President's Message, February, 2000
Last night was the annual Quicksilver Banquet. I counted better
than 100 people. From the
first, celebrating Becky Hart's and Ken Cook's
birthdays to the final award, The
Eleanor Norton Award we had a great time,
at least I did. I had to pick
my president's signature from about 20 worthy
entries and the prize was won by
Heather Bergantz for ………….see below. I
caught myself saying it at least
10 times last night so that must be it.
The Eleanor Norton Award was won by Melissa Ribley, 20 years after
the first award was won by her mother,
Miriam Plaggmier, who was at the
dinner. Several of our far
away members came to the dinner and it was good
to see them all.
Our goal next year is to have everyone who rides a horse and some
that don't, also known as crew,
send in their points, mileage, pictures and
whatever else they would like to
say………all on time so that we can have the
best banquet ever, even better than
this year, if that is possible.
DUH!
Maryben
MARCH 2000
March 3 &
4 AERC CONVENTION
Reno,
Nevada 530-823-2260
March
8 QUICKSILVER MEETING 7:30 pm
Thurman
Chappell—Magnets and
Your
Horse's Health
March
18 GEO BUN BUSTER 30/50
Chris
Elton 760-764-2593
March
18 LAND OF THE NEVER SWEATS 25/55
Rosalee
Bradley 530-253-2265
QUICKSILVER
BOARD MEETING of January 12,2000, was called to order at 7:10
P.M. There was no Board Meeting
last month due to the Christmas Party
TREASURER'S REPORT
Gen’l Account $
732.24
Ride
Account
4,085.42
Junior
Account
750.66
Trails
Account 830.00
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Discussed proofreading calendars.
It was decided to have Steve choose
someone to help him with this.
NEW BUSINESS: Judy Etheridge
proposed a pleasure ride in Sunol which would
consist of a fast and a slower group
of riders on April, 16, which was
originally the weekend for the now
canceled Lakeside Ride.
Goodwill: Kay Allison is in the hospital with pneumonia.
Julie will send her a cad.
Meeting adjourned: 7:40 pm.
QUICKSILVER GENERAL MEETING called to order at 7:45
Elections:
Four nominees - Kay Allison, Ken Cook, Kathy Kauer and
Steve Lenheim were voted upon to
fill the three vacancies on the Board.
Ken, Kathy and Steve
were voted to fill these positions for the year 2000.
Correspondence:
Several newsletters from other equine organization had
arrived and were available for review.
Meeting adjourned: 8:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Diane
Enderle, Secretary
MARCH MISCELLANEOUS
Thurman Chappell will be the guest
speaker at the March 8th General Meeting.
He will tell us all we want to know
about keeping our horses (or maybe even
ourselves) healthy with magnets.
He will have his products with him which
include Niken and something called
infrared. This is field we don't know too
much about, so it should be
pretty interesting. Guests are welcome. 7:30
p.m. sharp.
Trilby Pederson took time from her
busy schedule to manage the Moonlite Ride.
But in the process she lost her
two favorite chairs—green, folding canvas
chairs from Costco’s and her
name is on the tag on them. She really wants
them so you should all check your
trailers, campers, cars, etc. to see if
maybe you inadvertently grabbed
hers instead of yours (which she has at her
house). Call her at 408-997-7500
if you have seen them.
The contest to help Maryben choose
a slogan was won by Heather Bergantz. From
now on, all President's messages
will end with DUH. Heather received the
Ulster interference boots, noting
that this was one of Maryben’s favorite
expressions. Those sending
in slogans were Mary Duewecke, Trilby Pederson,
Elisabet Hiatt, Judy Etheridge,
Lars Larsen, Pat McAndrews and Julie Suhr.
More slogans were suggested after
the banquet started. Maryben needs a
slogan because she couldn't
think up one on her own. She is back riding
again and about to start working
with her new horse, Bandit. We hope she has
time left over to be a great Quicksilver
president.
