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!

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.

It's a wrap: CMC Christmas Party 2010

On Sunday evening, December 5, a good turn-out of CMC members arrived at Suzi and Jim Ronning's beautifully decorated home for the annual chapter Christmas party.

We visited:

Ate:

Handed out awards:

Drew names for the Powerball prizes:

And opened (and stole) Christmas presents:

High-score award winners were Sharon Knowlton and her horse Wred at Introductory Level; Suzi Ronning and Luke Flynn at Training Level, and Suzi and Felino at First Level. (Laura Ritacco and Falcor were the high-score winners at Intermediare I, but that information was not available at party time.) Sylvia Kantas, Andrea Onstine and Suzi Ronning were acknowledged for all their contributions to our chapter; Chris Brown received the "Most Improved Rider" award; and a "Good Samaritan" award was given to both Suzi Ronning and Ashley Bertell for their help with Wred when Sharon broke her wrist.

The Powerball winners of $25 gift certificates to Gallops were Suzi, Sylvia, and Jane Baer, with the big prize of a $100 gift certificate going to Marilyn Rodriguez.

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Remember, our January meeting has been moved to the second Monday, January 10, at 7 p.m. Our speaker will be Cydria Schaefer DVM, CVA, who is a certified Yoga and Centered Riding instructor, and has started studies in the Feldenkrais Method of Awareness Through Movement. Cydria will be explaining the biodynamics of the human body and how our movement affects our horses, and how she helps riders work more harmoniously with their horses. So mark your calendars for January 10 at Clover Valley Equestrian Center!