Merry Christmas!

We had a good turnout, great food, many awards, and a lively gift exchange (as usual) for our annual chapter Christmas party on the afternoon/evening of December 4. If you were not able to attend, here's a glimpse of the fun you missed!

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I hope your evening is just as festive, and you have a very merry Christmas tomorrow.

Happy 40th anniversary, ODS!

This weekend the Oregon Dressage Society celebrated its 40th anniversary at its annual Fall Festival. I don't often go to the Fall Festival because of time, cost and/or distance. But this year, when my husband heard from someone else that Olympian Steffen Peters was going to the featured speaker at the Saturday night banquet and the featured instructor at the Sunday educational event, he asked me if I was going - and urged me to do so!

I needed no further encouragement. Saturday night was spent enjoying the company of my fellow Chehalem Mt. Chapter members, eating good food, shopping the benefit silent auction, applauding award winners, and listening to a charming and engaging Mr. Peters:

On Sunday, the time change assisted me in getting up early to do chores so I could head out to DevonWood for a day of education and inspiration. Steffen worked with seven rider/horse pairs ranging from Training Level to Grand Prix, and his message was consistent with each one. The basics must always be correct; if they are, the movements will be easy. We must train our horses to be honest - teaching them to respond promptly to subtle aids, keeping them in front of the leg and in a soft connection with the bit. These things can - and should! - be executed every single time we ride, from warm up to cool down, no matter what level a horse is at. In fact, it can all be done at the walk! He demonstrated this while working with every single pair, and in riding himself the first horse of the day, Barb Crabbe's Training Level warmblood mare:

and the last horse of the day, Jessica Wisdom's Grand Prix level Welsh Cob stallion:
(Sorry the last two photos are so dark - but you can still see Steffen's beaming smile in that last one; love it!)

As I listened and watched, my understanding of proper riding and properly ridden horses was confirmed. And I realized in the process that even though my horse is still in rehab mode, and may never be able to return to dressage competition except at the very lowest levels, I can still ride him properly and keep both our basics correct. Eager to solidify in my mind and muscles what I'd seen and heard, I drove home, changed clothes and tacked up my horse (all the while very thankful for cooperative weather). Surprise, surprise (not :-) - we had the best ride we've had in recent memory!

- Michelle

Picnic report; upcoming events

Photos by Michelle McMillen

We had a great turnout for the annual picnic and trail ride at Jo Ann’s on October 2. It was great to spend the afternoon with everyone who showed up, and it made me realize once again what a great group we have.

Reports from the riders were that the trail ride was wonderful with some beautiful trails and views. Special thanks to Jo Ann for hosting the event and opening up her property for the great trail ride. Also, a huge thank you to Kris and her dad for bringing and setting up the barbeque and all the tables. I know it was a huge task to shuttle all those things to the picnic, so thank you very much for taking the time to do this for us. Kris was a most excellent cook for the day and with all the goodies that everyone brought to share, we had a yummy meal…as usual. Thanks to everyone for a wonderful afternoon!

As part of our picnic we also nominated and elected our officers for 2012. The results are listed above under the 2011-2012 Officers tab.

It was decided that we would appoint people as needed to coordinate activities as they come up, so as not to put the burden on any one person. You may be called to help out with an activity, so start thinking of ideas!

We reviewed the calendar for the rest of this year, and tentatively started drafting our calendar and events for 2012.

Nov 5 and 6 - ODS 40th Anniversary Celebration weekend. Check out the ODS web site for information.

Nov 14 - Monthly meeting at Clover Valley Equestrian Center with guest speaker Audrey Staton discussing Acupuncture. (Please note: Because of the ODS Anniversary Celebration weekend, our monthly meeting has been moved to the second Monday of the month.)

Dec 4 - Annual Christmas Party hosted at Suzi and Jim Ronning's home, starting at 4 p.m. More information will be coming.

Jan 9 - Tack swap/sale for chapter members. The location and more information to follow, as the plans are being worked on for this event.

