are shorter days. Take advantage of my personal favorite time of the year.

Winter monthly meetings will be will be back at the Hinckley town hall at the SW corner of Ridge Road (SR3) and Route 303. Our October meeting was a good time with cider and donuts. A few hardy souls joined us to nominate candidates for officers and learn how Joyce Tretow can single-handedly round up eight of her horse herd who had found freedom after an electric fence mishap. Long story. Picture various and sundry citizens trying to be helpful, waving arms, etc. OK, Joyce tells it better.

Join us in November for our election of officers. We have some great candidates for the offices of president, vice president and secretary. Join us to place your vote. Social time is at 6:30 and the business meeting starts at 7 p.m. Please bring a snack to share.

Our last work party is Nov. 12. Chances are we will be doing our favorite chore—leaf blowing! Contact Raydeen Ryden (reysden@att.net or 334/6637361 or Greg Monsanty (330/3525737 or (blackhorsebridge@aol. com) for details.

Before I close, remember that it’s a good time to feel thankful for all the ‘good’ things that we have experienced this year. Our dedicated officers, ride leaders and trail committee and workers have done a great job despite the pandemic, crazy weather and beavers. Our newsletter editor and email blaster as well as our ride leaders and ride volunteers have gotten the news out and promoted riding. Are you one of these people? If not, come get involved in 2023! We want to see more members join us. Time to be thankful down in the valley!

~Rosemary

PERRY

Hauling ‘butt’ was one of the highlights of our annual Soup

Ride at Dillon in October and it seemed all the women wanted to take turns riding Rick Woofter’s mule, Polly. We sure had fun on our first ever mule ride, which was an activity prompted by those of us anxious to complete another state bingo item. The ride was again successful despite some cool temps from Hurricane Ian. The winner of our Quick Draw Tie Line was Jennifer Rinehart of Chillicothe and I have the pleasure of being the person who sold that winning ticket. Other raffle prize winners were Marsha Woofter, who chose the decorative outdoor wagon wheel, and Charlene Santee who won the wooden rocker. The latter two items were donated by Tractor Supply in Lancaster. We also had four folks who won Tractor Supply gift cards throughout the evening as part of our auction event which included a large variety of items. Don Wagner did a great job as always as auctioneer despite getting back at me for my obvious jibe at Ford owners when we auctioned off jumper cables (I am a diehard Chevy girl!). Laura Owings was among the big buyers so thanks to her and everyone who both donated and purchased items. The soup contest didn’t disappoint either. We had several entries with the most popular being potato soup. First place went to Vicki Wagner who, in her infinite wisdom, decided to Google what soup was more apt to win a soup contest. Well, I guess Google served her well! One of the other popular food items was Carol Stoughton’s homemade carrot cake. Carol also took second place for her potato soup. Thanks again to everyone for making it a delicious evening and soup was definitely a great idea given Saturday’s temps.

A short meeting was held and the date for the annual after Christmas party was selected. It will be Jan. 28 at the Holiday Inn Express in Zanesville. More details later. We also discussed moving our meeting destination for 2023 and will vote on that at the November meeting.

In other club member news, secondary members, Mike and Teresa Smith, had a great week at Big Elk Lick in Benezette, Pa., in September, logging over 70 miles. They were lucky enough to see multiple bull elk, a doe elk and even a black bear on the trail.

I hate to see riding and camping season wrap up. Here’s to a bountiful fall with several Indian summer days made for riding before ‘white death’ approaches.

‘Til then, happy trails!

~Marianne

SANDUSKY

Thanksgiving is coming soon, and we have so much to be thankful for! We have had a great riding season with amazing animals and friends. Our club members have experienced so many trials and struggles this year, but I am so thankful for the people who show care and concern for all that life has to offer.

Our club has been busy having fun on rides and at volunteer opportunities. In September, we helped host the North-West Region’s State Ride at Van Buren State Park. It was very well attended, and we had so many activities to choose from. A scavenger hunt, Chinese auction, poker ride, trick or treat, a live

Medina riders at Whitacre Greer.

The trails at Whitacre Greer.

Dillon ride

Elk in Pennsylvania.

Charlene riding a mule.

auction, decorate your campsite contest, a ton of door prizes, an obstacle course and my personal favorite, a night ride with glow sticks! Thank you to everyone who made it a great weekend.

In early October, our club gave pony rides at our Park District’s Farm Days at Creek Bend Farm. It is always so fun to see smiling faces on little kids, and big kids alike. We appreciate all the help we had this year!