A really nice Web site is www.lynnesite.com
Lynne Glazier's pictures of horses’
eyes are just gorgeous. Go to Photography
section and then to Gallery
From:
Janice Frazier
Almaden/IBM@IBMUS
Subject: Zoning
Meeting minutes Feb. 1:
next meeting date Feb. 15;
7 pm Forest Park Inn, Gilroy
The draft was provided to the committee
and public in attendance. Aspects of
concern were discussed, in general
the draft is proposed as staff promised:
animal density is mostly not included
and the proper management is the main
thrust. of the ordinance.
Highlights include no numbers for
livestock, except for Hillsides (3/acre
Large animal; 6/acre medium) which
is an increase over the current
regulations and for urban areas
(R1, R1E, RHS) low numbers were proposed.
This was a very lengthy discussion
since this section does invoke stricter
animal density numbers than was
allowed before, and it was finally requested
to be sent back to the staff to
work on with the cities which they would have
impact and who could potentially
veto our ideas.
Committee did not want to see people
losing anything, and apparently there
are some odd places that are zoned
R1 in Almaden, near Calero for
example, where people would be impacted
unfairly.
Set backs from well or established
watercourse (page 26-27), 100 ft for
confinement structures, would be
for anything requiring a building permit, so
that should eliminate pastures.
But the definition of established
watercourse was requested from Staff,
because some people with narrow
property and drainage ways would
have issue with this (I know properties on
Henwood and Harry that would, and
I hear properties on Rucker would too).
Grandfather clause was not clear
and requested to be made more clear. One
important thing to note that came
up was if you have a structure made without
a building permit and you would
want it grandfathered you'd better get a
permit now.......
Also water district representative
expressed concern that there was not more
language related to environmental
impacts related to proper management and
proposed working with staff to beef
that up.
I had some concern with the section
on needing to clean up after your animal
on private or public property, since
clearly this was taken from dog
ordinances and that would be a nightmare
to do with horse riding on McKean, etc
.., or if your horse poops at a
staging area and you don't pick it up you
could be fined.
But I seemed to be the only one who cared, must not have
ridden anywhere where that is enforced
(like I have in Mt. Jacinto).
Discussion with requests to investigate
further require another meeting in 2
weeks, Tues. Feb. 15th.
Once committee is OK with draft,
presumably it will be posted on web, and
there will be series of community
meetings and other agency approvals
required, before this goes to Planning
Commission (target date 4/3) Board of
Supervisors (target in first Tues.
in May)
Trail Riders Convention
Region One of the North
American Trail Ride Conference (NATRC) will
beholding its annual convention
this year at the Loma Prieta Community Center
on Saturday, February 26th.
NATRC sanctions competitive
trail rides across the United States. A
competitive trail ride is not a
race, but competitors cover a marked course
in a given period of time.
During the event, veterinarians evaluate the
condition, soundness and trail ability
of your horse. NATRC horsemanship
judges evaluate riders on trail
equitation, trail safety, and how well they
care for their horse during and
after the days ride.
The "Back to Basics" convention theme
will feature forums with NATRC
veterinarians and horsemanship judges,
and a session on "Getting Started" for
the novice rider. Topics will
include how to evaluate a horse's suitability
for competitive trail riding, what
type of saddles and tack are appropriate
for long distance riding, plus advice
on conditioning and feeding.
Featured speakers will be long time
endurance rider Julie Suhr and trail
advocate Connie Berto. Julie
Suhr has completed the Tevis, a 100-mile
endurance ride that crosses the
Sierra Nevada mountains, over 20 times.
Connie Berto, also a distance
rider, is one of the organizers of
Envirohorse, a group concerned with
environmental issues surrounding the use
and keeping of horses.
There will be a trade show with vendors
offering tack, clothing,
equipment and supplies specifically
designed for trail and distance riding.
The cost of the convention will be
$30 per person for adults and $15 for
juniors. Breakfast and lunch
will be catered by the Summit Riders Horseman's
Association and is available by
reservation.