Feb 6 - Meeting at Suzi’s to discuss the Bears Show and a DVD night. I’m sure popcorn and treats will be included.

Mar 3 and 4 - Bears Above Ground Show at the Yamhill Co. Fairgrounds. Please plan to share at least two hours of your time that weekend to volunteer and support your chapter.

Mar 12 - Monthly meeting, location and topic TBD.

Other activities we’re trying to plan for 2012 include a Ride-a-Test weekend, a Beth Glotsen Pilates and riding clinic, a musical freestyle clinic, more video nights, and a chapter camping trip. The group has lots of great ideas, so watch your inbox for more information. I’m looking forward to another fun year!

- Sharon

Sylvia's new ride

He's tall-enough, dark and handsome, and his name is Cohort!

Sylvia wrote: "On September 26, 2011, I sent my beloved Thumper over the Rainbow Bridge. He reports that there are no flies in the pastures of heaven, there are carrots everywhere, and that he thinks he is 7 again like he was when I bought him.

"I had thought that Thumper was probably my final horse, as I had owned him (or vice-versa) for over 17 years. I would have been happy to have another 17 years with him, but he said he couldn't do it.

"So, believing my own adage, 'Don't be afraid to love another one, the magic can happen again,' I went shopping.

"The new boy is Cohort, age four and a half, a plain red bay with a glimmer of a star, standing about 15.2. He is very green. He had 5 weeks under saddle starting last March, then nothing all summer. However, his disposition and willingness to learn are outstanding, and he is sound (cross fingers and knock on wood for saying so) and a nice mover. His daddy is a dark bay Holsteiner who jumps in British Columbia. Mom is 'ISR' with the Oldenburg Society. From what I could find out, that means she was bay, had four legs and a uterus.

"Cohort joins the club at Janet Aungier Dressage, based at Sherwood Stables in Sherwood, OR, where he and I will train with Janet for dressage. I've figured out that Cohort and I can shoot for our Century ride in the 2027 show season, so we will start working toward that."

I think it would be most fitting if that happened at the show that Sylvia named - Bears Above the Ground!

Congratulations, Sylvia, and happy trails to both of you for a long, long time!

He's a real sweetie.

Linda Acheson Education Fund Benefit Ride-A-Test

We’ve lined up some great instructors for the July 16 and 17 Ride-a-Test! The instructors that have committed so far are Suzi Ronning, Tracie Bjugan, Ashley Bertell, Debbie Spence, Debbie Spitzenfeil, Estelle Keating, Anne Stevens, Mija Paris, Kathy Casey, and Sarah Gammie. Be sure to thank them when you see them, as we really appreciate their support and couldn’t do this without them. We're still hopeful that other instrutors will sign on with us, but Sharon won't send out another appeal until we see how riders respond to the event with entries. Entry forms have been sent out to all Chehalem Mt. Chapter members and will soon be posted on the ODS website and around area barns and stores. Crossing our fingers for a sold-out benefit to put more money in the coffers of the Education Fund!

To put an event like this on, we need volunteers, so please keep some time open that weekend to help. Sharon would like six people in the morning and six people in the afternoon to cover the various jobs each day, so we’ll need 24 people for the weekend. The jobs are detailed below; the sooner you sign up, the more likely it is that you will get the job you request. Volunteers willing to do whatever is needed are welcome, too. :-)

Scribe: Take notes for the instructor during the test and serve as timekeeper for each lesson. Not as involved as scribing at a show, so it should give you a chance to watch the rides and listen to the instructor. We are looking for one person to scribe in the morning and one person to scribe in the afternoon each day, so four scribes are needed for the weekend.

Parking Attendant: Help in one of three areas to keep trailers moving and the driveway clear. Amanda has graciously offered the use of her facility, so we need keep things clear and moving so as not to disrupt her boarders or her business. Sharon is looking for three morning attendants and three afternoon attendants each day, which might be more than we need, but the facility is quite large so more attendants will mean less running.

