May

MICHIGAN TRAIL RIDERS ASSOC., cont.

sections have a good start to being cleared for the June rides. Neither rain, snow, nor cold stopped us from the task! Our first scheduled ride is the Blossom ride runs from May 12-16 with a pig roast and potluck planned for May 14. This ride is at South Branch trail camp, no moves to other camps. There are many circle rides and the trail goes west to Curtisville which is a good stop for lunch and then return to camp or heading east towards River Road trail camp. Our first trophy ride of the year is June 2-13 from Oscoda to Empire (east to west). There will be one layover day as we’re not able to access the trail through Mayhem swamp. New steps are being built by MDNR for crossing the Manistee river at Goose Creek. I'm looking forward to seeing them. MTRA website www.MTRA.org lists all of our rides and ride calendars. Also follow us on Facebook at “MTRA friends.”

Pinto Horse Association of Ohio

PINTO HORSE ASSOCIATION OF OHIO

May brings shedding horses. The weather is finally breaking and we are enjoying some sunny days here in Ohio. By the time you read this we will have completed our first show of the season. Spring brings looking forward to the coming summer and coming show season. Many of our exhibitors and members are setting goals for their show season as well. Just around the corner is the Pinto World Championship show held in Tulsa, Oklahoma from June 13-25. Many of our members are preparing to attend this amazing show. News from the PtHA Convention: Ohio had the honor of having two extraordinary equines put into the PtHA Hall of Fame. TS Black Tie Affaire, and Zips Sacred Slipper. Both horses were exemplary in the show ring during their careers. If you plan on attending our shows, preentries are due one week prior to the show. Our next show will be May 20-22 at Fulton County Fairgrounds in Wauseon, Ohio. We look forward to seeing everyone there. Also, if you need to register your horse with pinto, we will have people on the grounds who can help you with that. All of our current forms are on the website. Remember that you have to nominate your horses for year-end awards and all memberships need to be up to date for the current year. Membership applications get sent to Amy Leibold and all other forms for the shows get sent to Emily Wollery. As always please check out our website at www. ohiopinto.net and our Facebook page for the most current and updated information. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to any of our officers or directors at any time.

PROUD LAKE TRAIL RIDERS ASSOC.

Hello Everyone and Happy Spring! We are very excited for the Circle Ride which will take place on Saturday, June 18th. This is our annual ride with Kensington. The ride consists of riding from one staging area to the other. It does not matter which one you start at. If you prefer not to ride the entire route, just come out and ride the trails. The ride will begin around 10 am, so we suggest you roll in and register around 9am. The cost of the ride will be $10 per rider and lunch will be included at both the Proud Lake staging area, as well as the Kensington staging area. We are also offering camping for the weekend. Camping will be from Friday, June 17th to Sunday, June 19th. The cost of camping is $50 for non members and $40 for members. We will be serving breakfast for campers on Saturday morning and there will be a potluck dinner (we will provide the main dish) on Saturday night. If you would like to register for a spot, please contact Nancy Efrusy at efrusy@yahoo.com We are also very happy to report that we have added even more obstacles to our obstacle course. Please come out and give it a try! Absolutely no charge, just enjoy. Proud Lake Trail Riders has been working diligently with the DNR to separate our trails from the bikers. A huge hurdle was just accomplished in that the location of the new bike trails has been decided and agreed upon. The next step will be cutting out the trails. Once the trails are separated, there will be signs up stating what are horse trails and what are bike trails. We have been working on this for the past several years and we are thrilled that the park is committed to making this happen. As of right now, the GPS maps have been submitted and we are moving forward. If you encounter bikers on the trails that are not giving the right away to horses, please contact the DNR immediately. If you are able to get photos, please try to. If you would like to join our email list, please email me at efrusy@yahoo.com and also remember to like us on Facebook! Stay safe and keep riding!

ROSE OAKS EQUESTRIAN FRIENDS

The rangers have been hard at work with lots more to come this season! The fence in the staging area has been moved to allow for additional parking area. There is one step to be completed and that is the removal of the old fence posts; once that is done there will be spots avail-able on both sides of the staging parking area. The rangers also built two sturdy mounting blocks for everyone to use. This spring will see the addition of 18 tons of material to the low spots on the trails. Keep eyes and ears open for the sound of equipment as they work for our trails! Come out and explore all that Rose Oaks has to offer! Find and join “Rose Oaks Equestrian Friends” on Facebook!