For more information, call
Karel Waugh at (408) 353-1466 or Marlene Takle
at (408) 353- 2419. For registration
forms, call Jackie Mehus at (408)
395-2388 or (408) 353-4300.
QUICKSILVER GREETS THE YEAR 2000
Before a sell out crowd of approximately 120 persons, the Quicksilver
clan gathered at Harry's Hofbrau
on February 12 to honor our own.
Representing eight decades, we ranged
from Trilby's nearly 50,000 miles to
those with no miles. With
our enthusiasm, we hope to entice them into
participation. And then there
are those with no miles, who will probably
never have any miles, but come to
support their loved ones.
There were our special guests, Don Brown and Joanne Evans, Richard
Vargas and his wife, Jim
and Colleen Green. Good neighbors, good friends,
one for all and all for one.
Maudlin yes, but modern culture is full of
terms such as “support groups.”
We have ours built into our club. Our common
bond? Our horses.
There were the
Ambrizs..just back from Nicaragua where they gave the
sweat of their brows to help those
in trouble because they were needed..
And Vivian, minus her beloved Chuck,
but surrounded by family. There was
Miriam Plaggmier, who we seldom
see, but who gave us one of our finest
members, Melissa. And young Katelynn,
who attended her first Quicksilver
banquet as a 7 month old babe in
arms and hasn't missed one since. And
because his wife is writing this,
we cannot leave out the eldest endurance
rider in the United States, possibly
the world, Bob.. Dame fortune seems to
smile at us all, some more than
others, true, but because of our Quicksilver
Club, there is always someone there
for you. Don't ever forget it.
Special plaques for special people, Don and Joanne and the Greens.
And then our Eleanor Norton Award
to the person we thought best represented
the character and sportsmanship
of Eleanor—Melissa, a Quicksilver Junior, who
so many of us watched grow-up to
represent us at out best. Hall of Fame
Rider---Nancy Elliot who not only
distinguishes herself on the trail, but
uses her scientific knowledge to
help us all. Internationally recognized,
she still contributes her time and
efforts to Quicksilver. Hall of Fame Horse—
.Pete LeMond’s Casey who defied
the odds, and with the help of Gloria
Vanderford, came back to show us
you never count anyone (or any horse) out. H
Horse of the Year? Who else
but Red? Skip bought him. Heather rode him.
Honors went to Heavyweight
rider champ, Ken Cook. with Mike Maul being
next in line.
Middleweight hero was Mike Tracy followed by Bob Suhr. Kath
y Thompson won the Lightweight division
hands down with our Hall of Fame
Rider, Nancy Elliot following.
Jeff Luternauer and his new horse, Phoenix,
ran off with the Featherweight
honors followed by Judith Ogus. Bob and
Pat Verhuel, in their first year
of membership, garnered the first place Husba
nd/Wife Award, followed by Bob and
Julie. Trilby, as expected, rode her way
to the top of the Mileage chart
with 2220 miles in a year's time. Jeff
Luternauer had the next highest
distance ridden—1640 miles. LS Zane Grey+/,
our 1998 Hall of Fame Horse, received
7 AERC Best Condition Award over the
course of 12 months so we
rightfully honored him as our Best Condition
Champion. What an impressive record.
Dave Fanara and Mary Inman, running and
riding together, were our Ride &
Tie Champs.
One sad note was that Quicksilver has no juniors members competing
now. Ken Cook
and Julie Suhr each sponsored juniors, but the juniors were
not club members. Maryben is chairman
of the AERC Junior Committee so is
going to have to drum up a little
business or they will have to disband the
committee. Another thing
that is sort of too bad is that many Quicksilver
members were eligible for
awards if they had JUST SENT IN THEIR POINTS!! It
is so easy. The form is always
in the November Newsletter and all you a have
to do is fill it in. Maryben
adds it all up, and Voila! You go home with a
prize. Our thanks to Maryben
for putting it all together — award shopping,
reservation making, playing
Master of Ceremonies. And special thanks to Steve
for our calendar, a tough
job. To our out-of-town members, thanks for
coming. We like seeing
you. j.s.