Hospitality: Work with riders and observers to be sure people are in the right place at the right time, and answer questions. We need one morning person and one afternoon person each day.

Floater: Fill in for people doing other jobs during breaks, read tests, carry messages, direct lost/confused people. We need one morning person and one afternoon person each day.

We will have a chapter meeting on June 6, 7:00 p.m. at Clover Valley Equestrian Center to discuss final details and review how the sign up is going. See you there!

April activities

Monday, April 4 saw 14 of us present at Clover Valley Equestrian Center to hear a presentation by Cydria Schaefer, DVM, CVA. Cydria is a certified Yoga and Centered Riding instructor, and is starting studies in the Feldenkrais Method of Awareness Through Movement. Cydria discussed the bio-dynamics of the body and how our movement affects our horses, and explained how she helps riders work more harmoniously with their horses. There was keen interest in having her back for a clinic, so stayed tuned for more on that.

A thermography clinic is already scheduled for Saturday, April 23 at Clover Valley Equestrian Center. Starting promptly at 1:00 p.m., Miriah Stuart will be scanning five demo horses and explaining the results; it will be a great opportunity to learn more about thermography and how it might help our horses.

February meeting

We had a FULL house for our February 7 chapter meeting at Clover Valley Equestrian Center outside Newberg. The 25 in attendance included several visitors; we hope they decide to join us as members!

Sharon and Patty recapped the ODS retreat for us. One of the things discussed at the retreat was the Linda Acheson Education Fund. Since Linda was an active member of CMC until she died and we put on the first Benefit Shows, we decided to look into putting on a Ride-a-Test benefit for that fund this summer. Michelle is looking into a judge(s) for that, along with dates that will work. We plan to hold it at Clover Valley Equestrian Center, thanks to our generous hostess!

With the Bears Show coming up on March 5th and 6th, that was a primary item of business. The show still has rides available; the closing date is February 22. We are still in need of volunteers; if you haven't signed up to volunteer yet, please email Janis Worrall at will.janis.worrall@gmail.com.

Lastly we discussed upcoming meetings and events (in addition to the Ride-a-Test benefit). Our March meeting will be a celebratory pizza party at Abby's on March 14 at 7:00 p.m. Our April 4 meeting (back on the first Monday night of the month) will feature special guest Cydria Schaefer to discuss the training she does with body awareness and riding. Towards the end of April we are planning a thermography clinic with Miriah Stuart. On June 25 JoAnn Cooke will host a trail course play day at her arena/farm, and on September 25 we'll head back to JoAnn's for our chapter picnic (with trail ride and elections).

In member news, our treasurer Andrea Onstine is sporting a sparkly engagement ring!
The wedding date is September 17; congratulations, Andrea!

In the news

Legislation alert
Senate Bill 262, now under consideration, would impact all horse owners. Click on the name (it's a hot link) and take a look it for yourself.

"As the 2011 Legislative session kicks off, SB 262 creates a new system that requires anyone wanting to become a horse owner in Oregon to submit an application, pay up to $100 and wait for the state to approve ownership. And, if you already own a horse, you will be required to register it with the state and pay the fee anyway. If you want to sell horses, you must register as an "equine trader" by paying another fee up to $100, have a notary stamp the sale document, send monthly reports to the state on your horses' health and the state can enter your property at any time to inspect" — AFP Oregon Newsletter
The bill also mandates that no horse be transported more than 8 hours without a 6 hour break out of the trailer. This may be something you may want to weigh in on....

A new study on unwanted horses reveals the size of the problem
The Journal of Animal Sciences has issued a study on unwanted horses and their outcomes. The researchers investigated the effect of closing equine slaughter facilities in the U.S. in 2007. The tough economy also has contributed to a sharp increase in the number of unwanted horses throughout the United States, with estimates totaling 100,000 horses per year, according to the report.
To read the entire report, click here.