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There is no reason for them NOT to join us! Word limit 600 words. Deadline is the 18th of the month for the following issue. Email: saddleupmag@gmail.com

MICHIGAN

WESTERN DRESSAGE ASSOC. OF MI

Winter is gone, and the snow has been replaced by beautiful colors of spring. As we start to enjoy our adventures with our equine partners, don't forget to do your horse trailer maintenance and check list. I look forward to warmer days and spending more time with my equine partners and friends. Don't forget to checkout the WDAMI website for Sue Hughes' new article, a list of western dressage events, and much more at: https://www.wdami.org/ There will be a western dressage clinic with Joanne Williams in the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan May 21 and 22 at the Lazy S Ranch in Dafter, Michigan. For more information, please email Suzanne Morisse at eaglehorse1@hotmail.com or call or text (906) 440-0215. The 2022 WDAMI show series has started. Don't forget to sign-up for Dressage at Water Edge, the first of our three online horse shows this year. Entries are open until May 23, 2022, and videos are due by June 10, 2022. Please go to Spotlight Horse Shows at www.spotlighthorseshows.com to sign-up. We have English, western, eventing, and driven dressage plus an inhand sport horse class. There are lots of great door prizes as well as a harmony award and versatility awards. This show will be followed by the Sunflower Horse Show (June 10-July 1, with videos due by July 15) and WDAMI's big show of the year, Battle of the Saddles (July 15-August 12, with videos due by August 26). As always, the Battle of the Saddles will have lots of door prizes, championship ribbons for each division and level, ribbons for the highest scoring rookie, adult amateur, open, and driven dressage. There will be a silver spur award, and versatility and harmony awards as well. The WDAA 2022 Online International Challenge prize list is now posted online at: www.showsecretary.com. That show opens May 23 and ends July 6. Entries will be accepted May 23 to June 6, 2022. Videos are due by June 17. Check it out. There will be lots of great prizes, and there will be classes for challenged and therapeutic riders as well. As the world and Ukraine faces new challenges of uncertainty, the USEF has established the USEF Ukraine Relief Fund to support Ukraine horses and equestrians. More information can be found on the US Equestrian Federation website under “USEF Ukraine Relief Fund.” All donations are tax deductible. @yahoo.com You do NOT need to prepay. Campsites are first come first parked. The WMAR Incentive Fund is a go for 2022 again. For just $35, you can sign your horse up to receive cash for the points you earn at WMAR approved shows. You can find the form on the WMAR website or at any of the shows. You must sign up before any points will be counted. Speaking of the WMAR website, it has undergone some updates, so please take a minute to check it out at:

Quote of the month:

“Good basics is the key to good training.

Work on good basics every day.” https://www.wmarappaloosa.com/ WDAMI is looking for sponsors for our yearend awards and educational events. If you would like to help by sponsoring or by helping us to find sponsors, please contact us by email at: infowdami@gmail.com. If you would like to volunteer or offer other services we need, please contact us. We can always use the help. Please don't forget to renew your 2022 membership. Information can be found there or on the WMAR Facebook page. 'til next month, Sharon Clark

Thank you for your support. Be safe, have fun, enjoy your equine partner, and exercise acts of kindness to all. Please remember to keep Ukraine in your prayers. Until next time. Suzanne Morisse, WDAMI President

WESTERN MI APPALOOSA REGIONAL

We're finally getting some decent weather to at least ride in between rain showers. I'm starting to get the trailer re-packed after emptying it completely for some maintenance work done last fall. I am so looking forward to the first show! For 2022, WMAR will only be having the Red, White & Blue Show at the Ingham County Fairgrounds, June 11-12 and the WMAR/MApHA and this year, the BHAM Sizzler show August 5-7 at MSU. We are also approving the MApHA Spring show at the Ingham County Fairgrounds, May 6-8 and the MApHA Classic show August 26-28 at MSU. All shows will be offering All Breed Classes so you can invite your non Appa- loosa owning friends to come show with us and see how much fun we have. For stall reservations, please email: appaloosastalls

YANKEE SPRINGS TRAIL RIDERS ASSOCIATION

Your yearly membership matters! Each membership or donation goes right back into keeping your trails maintained. In recent years, we have been able to add corrals to camp sites. Upgrade our obstacle course. Add trail systems around the campground. Our future goals are to expand day parking. Potentially bring electricity to camp and other great amenities! Yearly Membership dues are $20. You can use the “donate” button on our websites homepage at: https://ystra.org/ You may also email Sarah at Sarah@grcarvers.com for more information. Mail a check for your yearly dues to: YSTRA, 10370 W Parmalee Road, Middleville, MI 49333. Attention: Travis Buehler Join us online at: https://ystra.org/ or find us on Facebook for more information.

Horse Association & Trail Riders News Are FREE!