This is not a bit horse oriented,
but it is the nicest story Quicksilver
Quips has had in a long time.
Thank you Carla and Jess for sharing.
Seniors Making a Difference
Sometime in July, I had been invited
by Church World Service to lead a group
of Hammer and Nail people into Nicaragua.
We were to work with a group
called CEPAD.
CEPAD is an extension
of Habitat for Humanity. The first person I asked
to go with me was the pastor of
my church, Father Eugene O'Donnell, and to my
surprise he said, "Yes, Jess, I'll
go with you." The second person was my
wife. She said yes also.
In about three weeks, I had twelve people all
excited about going to Nicaragua,
to build homes for the people who lost
their homes because of Hurricane
Mitch in November of 1998.
By October 24,
we were off on Continental Airlines on our way to Managua,
Nicaragua. Denise Espinoza, Director
of CEPAD Managua, and Paula Morgan,
representing Church World Service
welcomed us on the evening of Oct. 24.
After a meal of rice and beans,
we had a prayer meeting. We were informed
that the area around Esteli was
our destination. We would be in a small
village called "El Mango".
Oct. 25th, we
headed for the Town of El Mango. After 41/2 hours of bumpy,
dusty, and pothole filled roads,
we arrived at the farmhouse, which was to be
our home for the next two weeks.
Mr. Marvin Hurtado and his wife Angelica
welcomed us to their home, a 12"
X 20" room for 14 people!
The first night
South competed with the North for the best snores and I
think the South won.
Oct. 26th, we
anxiously reported to the supervisor of the project. After
some introductions, we started a
very rewarding experience. For the next ten
days we mixed cement by hand and
carried buckets of water between two people
and a pole. We laid cement
blocks and watched the walls go up. Some of us
learned how to make the rebar
forms for the inside of the buildings. We
bent the rebar and learned to twist
the wire to hold everything together. It
was great to be able to see our
work go into the completion of a product.
Others in the group were making
and putting up the forms that would be the
door frames and the corners of the
houses.
The first working
day, we were able meet the people who were building
their homes. We met Alma,
a 14-year-old girl who lost her family and home to
the hurricane. Marcella, an
eight year old girl who from sun up to sun down
worked beside an old woman, age
69, Dona Catalina, and many others who were
there before we arrived every morning
and were there after we left.
That night we sang songs with
the ladies whom were cooking and Marvin's
family. The second night we
sang songs in Spanish and some of the villagers
came to listen to the Americans
sing in their own language. By the end of the 10
days, we had the whole village with
us every night to listen and to sing
along with us. We were truly
of voice by the end of our trip. One family
working to help all of our brothers
and learning about each other.
On Oct. 29, Monday,
the people from CEPAD Radio station came by and
interviewed me. They were
interested in where we came from, how many of us
came, and how long were we going
to be staying. On 2 November, Ms Espinoza
brought in CEPAD TV to interview
some of the people whose homes we were
building and me.
On Oct. 30, Bonnie
Anderson arrived. We had mixed feelings about this
because it meant the Father Gene
would be leaving the next day for the
States. The people in the
village also felt our sadness at having to say
goodbye to Father Gene. There
was a party that night and by the end, there
were very few dry eyes in the crowd.
This precious Human Being had showed us
humility, humbleness and compassion
and a willingness to get in and work as
hard as the person next to him.
It was hard for the next couple of
days not to look for Father Gene to come
walking down the path. The
Nicaraguans observation of our vulnerability
caught them by surprise. They
saw us crying, hurting, and sadness set in,
they saw that we were just like
them. Our host family as well as the helpers
became our family and we were their
family. The whole village more or less
adopted us. We also met Mr.
Hurtado Senior, Marvin's grandfather, who at the
age of 101 was the most senior member
of the village. Every day we would see
him bringing food to the different
people of the village. The last night
there he sang songs and recited
poems about the Americans and the Nicaraguans
part in the war for peace and freedom.
