2018 Bears Above the Ground prize list

Sorry for the wonky sizes; I had to take screen shots of the .pdf pages. I think you can click to biggify the pieces.

Party in the park!

The Chehalem Mt. Chapter held it’s annual summer picnic on September 17. This year’s location was Willamette Mission State Park, so some of our members opted to come with their horses and camp (thanks, Karina, for reserving the campsites!); others hauled in for a day ride; the rest came for the food and socializing. We had excellent representation from spousal units and canine friends as well. A total of seven riders got a little wet, but the bit of drizzle wasn’t too bad and kept the dust down.

The meal was held at a picnic shelter with the main menu provided by Wetmore Quality Dogs, a gourmet hot dog stand with something tasty for everyone – even the vegetarians! Members brought lots of side dishes to round out the meal. It was nice to catch up with everyone on their summer activities – even if we did need jackets and blankets!

Sadly, one of our long-time members, Suzi Ronning, is moving with her family to Aiken, South Carolina. Suzi has been a huge part of our dressage/horse community for decades. Aside from competing herself, Suzi has judged, trained, coached, and mentored many of us on our journey with our horses. She’s served in various capacities in ODS, has worked with 4H and OHSET, and has volunteered whenever she wasn’t busy judging or showing. Her bright smile and kindness will be greatly missed, but never forgotten, and hopefully she’ll come back to visit us often. Our chapter is hosting an open house for Suzi on October 8th at Clover Valley Equestrian Center, 14275 NE Tangen Rd, Newberg, OR 97132. Please mark your calendars and plan to stop by any time between 2 and 4 p.m. for some snacks, and to wish Suzi well on her new adventure.

Our chapter Christmas party, a highlight of our year, will be at Jorine Rietman’s house this year (since Suzi is moving), at 14715 SW 133rd Avenue, Tigard OR 97224-8235, on Sunday, December 3, at 4 p.m. We hope to have a big crowd for this fun event!

Check our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Oregon-Dressage-Society-CMC-144815775560523/) for the latest updates to all activities.

Catching up on chapter news

Time to catch up on a couple months' activities!

Our November meeting was an educational one. Patty Cameron from Gallops Saddlery in Tigard joined us for a presentation on bits and bitting. She brought a wide variety of bits to pass around as she talked about their structure and uses. The bits in the photo, although quite varied, are all legal for USEF events.

Our December meeting is always our popular Christmas party, one of the highlights of our "social calendar." On December 11 we gathered in Suzi Ronning’s beautifully decorated home for a festive potluck meal, and followed that with a cutthroat gift exchange and drawings for our “Powerball prizes.” For those who don’t know; CMC members put a ticket in a box for every chapter event they attend, and tickets are drawn at our Christmas for cash prizes; it’s a nice incentive for being an involved member!

Our January 11 meeting had to be postponed until January 18 because of the winter weather. We will be working on everything needed to ensure another successful edition of our annual Bears Above the Ground League Show. This year's show is scheduled for February 25 and 26 at the Yamhill Co. Fairgrounds in McMinnville. Our show is a great warm-up for the show season and we hope you’ll join us. If you aren’t interested in competing, we welcome volunteers!

It's just three months away

Annual elections meeting this week!

We will be holding our annual election of officers meeting on October 12, 7:00 p.m., at MOD Pizza (21370 SW Langer Farms Pkwy, Sherwood). Bring nominations to the meeting, or email them to our president, Mary Ann Trout (seemssoeasy@aol.com). Come and participate in the process and in your chapter!

Plan to attend our September 14 chapter meeting!

We have a guest speaker lined up for our next chapter meeting.

Ilene Nessenson of Holistic Horse Bodyworks will be our educator for the evening of September 14. She will talk to us about Equi-Tape Elastic Kinesiology Tape for horses and stretches we can do with our horses to keep them limber and engaged.

Watch this quick video to get an idea of the importance of stretching and to "meet" Ilene.

(Copy and paste link into browser address bar if clicking on the link does not work.)

https://youtu.be/CCx4A9JpBmw

Kinesiology taping is a taping technique designed for use in both therapeutic (injury rehabilitation) and working athletic situations. Kinesiology tape has been successfully used on humans for over 25 years. It gained significant popularity during the 2012 Summer Olympics. As seen on TV, many elite athletes use kinesiology tape – Kerri Walsh, Venus Williams, Usain Bolt and Michael Johnson, just to name a few.  

