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Monday, June 5th 6pm
Membership Meeting
&
Pot Luck Dinner
The WMVSC will be having it's next membership meeting on
Monday, June 5th at 6:00pm at the
Saddle Club Building.
We will be Hot Doggin' it!
Bring anything that goes with or on a hot dog!
HAPPY COOKIN'!!!
We will be having other themed potlucks for
future meetings, so keep an eye out in the newsletter to see what the
upcoming themes will be!
THANK YOU,
HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE!
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MONTHLY SADDLE CLUB FUNDRAISER!
Wet Mountain Valley Saddle Club
90 CR 241, Westcliffe, CO
Friday, June 30th - 6:30pm - 8:30pm
*Cash Bingo /
Cards $.25 ea
Including "Growing Jackpots"
*3 Progressive Jackpots! / Cards $.50 ea
&
*Cowboy Bingo Special Games / Wear your bandana and get an extra card!
Root Beer Floats & Sundaes: $2.00
Soda: $1.00
Candy Bars: $1.00
Coffee: FREE!
For more information, please call Annie Kerns 719-371-2503
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2017 Kim Seng Spring Workshop
Members: $50.00
Non-Members: $60.00
Coffee and Tea will be provided
Please bring a bag lunch and bottled water
Riding Equipment needed:
Halter, lead lines (rope halter and lead lines preferred)
Water buckets and hay
SPACE IS LIMITED, BE SURE TO REGISTER BY JUNE 20TH!
To register or if you have any questions, please contact
Kim Seng at 719-989-0466
or
Annie Kerns 719-371-2503
Hope to see you there!
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4-H Working Ranch Horse Program
by Lisa Behrman
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The working ranch horse program is to teach kids
and adults the different types of ropes, how to properly take care of a
horse and how to work cattle along with roping. This program has levels
to complete before moving forward which we will do as a team, no one
will be behind.
Any questions, please call Lisa Behrman, 4h Leader at 719-371-0352.
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GYMKHANA UPDATE
Gymkhana will resume again soon!
Where: Saddle Club Arena
Dates:
June 14th, June 28th, July 12,
And July 26th
Free to all Saddle Club Members
A teaching/practice session by Marci Wommack
Everyone practices speed events:
BARRELS
POLLS
75 UP & BACK
FLAG RACE AND KEY HOLE RACE
Run as many times as you can!
Come and join the fun!
For more info contact Marci @ 719-371-1508
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2017 Schedule of Events
Please keep in mind that more events will be added and some event schedules may vary.
Keep an eye out for updates!
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A FRIENDLY REMINDER TO MEMBERS.
PLEASE BE SURE TO SEND IN YOUR 2017 MEMBERSHIP DUES. THIS IS REQUIRED OF ALL COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
It is our members and our volunteers who keep this organization moving forward!
Thank you to all who have donated your time & talents.
We hope to continue our success and increase memberships and volunteerism in 2017!
Thank you for your interest in
upholding our promise to the community, our youth, and our members in the struggle to maintain common interests and goals!
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ROYALTY UPDATE
2017 Westcliffe Stampede Queen
Miss Katlyn Freeburg
2017 Westcliffe Stampede Queen's Attendant
Miss Megan Frahm
2017 Westcliffe Miss Stampede
Miss Brooke Flynn
2017 Westcliffe Stampede Princess
Miss Skyler Rose Smith
Brittanee Bohannan
2016 Westcliffe Stampede Queen
2017 Royalty Director
719-371-3460
A Message from our 2017 Queen...
Thank you
Katlyn Freeburg , 2017 Stampede Queen
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2017 Royalty Sponsorships
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
If you would like to place a tax deductible donation, please contact:
Brittanee Bohannan
2016 Westcliffe Stampede Queen
2017 Royalty Director
719-371-3460
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NATRC EVENT
Sponsored by the Wet Mountain Valley Saddle Club
Location: Music Meadows CTR (Type A Two Day, B1 Saturday only)
Address: 6076 CR 119, Westcliffe, CO 719-783-2222
Date: August 19-20, 2017 Rider Limit: 60
The Wet Mountain Valley is one of the most beautiful
places on earth. The ride will be on the valley floor with the Sangre
Cristo Mountains and its many 14ers as a back drop. Trails will travel
through rolling hills, pastures and light forest. Water will be from the
historic Grape Creek that runs through the Music Meadows Ranch.
Directions to Camp
: From the North or West: Go south of Westcliffe on
HWY 69, 4 miles to Colfax and turn right. Go 6 miles and turn left at
the T and follow signs to Music Meadows Ranch. From the South you will
turn left on Colfax. We will have lots of signs and ribbons for you to
follow.