On the last night there everyone who
had a musical instrument came and
played for us and sang their special songs
for us. We danced, laughed,
and in the end cried because we would miss our
new families when we had to leave
the next day.
We made many friends
for ourselves and for the United States of American.
We all got names and addresses
so we could write to them and keep in touch.
Now one of the
main reasons this is about seniors making a difference is
that of the fourteen people who
went, nine of us were over the age of fifty.
In addition, a couple of us were
over the age of sixty. This says a lot about
what seniors can accomplish when
we have the desire to help.
This was one of
the most memorable and enjoyable experiences I have ever
had in my life.
Carla Ambriz Jesus
M. Ambriz
Lt. Governor Elect, Div. 12
Cal-Nev.-Ha District
Kiwanis International
Once Upon A Dream
All of us have read success stories
either from impossible, high risk
beginnings or from incredible rehabilitations.
But, you never think
that you will be the lucky participant/partner
of such a story. Of course, you
never think you are lucky when you
are going through you trials! Well, here
is our double success story!
Eric had just
purchased 6 mares from the Cliff Lewis dispersal sale at
the Roseville Auction and realized
that he now needed a stallion. His eyes
had been on a wild grey who, with
wide bulging eyes, was just trying to
get as far away from people as he
could. Although scared almost to death,
the stallion made no hurtful or
mean actions, and this is mainly what
caught Eric's attention.
Eric took him home and immediately
improved his roping skills. Soon
he was saddling and riding only
to hit his first obstacle - a broken coffin
bone from the accumulation of snow
in Zane's shoes on a training ride. And
he recovered from this better than
anyone predicted.
My first introduction to Zane
was for a Ride & Tie Championship - tie a wild
stallion to a weak branch and hope
a tired competitor did not tie a mare next
to him or, even worse, that he would
break free?! But, by the end of the
l994 Ride & Tie year, we had
moved up to the Top Ten and Zane was like
a seasoned veteran.
Then, onto endurance - Eric
took the challenge, and he and Zane made a great
team in l995 and l996. Now,
it was my turn and we had an incredible year in
l997 (my first year of endurance
riding) - AERC/IAHA/ASHAI National Endurance
High Point Horse, AERC Best Condition
Champion - West Region, and our
first IAHA National Endurance Championship
(Grand Champion)!
l998 started the same way
that we had ended l997, but a few rides into the
season I started complaining to
Eric of Zane's attitude and my fear that
"something" was wrong, but
what? Eric started thinking that I was going
crazy - how could there be
something wrong with a horse that was winning?
Then, he started showing lameness
and 3 weeks prior to the Tevis was Grade
3-4 lame - the final diagnosis was
shoulder bursitis caused by an
impact during breeding. We
had to pull from the Tevis and the World
Championship Long List.
After a 9 month recovery program
which did NOT make Zane a happy camper, we
started competing again. With
regular ultrasound follow-ups, and a
conservative ride and management
strategy, Zane still finished l999 with some
major accomplishments - AERC High
Point Horse - West Region, AERC Best
Condition Champion - West Region,
and his second IAHA National
Endurance Championship (Grand
Champion)!
There are many measurements
of a horses' ability, -conformation,
athleticism, temperament, intelligence,
etc., but there is no measurement for
HEART! And Zane has a whole
lot of HEART!
Zane Grey - one of the toughest
endurance stallions ever, with the kindness
to allow 4 year old Katelynn
to lead line on him! Thank you, Zane, for
being a part of our family and we
hope to always do the best that we can for
you! Thank you also for teaching
us that success is not just winning - it is
overcoming obstacles!
With Zane just turning l3
years young this year, and ALL of his l997
offspring as Sport Horse Junior
Champions, the story on LS Zane
Grey+// is far from over!
Kathy Thompson
2/l4/00
Published by the Quicksilver
Endurance Riders Inc.
P.O. Box 71, New Almaden,
CA 95042
Julie Suhr, Editor
TEL and FAX 831-335-5933