President's Message - May 2001
Hi there!
We've been discussing doing a completely different, or even a completely new Quicksilver Endurance Ride in the fall at Coe Park or Pacheco Pass. Steve, Jan and Brian will be working diligently to make this happen. Stay tuned for the details in the upcoming months.
Our April program was a really good presentation on horse rescue by John and Deborah Fox along with another member of their team from Felton Fire and Rescue. We're considering doing a half or even all day hands-on-training on this subject at the Horseman's showgrounds. This would empower us in our quest for being prepared. As you are all aware, expecting the unexpected is a part of our life with horses!
Madison Seaman's will be expounding on the intricacies of horse dentistry at our May meeting. If you wish to have your horses' teeth worked on and corrected as part of the demonstration, it would only cost $100. It's normally quite a bit more than that! Contact Marilyn Orlando at (408)779-9900 to make arrangements.
Lynn (a friend of mine),
Brianna (my granddaughter) and I tackled a huge cleanup project on the
horses last week - all of them! We detangled manes and tails, cleaned
feet and peeled layers of hair off of each horse. Of course, this
process now needs to be repeated immediately. I guess this is
the standard mode
of operation for this time of year
'Til next time,
Diane
MAY 2001
May 5 WASHOE VALLEY ENDURANCE RIDES 25/50/100
Connie Creech 775-882-6591
May 9 QUICKSILVER MEETING and ICE CREAM SOCIAL
Board Meeting: 6:30 pm. General: 7:30 pm
Speaker--Dr. Madison Seamans-Horse Dentistry
Trilby Pederson’s Barn-Info: 408-997-7500
May 12 SCOTTS FLAT RIDE
Suzi Sousa 530-268- 2607
May 19 DIABLO VISTA 25/50
Cory Soltau 925-248-4555
May 27 CAMP FAR WEST
Robert Ribley 530-268-1378
BOARD
MEETING : March 14, 2001
TIME IN:
6:45 PM
CALL TO ORDER:
PRESENT: Diane Enderle, Trilby Pedersen, Jan Jeffers, Judith Ogus, Jackie
Davidson, Mike Maul, Kathy Kauer
ABSENT: Maryben Stover (Maryben was actually at the meeting, however
she did not attend Board in order to get things ready for the evening's
program)
GUEST: Marilyn Orlando
MINUTES OF LAST
MEETING:
The last meeting
was the annual Awards banquet. No minutes were taken.
PRESIDENT'S REPORT:
The June meeting
needs to be held one week earlier. It will be held at Julie and Bob's
house on June 6th. There will be a program: George Hilliard will
be speaking. A motion was made to have the meeting and speaker on
June 6th. The motion was seconded, and passed unanimously.
It was also noted that Elizabeth Hiatt wants to do a CPR/First Aid class. She would like to find out if there is any interest among club members.
Diane also brought materials from Julie regarding the Western States Horse Summit. We discussed whether or not QSER should be a sponsor for this event. A motion was made to have someone go to the summit (QSER will pay the $45 fee to attend), and see what this event is about, and if it holds interest for the club. If so, we can consider sponsoring in the future. The motion was seconded, and passed 6 votes with one abstention.
We need a volunteer who would be interested in attending the summit, which will be May 31st. Please let Diane Enderle know if you are interested.
We need a volunteer to host July's meeting, as Trilby will be on a ride across the USA. Please let Diane know if you can host the meeting.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Mail was opened,
we received a letter and an article from Lars Larsen
about riding helmets.
This article will be submitted to Julie Suhr for the next Quips.
TREASURER'S REPORT:
GENERAL ACCOUNT
$ 1,708.51
RIDE ACCOUNT
2,592.35
JUNIOR ACCOUNT
760.12
TRAILS ACCOUNT
840.58
Report was read
and accepted.
SECRETARY'S REPORT: None given.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
MEMBERSHIP
COMMITTEE : None given.
PROGRAM
COMMITTEE :
-
Judith followed up on the local fireman who does horse rescue.
It turns out that they talk about how they rescue horses, but do not tell
people how to rescue their own.
- Jackie attended an Equine Disaster Preparedness workshop a few years ago. She will follow up with the instructor, Timothy Collins (out of Santa Barbara), to see if he would like to be a speaker. Jackie suggested that we have both Judith's program and this one, so that people get an idea of how firemen do horse rescue, and also so that they learn rescue and disaster preparedness techniques that they can use on their own.