During the last few years, the adhesive and taping techniques and patterns have been modified for use in the equine and animal world. Just as human athletes can wear the tape when training for their sport, horses can also be ridden with the tape when they are working. The tape can also be applied when a horse is recovering from an injury.

Ilene is the equine massage therapist, body worker and saddle fitter/reflocker for the Portland Mounted Patrol. She also works on privately owned horses of all breeds and disciplines. Her clients range from competitive show horses in multiple disciplines to individuals who simply enjoy a pleasurable trail ride or ride in the ring, as well as those who are caring for their geriatric equine companion. She also works with equine rescue organizations.

Ilene owns a thoroughbred named Rex and rides primarily hunter/jumper, though she also enjoys riding western pleasure and trail riding. Ilene also incorporates some basic dressage into her riding routine to help keep Rex flexible and strong, and to occupy his very busy brain.

  

Ilene Nessenson, J.D.
Certified Equine Body Worker
Certified Yoga Instructor

www.holistichorsebodyworks.com/about-ilene

Holistic Horse Bodyworks, LLC
1451 NE Parkside Drive
Hillsboro, Oregon  97124
Phone: (503) 867-1023
email: ilene@HolisticHorseBodyworks.com

A full and informative evening

On Monday, June 6, members of the Chehalem Mt. Chapter met at DevonWood Equestrian Centre for a mini-clinic with Jessica Rattner and Amerika, her mechanical mount. What a lot of great education was packed into the evening!

While putting America through her paces, Jessica explained how she uses this tool to assist riders in finding better position and alignment in the saddle. Having a consistent, 100% reliable mount and constant visible feedback via the screen in front of the rider makes retraining one’s muscles and proprioception much easier. Jessica shared how her own riding position has evolved, helping her overcome pain and fatigue caused by old habits.

Then one lucky member’s name was drawn from our “volunteer ticket box” to be a demonstration rider; congratulations, Jane Baer! We all witnessed how Jane’s leg grew more relaxed and her posture more “stacked” with Jessica’s help. Jane said it was very helpful, and plans to take follow-up lessons to help her retain what she learned. (Everyone who attended was offered 50% off one lesson with Jessica/Amerika.)

To add to our “toolbox," Jessica demonstrated some unmounted stretches for riders at the end of the mini-clinic. We all left with plenty to ponder and practice, and agreed that Jessica and Amerika are a valuable resource in our equestrian community.

Jessica is lying on a rigid foam roll in this last stretch

Our next chapter meeting will be held July 13, along with a potluck supper; hope to see a big turn-out!

It's a post-show potato party!

The Chehalem Mountain Chapter of the Oregon Dressage Society is having its next meeting on Wednesday, March 9. If you've never come to a chapter meeting and would like to, google Clover Valley Equestrian Center (Newberg) and show up at 7 pm.

The purpose of the March meeting is to recap the Bears Above the Ground show and celebrate what we accomplished, along with eating. We decided on a potluck baked potato bar and passed around a sign-up sheet at our February meeting. 

 

Michelle – potatoes
Mary Ann – cheese

Patty – sour cream, bison burger

Katrina – butter, broccoli

Amanda – green onions, salt & pepper

Sharon – salad, cookies

Cary & Janet – bacon bits, dessert

JoAnn – cookies

Jorine – salad

Sylvia – dessert

Kate – shredded cheese

Jane – chutney

Vickie – spinach, bacon bits (real)

Janis – chili

See you all there!

[By my vote, if somebody wants to come and you didn't sign up, bring something meat-y; but hey I'm a guy.]

Will Worrall

February minutes; countdown to Bears!

Here are the minutes for our most recent meeting, held on Wednesday, February 10, at Clover Valley Equestrian Center. Our next meeting will be held at the same place on Wednesday, March 9, at 7:00 p.m.

Below the minutes is a note about sponsorship of the Bears show, and earning a qualifying score for the ODS League Finals Show.

CMC minutes, 2/10/2016

Bears show

As of  2/10, there were 20 rides for Saturday, and 22 for Sunday.

We will hold the show, regardless of the number of entries. We will continue to accept entries.