It seems at every meeting we discuss so many options for weekend and day rides. Our club has recently started using the GroupMe App to invite people to impromptu rides during the week. If you are not on the app yet, please contact me and I’ll get you set up.

Our November meeting will be a short one in order to attend an informational talk, Fit to Ride, by our own Donna McHaffie. Flyers were emailed to all members and can also be seen on our Facebook page.

We would love for you to join us. We meet on the second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Fremont First Brethren Church. We usually meet for supper at 5:45 p.m. Visit our Facebook page for upto-date information.

Enjoy the last bit of fall and give your critters an extra scratch and a treat. Best wishes,

~Hope Sheidler

SUMMIT

This will be short and sweet for this month. Fortunately for them, our members were out enjoying every spare minute of this great fall riding season. Unfortunately for me, they also forgot to pass along any newsworthy tidbits for the County Lines article. Our members participated in camping weekends with numerous other OHC chapters. It was a great way to share good company and

meet new friends who share our love of horses and the outdoors.

I did glean a few things from some Facebook posts. We had a wonderful equine representation at the planning meeting for Richfield Heritage Preserve. The input will have a direct bearing on our current and future trails within the park. Additionally, discussions are underway for additional new horse trails in Medina County. Finally, we would like to thank Kathy Cockfield for working with Silver Creek Metro Parks to identify areas needing ongoing work on the horse trails. The park is heavily used by many riders and takes a real beating. That just about wraps it up for this month.

~Joann Ulichney

UNION

Hello! Let me introduce myself. I am Debbie Strayton.

I have been a member of OHC since 1990 and I am currently the

chapter secretary. I have served as the County Lines chapter reporter several times in the distant past but I am probably a bit rusty. The reason I am now reporter is a sad one. As some of you may know, our County Lines chapter reporter and chapter vice president, Karen Holland-Getz, passed away in July after a long battle with cancer. She will be greatly missed.

Union County members attended the Autumn at Alum potluck dinner and ride in September, which was hosted by the Delaware County Chapter. Awesome potluck and raffle and auction on Friday and great ride on Saturday. This was a special event for us because Karen’s horse equipment was included in the raffle and silent auction. As she wanted, the proceeds will be used to maintain the trails at Alum Creek State Park. On Saturday, Theresa Burke invited me and Bowie to ride along with her and her friend. Thank you, Theresa.

Fall is my favorite time of year to ride and I hope everyone has had the opportunity to hit the trails and ride. Happy trails.

~Debbie

a good crew and hopefully we spread the work out enough no one got swamped. I’ve heard we got many compliments on the campground and the trails. Many thanks also to Roger for spearheading all of the work there. It takes a village but the village needs direction.

WARREN

As I type this, our State ride is just a few days past. I wasn’t able to attend, but I have heard very good reports. The weather couldn’t have been much better, and it seems like everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Not’s not surprising; horse people know how to have a good time! In future months I’ll have a variety of photos from the event. Many thanks to everyone who had a hand in making the event such a success. There was a lot of work involved, but luckily the committee was made up of

This month the photos are from the Warren County 4H fun show. For several years now we have set up to serve food there. We originally decided to do this because we wanted to support the 4H and were trying to think of the best way to do that. I don’t remember who came up with the suggestion, but it was a good one. We don’t charge, just set out a donation jar, and it works very well. The kids—and adults —really enjoy it. We lucked out with the weather on that weekend also. With Harold and Paul cooking, Ana and me wrapping, and Belinda organizing, decorating and running, it went very smoothly.

Remember that after Nov. 2,

RHP park usage meeting.

Kathy scouting trails.

Three generations at Hocking.

Debbie and Bowie at Alum Creek.

Karen and Blue.

Rick Wehrley on Roger’s small tractor, pushing Eric Estill on his bigger one.

Harold and Paul goofing off.

Paul, Harold and Ana at work.

County Lines

the Over the Hill Gang does not meet again until Jan. 3 (and that’s only if Mother Nature allows it). Hopefully nothing catastrophic will occur in the meantime. If there are trees down, feel free to pass it along to Roger, post it on the Facebook page, or let anyone else in the OTHG know. If time and manpower allow, we’ll still take care of it. It will just be in a piecemeal fashion. And if we’re lucky, we won’t have as wet of a fall and winter as last year and won’t have quite as many trees falling.

That’s it for this month, happy riding, and have a great Thanksgiving.