- Marilyn said that Madison Seamens can do the lecture on equine dental with 60 days' notice. Dr. Seamens also said that he would do dental on a "volunteer" horse as part of the speaking engagement. The person volunteering the horse would have to pay Dr. Seamens' fee of $110 for the dental work. Please contact Marilyn Orlando if you are interested in "volunteering" your horse. A motion was made to have Madison Seamens speak at the May meeting. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
GOODWILL COMMITTEE : None Given
TRAILS COMMITTEE :
Jan gave a brief
report on Little Arthur. Little Arthur has been put into committee
again, and the homeowners are threatening another lawsuit to prevent it
from being used as an equine staging area. Jan will keep us informed
of community meetings regarding this issue.
RIDE COMMITTEE
:
Judith reported
on the location of the Fall Ride, which is slated to take place at Dinosaur
Point on October 12, 2001. She rode there recently with Becky and
Steve, and said that Dinosaur Point is a great ride location,
but could be tough (technical). Judith said that overall the site
seemed okay in terms of water, and that it had lots of jeep roads for easy
access to vet checks, etc.
Judith also noted that horses at the 20 Mule Team ride came back with Strangles and colds, and that there has been an outbreak in this area. She said that horses that were infected with Strangles drank from water troughs at Quicksilver and Santa Teresa parks. The park rangers are supposed to clean out the water troughs. Please check with your vet as side effects of the Strangles vaccine, and whether you should have your horse vaccinated against Strangles.
AWARDS COMMITTEE: None given.
NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE: None given. Next issue of the Quips will be May, 2001
OLD BUSINESS: None.
NEW BUSINESS: None.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: None given.
A motion to adjourn was called and seconded. The Board meeting adjourned at 7:29 PM.
Respectfully
submitted,
Jackie Davidson, Secretary
BOARD
MEETING: April 11 , 2001
TIME IN:
6:46 PM
CALL TO ORDER:
PRESENT: Diane Enderle, Trilby Pedersen, Jan Jeffers, Judith Ogus, Jackie
Davidson, Mike Maul, Kathy Kauer and Steve Lenheim
MINUTES OF LAST
MEETING:
Minutes of
last meeting were read an approved.
SECRETARY'S REPORT:
We discussed the Equine Disaster Preparedness workshop offered by Tim Collins.
Tim's workshop would allow us to learn how to rescue our horses in the
event of an emergency, and also how to prepare ourselves and our horses
for emergencies such as fire and earthquakes. To defray the costs,
we discussed doing this workshop, which would be an all-day workshop, as
a community event, with other clubs such as San Martin Horsemen's, Santa
Clara Horsemen's, Los Vajaros, Los Altos Trails, etc., at a location
such as the Horsemen's. We also discussed checking with the
ASPCA to see if they would want to sponsor the workshop. We decided
to table this item until the next meeting, to give us a chance to see the
presentation
by the Foxes (from the Felton Fire Department).
PRESIDENT'S REPORT:
Diane still needs
a volunteer who would like to go to the Western States Horse Summit, which
will be May 31st. Please let Diane Enderle know if you are interested.
CORRESPONDENCE:
The mail, which
consisted of a newsletter from the San Martin Horsemen's, was opened
and circulated.
TREASURER'S REPORT:
GENERAL ACCOUNT
$ 1,708.51
RIDE ACCOUNT
2,592.35
JUNIOR ACCOUNT
760.12
TRAILS ACCOUNT
840.58
Report was read
and accepted.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE : None given.
PROGRAM
COMMITTEE :
- Marilyn
said that Dr. Madison Seamens can do a program at the May meeting.
He still needs a volunteer horse for that evening. The fee to have
the dental done on the volunteer horse's teeth will be $100. Please
contact Marilyn Orlando if you are interested in "volunteering" your horse.
Trilby said that she will have an ice cream social as part of this meeting.
Kathy Kauer also noted that Drs. McCormick and Hayashima of Valley Animal Hospital also do the same type of dental work as Dr. Seamens.
- For June, George Hilliard will be coming to speak. This meeting will take place at Julie Suhr's.
- For July, Rebecca
Witter will be coming to talk about her book on women and horses.
This item was seconded and passed.
- Kathy Kauer proposed that we have a program for people who are starting horses, or who have just gotten a new horse and are trying to work the "bugs" out. Kathy said that she would check with her trainer on this.
GOODWILL COMMITTEE : Send a get well card to Chere Montgomery.