[We had a wide-ranging discussion on topics such as the condition of local shows in general; how to advertise the Bears show; and the status of various prizes. No substantial decisions were made, and there were no motions.]

Follow-up to January meeting

In January, we authorized donating money to 4H so that the Yamhill County 4H could have an L-level dressage judge. Good news: the state 4H will have an L-level judge at the State Fair. Hopefully, this decision will continue into future years.

In January, we changed our meeting date from the second Wednesday of the month to the third Wednesday of the month. In the February meeting, we reversed this decision. We will continue to meet on the second Wednesday, at least for the time being.

Future plans (discussion)

We briefly discussed what we might want the chapter to be like. 

We did make this decision: if you bring a friend, you get an extra ticket for the year-end drawing.

The following possibilities for the future were raised. No decisions were made at this time. What do we want to be...

Social, including outside activities such as roping?

Educational, centered only/mainly around dressage?

Videos?

Schedule to go to certain events?

Don't call it a meeting; call it a social, or a get-together, or a gathering?

Sharon: maybe a couple of fun things? 

Mechanical horse at Devonwood that knows dressage and responds to what the rider is doing?

Dressage equitation? 

March meeting (March 9)

We will celebrate post-Bears with a baked potato bar. Potatoes will be provided. Bring you own topping. Members who were present passed a sign-up list indicating what they would bring. We also encourage people to bring a salad or dessert.

Present: Patty Armstrong, Jane Baer, Kate Beevers, JoAnn Cooke, Amanda de la Iglesia (friend of Karina's), Sylvia Kantas, Sharon Knowlton, Cary & Janet Kraft, Michelle McMillen, Karina Molatore, Jorine Rietman, Vickie Smith, Mary Ann Trout, Janis and Will Worrall.

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SPONSORSHIPS

We are still accepting sponsorships for the show. Sponsor levels begin at the bronze level for $25, and can be from individuals as well corporations/small businesses. Why not join with a friend or barn buddy and sponsor a class?  

For further details, please contact Jane at englishrose@embarqmail.com  or 949-233-2724, or our show manager, Mary Ann, at   seemssoeasy@aol.com.

ODS LEAGUE FINALS SHOW & HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITION & BENEFIT SHOW

You can earn a Qualifying Score for the ODS League Finals Show at the Bears Above the Ground Show. Minimum score required is 55%. You must be an ODS member in good standing on the day of the show. Please note that although Bears is a two-day show, it is classified as ONE show, so you can only earn one qualifying score. However, if you get that score you’ll be halfway to qualifying for the Finals Show! Further details are on the ODS website and we’ll have them available at Bears, as well as ODS membership sign-up forms.

Thank you for supporting the Chehalem Mountain Chapter of ODS, and our Bears Above the Ground Show.

Gearing up for Bears

Our chapter's annual Bears Above the Ground ODS League show is coming up at the end of February. Entries open next week, so start filling out those entry forms! Volunteers are needed, too. See our prize list below.

The Yamhill County Fairgrounds has a new concessionaire with good food and prices, so we hope everyone will support it. The menu is included after the Bears prize list.

Autumn update

One of Suzi's cats decided to be a door prize

Our annual chapter picnic was held at Suzi Ronning's Thornhill Farm on September 30. Along with perfect weather, good food, fun and useful door prizes (thanks, Sharon!), and visiting with friends we elected officers. Even though everyone pleaded with Sharon to continue her reign as president-extraordinaire, she could not be swayed from her decision to step down. When Eric McKown agreed to serve as president for the coming year, he was enthusiastically voted in.  Eric will take over his new responsibilities starting tomorrow, November 1.

Our other officers agreed to continue serving for another year: Kris Brown as vice-president, Suzi Ronning as secretary, Jane Baer as treasurer, and Sylvia Kantas as our long-suffering show secretary. Patty Armstrong also agreed to stay on as our volunteer coordinator. Don't forget to thank these members for all they do.  They are giving up their personal time to work for all of us, and keep things running, so we need to let them know we appreciate what they're doing, and support them as much as possible.

Jennifer Stoffer was our speaker for the October 8 meeting at Clover Valley Equestrian Center.  Jennifer talked about traditional Chinese medicine and its equine medical applications. She covered the five types of horses defined by the five basic elements in Chinese theory (fire, earth, metal, water, wood), food therapy, herbal therapy, and acupuncture.