~Mickie

WASHINGTON

Hello everyone. I am writing this month’s Washington County Corral article to help a busy friend in need, up holding our motto, horsemen helping horsemen.

Although there isn’t a lot of news to report due to the weather being so wet, and Wayne National Forest has had the Kinderhook trails closed to work on the trailhead parking and camping areas. Not sure when they plan to finish up and reopen for riders. I called and left a message asking for an update, but they have not returned my call. Hopefully we won’t have to wait until next spring.

We had to cancel our Oct. 1 ride as well as the Outdoor Day children’s ride which we’ve been doing every year for Wayne National Forest. Which I am sure the children will miss; we have had a lot of the same children come back every year to ride and some manage to sneak in more saddle time than the once or twice around the path. However, one cannot begrudge them when you see the smiles and the excitement on their faces.

Our Christmas potluck will be coming up Dec. 1, at the Christ United Methodist Church, 301 Wooster Street, Marietta, Ohio. They are always filled with lots of wonderful food and fellowship time. I hope you will mark your calendars and plan on attending the dinner with us this year. Bring your favorite covered dish or dessert along with a wrapped gift if you want to join in the gift exchange, and a toy to donate to Toys for Tots.

It won’t be long before we will be adding up our 2022 trail miles and be planning our 2023 rides.

Stay safe and enjoy the trails.

WAYNE

As I write this article, 20 plus members of the Wayne and Holmes County Chapter are preparing to leave Oct. 3 for our annual fall camp out at Pine Creek Horse Camp in Hocking Hills. The weather looks like it will cooperate with cold nights and cool days—perfect for riding and campfires. The menu for all six nights looks wonderful and we are all looking forward to the camaraderie and riding.

It was a busy month for our junior members. Taran Tate took two horses and a dog to the Wayne County Junior Fair and was quite successful. He placed second in showmanship and qualified for the championship class. He took second in ranch pleasure and third out of 13 in junior trial. We are very proud of our young riders.

Heather Kinney and her son Taran, also handed out the awards for the class our club sponsored.

The weekend of Sept. 23-25 was a busy one for the club as we put on one of our biggest fundraisers of the year, giving pony rides at Malabar Farms Heritage Days.

There were 13 horses and two ponies on Saturday and 14 horses and two ponies on Sunday giving rides. We had some excitement on Sunday when the wind picked up and blew a vendor’s tent into the ring. All the horses were solid, and no person or animal was injured. Then our canopy was blown over the back of the wagon, where the horses were tied. Luckily no horses were injured in that mishap either. Despite the wind incidents, not only is this a good fundraiser, but we all enjoy the look of wonder

on the children’s faces as they ride the horses. As we all know, nothing connects to your heart like a horse.

Since we missed an edition, I will catch up on the campout reports. There was a campout at Salt Fork the last weekend of August with ten people in attendance. The weather was beautiful, and the trails were in pretty good condition after the big storms this summer. Thanks to Tammy Burkhart for hosting this campout.

Just a reminder, the Bridal trails will be closed at Mohican from the first day of gun season

until the first of April 2023. The day area parking will be closed. The loggers have been working by the tower on the Green trail, and the Orange and Green trails were closed for the month of September. There will be logging on the South Blue trail all winter. The trail is supposed to be improved when they’re done logging, so it will be interesting to see it next spring. We’ll have several workdays throughout late fall, winter and early spring as the weather permits. There’s still a lot of work to be done from the storm damage.

Hope to see you all on the trails

~Rita V. Schultheis

Taran Tate on Gus.

Julia Westover winning Jr. English Equitation.

Karen Beres and Tammy at Salt Fork.

Flatlanders

&

Training Association,

Members Attend Demonstration for Making Your Mount More Supple

by Heather Bonifas

Happy autumn horse lovers. If you are like me, you are finding the cooler weather and everchanging foliage a welcome change to the sweltering summer hacks. If you haven’t yet, consider taking a stroll through a wooded trail (with or without your favorite four-legged friend) and enjoy nature’s fireworks all around you. As I mentioned in previous articles, the members of the Flatlanders Dressage club have been enjoying this year’s varied presentations. Each presentation/ demonstration is designed to enhance our relationship with our equine friends. This month was no exception. Our VP, Allison Schmidbaur, generously opened her facility and lovely home to the members for a demonstration on lateral work. Please let me elaborate.

Allison selected one of her beautiful horses, Romeo Bellissimo, for the demonstration for lateral training and exercises

County Lines

soon. Be safe and keep your eyes between the ears!