Camp
: Is a private dude ranch, there will be a $10 per
horse charge. Horse water will be provided. Please bring people water.
Days can be warm and nights cool, so bring a blanket for your horse.
Shoes are recommended.
Emergency Phone: Custer Sheriff 719-783-2270 Limited cells work at camp. Numbers will be shared at briefing.
Schedule
: Ride check in starts at 1 PM, Pre-ride vet check-in
begins at 2 PM Friday, Aug. 19, until dark. Please let management know
if you will need an early Saturday check in. Ride briefings for all
riders will be held each evening.
Meals
: NATRC chef Chuck Smith will be cooking Friday
dinner, Saturday and Sunday lunch. Saturday dinner will be catered by
our host Elin of Sangre's Best Beef. Friday night happy hour is 1 hour
before dinner. Please bring something to share and what you want to
drink, for a fun meet and greet. Volunteers will be fed all meal all
weekend. There is a $30 meal charge for non-rider, non-volunteer.
Awards
: 1
st
thru 6
th
place will have awards as well as Sweepstakes and High point combo. Novice will have ribbons too.
Rules
: Ride will be conducted under current NATRC rules.
Distance Only (DO) offered for those who wish to compete in mileage
only. Health Certificates and Coggins are required for out-of-state
horses. Panels will be allowed, they must be attached to the trailer and
no larger than 12x12
WE HAVE LIMITED PARKING, SO PLEASE RIDE SHARE WITH A FRIEND AND SAVE GAS.
Judges
: Vet - Carrie Porter DVM (region 5)
Horsemanship: Sarah Rinne (region 6)
Entry and Fees
: Price includes all NATRC fees and Friday and
Saturday camping fees: $145 Adult Member, $156 Adult Non-Member, $90
junior member. $101 Junior Non-Member (Region 3 has junior discounts,
please check website) 1 day B ride (Saturday only) $120 Adult Members,
$131 Adult Non-Member, $ 75 Junior Members, $86 Junior Non-Members. If
you want to come in early or stay late it is $10 per trailer per night.
If you have any questions please call Lin at 719-371-6008.
Remember NATRC is offering free membership to all first time members in 2017!
Checks payable to:
Lin Ward, 200 County Rd. 326, Westcliffe, CO. 81252
Deposit
: $50 due with entry and if not paid by June 1 you
will lose your entry place and be put on a Wait List. The balance
is due at Ride Check-in. Refunds until July 28, 2017, less $15
administration fee. No Show, No Refund!
719-783-9
645 Cell 719-371-6008
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DAY RIDE SCHEDULES
Cyn Williams has stepped up to coordinate our Saddle Club Day Rides.
This year, the Saddle Club plans to organize day
rides for members who want to hit the trails. We also are
considering adding horse camping opportunities to this riding
season. We would appreciate if you could fill out the survey so
that we can better plan the day rides and horse camping.
Thank you....and rides will soon be scheduled.
Cyn
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Horse-Play
Instructional Riding Group
We will resume the riding group in the spring!
Kim Seng, Professional Trainer and Instructor
Kim Seng, is founder of "Nature of the Horse"
TM
Kim is a Certified: Centered Riding Instructor, Natural Methods Trainer,
Equine Behaviorist and Communicator, Path Intl Riding Instructor,
and Horse and Human Development Expert
For more information and sign-up contact:
Visit my website at: www.natureofthehorse.com
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Essential Etiquette for Trail Rides
'Mrs. Trail Manners' tells you what you need to
know to have a pleasant cross-country ride-and be invited back.
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As a lifelong trail rider, I can assure you
most of these rules only require common sense or courtesy, including
consideration for the land on which you're riding (plus for the
landowner, public or private) and respect for other land users,
including members of your own riding group.
Most of us consider ourselves considerate,
yet there are common etiquette mistakes I often see made on trail rides.
Here I'll discuss those omissions of etiquette and offer tips to avoid
them.
Mrs. Trail Manners Says:
Know the Lay of the Land and the Owner
Will you be riding on public or private
land? Do you need permission to ride there or to cross it? Some riders
wrongly assume that they're riding on public land. Not all private land
is marked, especially on some of the larger ranches in the West.
Determine ahead of time if your route will cross private land, and get
permission from the landowner. Some property owners don't mind riders
traveling through their ranch pastures or rangelands. When you make
contact, the owner might suggest where they'd allow you to ride and
point out areas where they don't want horseback traffic. But some
landowners simply don't tolerate trespassers.
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INFORMATIONAL & EDUCATIONAL
VIDEOS & READING TOPICS
Hackamore vs Bit
There's a lot of talk about when to use a hackamore and when to use a bit.
Heck some people don't even believe in using bits at all.