Pamela Smith will be our speaker at the November 12 meeting, 7 p.m. at Clover Valley Equestrian Center. Pamela will be talking about thrush and other foot ailments we deal with during our wet northwest winters.

The tentative date for our annual Christmas Party is December 2. More information will be coming soon, but save the date. And don't forget to send in your high scores for the year if you haven't already done so! Email them to Michelle at mmcmillen@macnet.com.

On a sad note, chapter member Debbie Cummings had to give her mare Sadie (Black Satin Aboo) the ultimate gift in October, and had her put down to end her suffering. Sadie was Debbie's first dressage horse and produced three stunning foals by Ideal. Sadie also introduced Debbie to Rick and Michelle McMillen, and I (Michelle) will be forever grateful to her for that.

Summery summary

Sorry for dropping the ball blog there for awhile; it's been a busy summer!

"Sometimes it just pays to show up!" says Suzi

Congrats to Suzi and Felino for winning their Fourth Level class and the Fourth Level High Point Award at the Letter Perfect show in June! They were the only one in their class, but Suzi reports that Felino was a very good boy and they received a very respectable score of 60.4% from Donna Longacre who's a tough judge.

Larry, the Danish x Arabian gelding that Michelle was leasing, sold at the end of June. The new owner kept Larry in training with Michelle and came down for lessons twice a week until the end of July, when he moved home to Tenino, WA. The stall didn't stay vacant for long; within days, Sylvia's horse Cohort moved in. Interestingly enough, Larry's former owner has been able to fill in some blanks on Cohort's lineage, since she is primarily a breeder of Holsteiners.

On July 3, chapter member Jo Ann Cooke fell and broke her left kneecap. Thankfully she has been cleared to ride again, as long as she mounts on the off-side.

Thanks to a lot of hard work, preparation and planning by Jane Baer, our Ride-A-Test fundraiser in July was very successful. The hot, sunny day was filled with rides from 8:15 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Judges Suzi Ronning and Estelle Keating worked with every rider to improve their tests and resolve any issues, and there was much positive feedback. Of course, we couldn't have had an event without a facility. Clover Valley Equestrian Center's Amanda and Chris James were so helpful from beginning to end, and of course they open up their facility for our monthly meetings and nearly any other time we need a place for events. Make sure you let them know how much you appreciate them!

The Wildflower Trace Stable Benefit Dressage Show was held last Sunday. The proceeds from this show – around $800! – go to chapter member Karina Molatore and her husband Paul, who were in a devastating car accident last November. A big thanks to Elyse Evans, her mom, and Bill Burke, who organized this benefit. Chapter members Sharon Knowlton and Marilyn Rodriguez supported it with their entries.

Also last Sunday, Brian McMillen (with four other youth ages 13 and under) competed at the State Fair in the Draft Horse Division after just three short evenings of practice – and won the class! If those big, black Shires look the least bit familiar, you might be remembering another of owner Duane's horses who competed in regional dressage shows – One Mile Joey.

Be sure to mark your calendar for our annual chapter picnic and election of officers on Sunday, September 30. We'll meet Suzi and Jim Ronning's Thornhill Farm outside of Newberg at 3:00 p.m.; CMC will provide burgers and brats, veggieburgers, soft drinks and water. Please bring yummy side dishes, salads and desserts to go with them, and any other drinks you prefer. Also, please RSVP ASAP to Sharon (wred.rider@frontier.com) so we know how much food to have on hand.

For our October 8 meeting, Dr. Jennifer Stoffer will be speaking on Chinese medicine and acupuncture and how she uses them for various treatments. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Clover Valley Equestrian Center.

CMC will once again be putting together a basket for the ODS Annual Awards and Silent Auction.  The theme is "Spa Day For Your Horse," so we need items (or a monetary donation) for pampering your horse. Please bring your donations to the picnic, or the October meeting!

Finally, remember to keep track of your scores from any League or recognized show you attend between January 1 and November 15 of this year. We present high-point awards for each level at the Christmas party, and we don't want you to miss out! We'll need your highest score per level, identified with level, name and date of show, your name and horse's name along with the score for consideration. (Collective marks will be used as tie-breakers if necessary, so hang on to those test sheets.)

Do you have any news or photos to share with the chapter? Send them to Michelle (mmcmillen@macnet). See you at the picnic!