Respectfully submitted, ~Sue Baker

WOOD

September and October have been very productive and fun. Our trail workers outdid themselves and a lot of trail work was completed. Our Red trail is completely resurfaced and the muddy trail up the hill after crossing the big bridge was stoned. Our trails were trimmed to perfection and the gates to our corrals were repainted. Our project for the regional ride was an obstacle course in our arena. Judy and her crew outdid themselves and it was awesome!

Polly from Fulton County, among many others, gave a rave review of all the chapters that put their all into making

for helping to make your mount supple. He is a 13-year-old bay Oldenburg gelding. She is currently working with him at third and fourth levels of traditional dressage. Because she wanted to get as much presented before we lost the dwindling daylight, Allison had Romeo warmed and ready when we arrived.

Speaking of goals, why would it be important to any horse rider to have ‘suppleness’ as a goal? Suppleness is defined by the equine community as, ‘the ability to bend without stiffness’. Imagine yourself rolling out of bed after a long winter’s nap being forced into your day’s activities without the benefit of a nice hot shower, a stretch or even gently easing into the day? Not a very pleasant thought, correct? Well, why would we do that to our horses? If you simply pull your trusty steed from the pasture or stall, tack up and expect a comfortable, well behaved animal, we are expecting that very thing from them. So, to get a better, longer-lasting athlete, suppleness is a big deal.

Allison specifically used lateral movements on the stunning Romeo to showcase what can be achieved if the rider puts in the time and training. This article would be far too long if I tried to

detail the information shared by her, but I will give you the highlights. Firstly, she demonstrated the turn on the forehand. The horse must respond to leg aids to allow the rider to shift the horse’s hips left or right completely in a circle while leaving the front feet in place. Sounds easy? It’s not. Since it is done at a stand still, it is the first level or work. This exercise leads to the next level, the leg-yield.

Leg-yielding is a forward exercise that again works with suppeling and asks the horse to move off your leg, this time it is done in motion moving between the rail and the quarterline of an arena. If you can’t picture it, think—side pass while walking or trotting.

The next levels of training were the shoulders -in, haunches-in, the half pass, and lastly renvers (the shoulders in toward the center of the arena with the head bent to the rail). All of the movements are required in the dressage arena for competition, but are not limited to it. Every horse discipline, whether it be cow-cutting, gymkhana, various English/western disciplines, or even trail-riding warriors would benefit from these sorts of movements.

We all want our beloved horses

Allison Schmidbaur with her dreamy horse, Romeo at her home facility.

to last as long as possible, be comfortable to ride and not experience any unnecessary pain. These sorts of training exercises can improve your horse’s fitness level, ease of riding and longevity. If you are interested in doing such for your animal, please consider finding a reputable trainer or looking online or in magazines and books for additional information. I guarantee it is worth the effort.

After all the outdoor fun, we went inside the Schmidbaur home and enjoyed food and company over the business meeting; a perfect end to the evening.

Special thanks to Cindy Klingler for her contributions to the article.

our NW Regional Ride a huge success. It takes a village and I know everyone put their best foot forward. A big thank you to the NW Regional committee that put this all together.

From there Diane and I went to Fulton County’s Octoberfest and had a blast. We got to partake of Leroy’s excellent cooking and we rode with some friends of ours; Mollie, Kathy, and Karen from Summit County. I got to enjoy Kenny’s surprise 88th birthday party too. After that was the Harry Hughes Ride-athon. I think everyone from the Octoberfest was there to support HH as well. I joined Delta, Jo and Matt there and we took new friends they had made out on the trail at Oak Openings.

I now look forward to our Hobo Stew of which I will leave for tomorrow. Amy and her crew have worked hard on the plans.

Kenny, a young 88 and good friend Leroy who surprised him for his birthday.Julie safe travels party.

I’ve been told the evening hay ride will be full of scary things. My last camp out will be at Pontiac Lake to help Matt and his mule Sampson experience a little more difficult trail. They have been doing well with just a few bumps along the way. Some will go to Alum Creek which

is a little more difficult terrain of which Sampson and Matt are not yet ready for. Alum took the place of Hocking Hills. I will be looking forward to the changes of the leaves. The trees here are just starting to turn.

Happy trails, ~Barb O.

PRESIDENT, Pat Boutwell VICE PRESIDENT, Jill Christopher TREASURER, Cynthia Klingler SECRETARY, Shelley Zwiebel WEBSITE, www.flatlandersdressage.com