TRAILS COMMITTEE : None given.
RIDE COMMITTEE
:
There are some
problems with the Pacheco Pass ride: 1) Parking. There is one
lot, which is small. Steve talked with the ranger about opening up
the field for parking, but has not yet gotten approval. 2) For a
first-time ride, it is difficult - all up and down, no flat. It also
may be problematic to get the vets into the back country. 3) The
windmills may cause safety (spooking) problems, so Steve is going to see
if they can open up the area behind the windmills, so that people can get
around them safely. Steve may talk with Brian Reeves about the service
roads through that area, to see if Brian has any additional ideas.
In sum, it was
proposed that we consider switching the ride to Coe, which though it has
its own set of access issues, may still be a better ride location.
Steve would like to assemble a committee for the ride, and to
have Brian Reeves
available as an advisor. Judith and Kathy volunteered to help Steve
with the ride. In the meantime, the Pacheco vs. Coe issue was tabled
until the next meeting, while Steve and Jan look into Coe.
AWARDS COMMITTEE: None given.
NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE: None given. Next issue of the Quips will be May, 2001.
OLD BUSINESS: Dr. Seamens will be doing a dental demonstration at the next meeting (see above). He needs a horse for the demo. The fee for the dental is $100. Talk with Marilyn Orlando if you are interested in volunteering your horse.
NEW BUSINESS: None.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Arabian Trail Riders are having a pleasure trail ride on Saturday, May 12th, at Henry Coe Park. The ride starts at 10 AM, and anyone who is interested may go. The ride will be staged out of the Hunting Hollow staging area.
Santa Clara County is doing a trails study so that they can work on the master plan for the trails. We need volunteers to attend meetings, etc.
A motion to adjourn
was called and seconded. The Board meeting adjourned at 7:36 PM.
GENERAL MEETING
- APRIL 11, 2001
TIME IN:
7:45 PM
The General Meeting
was a program. The Felton Fire Department came to talk about the
program that they developed in large animal and horse rescue. At
the end of the presentation, Brian Reeves awarded them $1000 on behalf
of the club (this was the horse rescue fund), so that the Foxes and Captain
Malloy could continue their good work in rescuing horses, and in teaching
others horse rescue techniques.
Respectfully submitted,
Jackie Davidson, Secretary
Kathy
Mayeda reports
on SASO III
I helped out at the Shine and Shine Only Ride today. After all our hot discussions about riding internationally, racing, etc. here in San Jose (not Silicon Valley, eh Maryben?) was our backyard ride hosted by our 3X World Champion, secretaried by our AERC Vice President mb, with a lot of well known endurance names hanging around. I didn't see anyone racing.
It was a little more relaxed than usual for a SASO, probably because of the strangles thing, so the riders and us P&R people had a chance to just hang around and talk during the vet checks.
Everyone had a different goal for their ride. There were probably a few first time riders. There were a few old time riders like Ruth Waltenspiel, who's picture I just noticed Friday night when I was re-reading Wentworth Tellington, and Linda Tellington Jone's endurance book from years ago. A lot of endurance history in this ride, a lot endurance hopes for the future.
People sharing their stories about their horses, smiling, taking care of their horses, no pretensions. Talking about our next ride, what our plans for the ride season, whether or not to pad for Washoe, whether or not they will nominate for PanAms, starting new horses, coming back from injuries (human and horse).... I feel more at home with this group of people more than any other group of people and I've only been competing for a very few years. I relished the day and will relish getting back into the saddle and riding a ride too.
This is the heart and soul of our endurance life, where newbies spawn, and just maybe learn to become a big fish someday. Or maybe just swim around in their own little special ponds. Doesn't matter. We're all here enjoying ourselves.
And then I went to the Ride and Tie National Awards Banquet tonight. Small group, rowdy bunch of people!
The office was on the way home, so I decided to drop in and take a peak at RideCamp and see how all the international stuff was cooking. Was a good day.
See ya later. K.
SASO III Results:
25 miler
MICHAEL BLACK/DAWID'S
DUDE
JENNIFER TISCORNIA
STEELE/ALBI
JENNY EMICH/STUBBY
PENNY MCGINNIS/OEI
ARIANNA
JAN JEFFERS/ROCKET
MIKE MAUL/FIRE MT.