Word limit 600 words. Deadline is the 18th of the month for the following issue. Email: saddleupmag@gmail.com

AHC 2022 CONFERENCE, JUNE 5-7 OMNI SHOREHAM HOTEL WASHINGTON, DC

American Horse Council (AHC) is pleased to announce that speakers for committee meetings and the upcoming National Issues Forum have been tentatively set. The AHC's Annual Meeting and National Issues Forum takes place from June 5-7, 2022 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. “We are very excited with this year's line-up of noted and exemplary speakers,” said AHC President Julie Broadway. “Additionally, it will be great to engage in a discussion with partners about ways to collaborate within the agriculture/livestock industry.” Invited Guest speakers include: United Horse Coalition Meeting; Panelists from ASPCA's Right Horse Initiative; GFAS; TAA; TCA; STA, Equine Welfare Committee; USDA Animal Care, Equine Industry CEO Forum: Wanda Little-Coffey of ASAE, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop. Jr. (GA), Margaret Reynolds – Author, Reignite, Jennifer Brown Lerner, Deputy Director Aspen Institute – Sports & Society Program, Keith Roberts – Author, The Oak Journal “Level up your Life,” Julie Fershtman, Foster Smith Attorneys, Charlene Couch, The Livestock Conservancy, Panel Discussion on trends in Horse Sales – Keeneland (Shannon Arvin), Superior Sale (GT Werry), Appalachian Challenge (Tinia Creamer), CSU Sales (Craig Huffhines), Health & Regulatory Committee; Dr. Nat White-NADPRP biosecurity project; USDA APHIS, Awards Luncheon: This year's award winners to be announced, plus 2021 Hickey Award Dr. Peter Timoney; 2021 Rolapp Award Senator Susan Collins (R-ME); 2020 Hickey Award Dr. G. Marvin Beeman; Van Ness Award Fred Sarver, and Rolapp Award Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), Racing Advisory Committee: Lisa Lazarus of Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. Please note that due to hotel logistics, this year's committee meetings are taking place on Sunday and Tuesday. The National Issues Forum will be held on Monday. For reservations: https://www.omnihotels. com/hotels/washington-dc-shoreham/ meetings/2022-ahc-annual-meeting-andnational-issue-06012022 For the full conference schedule, please visit the AHC website at www.horsecouncil.org

GREENSTONE RELEASES 2021 ANNUAL REPORT

GreenStone Farm Credit Services has released its 2021 Annual Report with the theme focused on 'Innovation.' The report outlines the exceptional year the cooperative experienced in 2021, including net earnings of $264.7 million, as well as the $115 million GreenStone will give back to members as part of its Patronage program. “We are experiencing one of the most difficult periods in our country's history,” said GreenStone president and CEO, Dave Armstrong. “Despite all of the challenges associated with the pandemic, our members have been working hard and finding success. We're happy we've been able to get through this together, due in part to using innovative strategies.” The cooperative also saw solid growth within its loan portfolio in 2021, finishing the year with $12 billion in owned and managed assets. Achieving strong earnings is good news for members, as earnings allow the association to build capital for future adversity while maintaining a sound financial foundation. In addition to financial results and performance, the report includes profiles of three customers who have been innovative in business, especially during the pandemic. It also includes information about GreenStone's score of above 90 percent customer satisfaction rating for the 20th year in a row. GreenStone also reports on prioritizing our outreach efforts, partnering with hundreds of nonprofit and mission-focused organizations each year with both dollars and staff's time and expertise. In total, nearly $625,000 was donated and 3,400 hours were volunteered by staff. The report also outlines GreenStone's expanded CultivateGrowth program, which now provides a broader, expanded foundation to help young, beginning, and small farmers flourish in their agricultural aspirations. "I am incredibly proud to lead this organization, because our employees are completely dedicated to our members and communities,” said Armstrong. “We are happy to have a small role in helping Michigan and Wisconsin farmers and rural consumers achieve their personal and financial goals.”

MICHIGAN HORSE COUNCIL ELECTS NEW DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

At the 2022 Michigan Horse Council Annual Meeting hosted at the MSU Pavilion on April 12th the organizational members voted to approve the following additions of board members, which included Penny Wilson, Julie Vruggink, and Trevor Walton. Additionally, the Michigan Horse Council Board of Directors voted to elect Julie Vruggink as Vice President for the upcoming year. For the upcoming year Inger Lenese will serve as President, Bruce Deur as President Elect, and Julie Vruggink as Vice President. The offices of Secretary and Treasurer had no nominations, so the Council Board of Directors motioned to appoint Director and Communication Chair, Sasha Glover, to act as interim Secretary until the May 2022 meeting. Term-limited Treasurer, Sue Armstrong, will hold the position until the May 2022 meeting. Nominations for the offices of Secretary and Treasurer will be accepted and voted upon May 3, 2022, during the Board Member Meeting at 7:00pm, held via Zoom. The mission of the Michigan Horse Council is to provide individuals and organizations with a central authority that will support, encourage, supplement, and coordinate the