BEAU
BRITTANY SILLS/FAITH
ALEXANDER CALHOUN/SOLACE
VICTORIA KUHN/K J
GERWAZY
STEVEN THOMPSON/BEAT'S
WALKIN'
JOHANNA CONSTANCE/TA'EZ
GABRIELLE MANN/SOARING
ST. PATRICK
JIM BROWN/KHEMOTION
SV
BRENDA SPEER/HALF
PINT
PEGGY BULLOCK/WHITE
CLOUD'S LUCH STAR
CINDY BROWN/W A ABSOLUTE
CARY BERTOLONE/NEGASK
BOB EATON/YAHOO
PATTY BANNECK/COWBOY
KEN COOK/KRUZYR
GLORIA PEARSON/KASS
JOSEPH GARCIA/NOBLE
EMPEROR
LIZ CARRY/BASIA
SARAH HUSSEY/GENTRY
ANDREA HUSSEY/DARRYL
50 MILERS
BARRY WAITTE/KANN SAM
COUNT
NANCY CORBELLETTA/STEELE
FIRE II
RICK GOMEZ/MONTEREY
BEST CONDITION
MIKE TRACY/ARON MOON
+//
ROBIN EVERETT/THE
MISCHIEF MAKER
RUTH WALTENSPEIL/CHEYENNE
II
MARCI COOK/A A ALLUSION
DAWN PERRINE/TIKI'S
ONLY MIKE
JENNY NIEHAUS/BO STEGIE
DENNIS SOUSA/K A WINSTON
JOYCE SOUSA/L V INTEGRITY
KIRSTEN BERNTSEN/PADRON'S
CRUISING
JUDY REENS/STREEK
ROBERT RIBLEY/OAK
HILL RAMBLER
KEVAN STRATHMEYER/LEA
STREAK
CATHERINE POKORNY/HIGH
CHAPPARALL
PAT FARMER/K A AIRBORN
And Cheryl Domnitch
reports on the
SASO
RIDE & TIE
Hi All:
Results from the SASO R & T:
22 miler:
1. Becky Widler
and Laurie Wilson on Don (BC)
2. Warren Hellman
and Jeff Townsend on Sam
3. James Steere
and Thomas Steere on Wesob
4. Cristina
Penilla (Novice) and Steve Shaw on Cougar's Clown
10 miler:
1. Les Nightingill
and Dawn Hartsock on
2. Tracy Hofstrand
(Novice) and Michele Shaw on Moose
Thanks to all of the
endurance riders for letting us share the day and the
course with you.
We had a great time!
ARABIAN
TRAIL
RIDERS ASSOCIATION report
by Marilyn Orlando
Sunday, April 1st, was a beautiful day in Ed Levin Park! And, the first annual ATRA Poker Ride was a resounding success! We had a great turn out and many commented they'll come back next year.
A BIG THANKS to all the volunteers that made the ride possible. ATRA appreciates your efforts.
Our next ride is Wildflower Trail Ride on Saturday,May 12th, in Henry Coe State Park in Gilroy. We'll meet at 10:00 AM and ride out at 10:30 AM. There will be two groups - a 6 mile flat ride for those with less conditioned horses and a 15 mile hilly fast loop for those who want to move out.
Contact Marilyn
Orlando at (408) 779-9900 if you're planning to come out!
Our members continue to bring the Quicksilver Club honors. From the Golden State Appaloosa Horse Association newsletter comes this:
APPALOOSATARIAN OF THE YEAR
Our own member, Marilyn Orlando, was awarded the Tony Felice Memorial Award at the recent Cal-Western banquet which was held in Modesto. This annual award goes to the individual who has promoted the Appaloosa horse in the fields of open competition and/or promotional activities. It is sponsored by Jameson’s Appaloosas owned by Julie and Shay Jameson of Aromas. She was presented with a lovely engraved commemorative plaque.
Marilyn has been competing in the distance field since 1987 and has won numerous awards on three different horses: Irish Coffee”76, June Moon (Eclipse) and Mtn. Mist Mirage, and has accumulated 4550 miles!
Upon receiving this award Marilyn stated that she was thrilled to be recognized for her efforts and accomplishments and was honored because she had personally known Tony Felice who owned Felice’s Western Store in San Martin.
Also, her current mount, Mtn Mist Mirage+ received champion- ships in both competitive trail and endurance; only the second horse in history to accomplish this double award in one year! This was Mirage’s first year in endurance competition. Together they achieved 1500 hours in the Saddle Log Program.
In addition to the
awards they received from Cal-Western and Golden State Appaloosa Association,
they also achieved their 1,000 Mile plaque from ApHC in competitive trail.
Now they are on their way to the 1,000 mile award in endurance and her
third Chief Joseph Award which requires 10 Competitive Trail Rides, 10
Endurance Rides and 1,000 hours Saddle Log on a registered Appaloosa.
Judy Houle sends out the following inquiry.....
Would anyone out there
in the East SF Bay Area be interested in meeting say, on Saturdays
at 10:00, say, at Macedo Gate in Danville to train on Mt. Diablo?
We all know you get a better workout in a group, and I personally am more
likely to get my butt out the door and in the saddle if I know there are
people to train with. It's also a good way to get green horses used
to group situations. Even a once a month group would be good.
It could be in a different location each month. Anyone interested please
respond to:
judysfelex@webtv.net
Quicksilver member Lars Larsen, with the voice of experience, really wants us all to be conscious of the importance of riding helmets--not bicycle helmets. “After I busted my styrofoam bicycle helmet, I am using my mountain climbing helmet from the Aspen Mountain Search and Rescue Team. This old and heavy helmet (to modern standards) feels good on my top---on top of something which wants me on the ground anyway, It seems to me looking around now, that quite a few horseback riders are using good helmets now days. If you bring a First Aid Kit- You won't need it!”
Lars also sent an article which follows on the next page. that should be of interest to all. The editor used to use bicycle helmets, but after being “out of it” for 15 minutes on the Pony Express Trail with a bicycle helmet in three pieces on the ground in front of her, she now uses a riding helmet.
Just when you think you know just about everything there is to know, someone comes along and proves you really don't. The subject is:
TRAINS, THE SPACE SHUTTLE AND HORSES’ BUTTS
The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet 8.5 inches. That is an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that is the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the US railroads.
Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that is the gauge they used.
Why did "they" use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used the same wheel spacing.
Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England, because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (and England) for their legions. The roads have been used ever since.
And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for (or by) Imperial Rome, they all had the same wheel spacing.
Therefore, the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet 8.5 inches is derived from the original specification for an Imperial Roman war chariot.
Specifications and bureaucracies live forever. So the next time you are handed a specification and wonder what horse's butt came up with it, you may be exactly right.
This is because the Imperial Roman war chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war-horses.
There is an interesting extension to the story about railroad gauges and horses' behinds. When we see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRB's. Thiokol makes the SRB's at their factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRB's might have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRB's had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRB's had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track is about as wide as two horses' behinds. So, a major design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's butt.
Subject: HUSBANDS VS. HORSES
GOOD THINGS ABOUT HUSBANDS
1. Husbands
are less expensive to shoe than horses.
2. Feeding
a husband doesn't require anything that even mildly
compares with the hassle of putting up hay.
3. A lame husband
can still work.
4. A husband
with a bellyache doesn't have to be walked.
5. Husbands
don't try to scratch their heads on your back.
6. They are
better able to understand puns.
7. If they
are playing hard to catch, you **may** be able to run them down on foot.
8. They know
their name. 9. They usually pay their own bills.
10. They apologize
when they step on your toes.
11. No saddle
fitting problems.
12. They seldom
refuse to get into the vehicle.
13. They don't
panic - running and yelling all through the house when you leave them
alone (unless you've left the kids with them too!)
14. For a nominal
fee, you can hire someone else to clip them.
15. They don't
like the lady next door just as well as you, just because she fed him for
3 days straight.
THE HORSE'S ADVANTAGE
1. If they don't
work out you can sell them.
2. They don't
come complete with in-laws.
3. You don't
have to worry about your children looking like them.
4. You never
have to iron their saddle pads.
5. If you get
too fat for one, you can shop for a bigger one.
6. They smell
good when they sweat
7. You can
repair their "clothes" with duct tape.
8. It's possible
to keep them from "jumping the fence".
9. You can
force them to stay in good physical condition, with a whip if necessary.
10. They don't want
their turn at the computer.
11. They may turn
white with age, but never go bald.
12. They have never
heard of PMS.
13. They learn to
accept restraint.
14. They don't care
what you look like, as long as you have a carrot or an apple.
--- submitted to Quicksilver Quips by Maryben
Published by the Quicksilver
Endurance Riders Inc.
P.O. Box 71, New Almaden,
CA 95042
Julie Suhr, Editor
TEL and FAX 831-335-5933
e-mail marinera@aol.com