So I made a quick video to show you when and why to transition from a hackamore to a bit:
If you use a hackamore at the wrong time of your horse's training, you can stunt his learning growth.
And if you use a bit too soon, you can ruin a horse.
So this video will tell when to use which.
Talk soon,
Carson James
How to have confidence in the Saddle, By Carson James
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Latest News from the
Colorado Horse Council
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JULIE GOODNIGHT
Spring Feeding Transitions
My horses claim about 10 of our 15 acres of land,
which you'd think would be plenty for half a dozen horses. Our house,
barns, arenas, offices, and a warehouse are squeezed into a corner of
the property and the rest of the place is procured and manicured just
for the horses.
We have about 10
irrigated
acres, which is like Park Avenue real
estate in the West. But living in the high mountain desert as we do-even
with irrigation water-it's only enough pasture for what I fondly refer
to as "recreational grazing." (Meaning, it doesn't help my hay bill
much, but it sure makes the horses happy!)
Winters are long and hard here in the Rocky
Mountains and the grass only grows from April through August. The rest
of the year it is decidedly brown. Keeping the grass green is a
challenge in this climate and horses are sure hard on the land. Keeping
the horses healthy while eating that green grass is also a challenge and
a labor of love. Come springtime, managing the pasture for the health
of the fields while transitioning our horse's diet from hay to green
grass, without stressing their
digestive
health, requires some serious planning, as well as detailed execution.
Baby Grass is Delicate
Horses' teeth and hooves are not. While we may turn
our horses out in the fields late in the winter before any new growth
starts, and let them browse the dead grass, at the first sign of green
shoots, the horses are eighty-sixed from the pastures. For the next
month at least, until we can see the first signs of seed heads on the
short grasses, we keep the horses totally off the fields. This allows a
good head of growth in the pastures and will establish the grass for the
whole summer. Horses will paw and dig and gnaw for the first delectable
shoots of green grass and they are incredibly damaging to young grass.
Keeping them off the fields early on makes the grazing last longer at
the other end of the summer.
Over-eaters Anonymous
Once the grass is healthy and ready for grazing, our
focus shifts to managing the change in the horses' diets from dry hay
(almost a year old by now) to fresh green grass. Between over-eating and
the drastic change to the horses' delicate digestive balance, it pays
to be very, very careful. My horses have access to an all-you-can-eat
grass hay buffet, open 24/7. That way their digestive tract is always
full-the way nature intended.
When I am ready to start turning them out to the
pasture, I wait until late in the day, when their bellies are already
full and when the
sugar content
is low in the green grass. Our horses
are programmed to come in the barn at night, so we'll turn them out an
hour before their bedtime. That way they only eat a bit and then they're
ready to come in at the normal time.
Over the next 3-4 weeks, we'll turn them out a few
minutes earlier each day, as they gradually shift from mostly hay to
mostly green grass diets. In colder climates like ours, early morning
grasses can be hazardous to horses with metabolic issues, so in the
spring and early summer, we avoid letting the horses into the fields
before mid-day. During this time of transition, we are watching the
horses closely for over-eating-as some will do-especially when they have
been deprived of the delicacy for so long.
We also keep the horses on heavier than normal doses
of Proviable, a pro- and pre-biotic. This helps stabilize their
digestive tract and is especially important when horses are undergoing
any kind of stress-whether it is a change of diet or a road trip or
arduous training.
Since our horses are all in training-worked or
exercised on a daily basis-I don't really have any concerns about
obesity. I find my horses are so much healthier and content when they
have 24/7 access to a low-protein grass hay. While some horses might put
on a little extra weight in the beginning, once they realize the food
will always be there they slow their eating way down and go back to a
healthier weight. As they switch to more and more green grass the horses
will definitely put on a few pounds, but they also get a sheen to their
coats and are happier.
In nature, horses put on weight in the summer when the foraging is better, then they
lose weight
over the winter when it's slim picking.
Their biology is designed this way and this cycle triggers other things
like shedding and ovulation. I want my horses to lose weight over the
winter and put it back on in the summer. Some horses have major health
issues related to obesity because they put on more weight every summer
but never lose it in the winter. Consequently, they get fatter and
fatter every year. The easiest time to get the weight off a horse is in
the winter.
Keeping it Green
Our pastures require a fair amount of maintenance
during the spring and summer. Early in the spring, before the grass
starts growing, we drag/harrow the fields, to break up the manure clumps
and pull out some of the thatch (and every five years or so the fields
need to be burned off to get rid of the thick thatch). Since we spread
the manure from the stalls and paddocks in the fields, the harrow helps
break it up, providing a smooth layer of fertilizer to the grass.
Recycling manure is great for the growth of the grass; adding a
commercial fertilizer
is even better, but much more costly.
We start irrigating the pastures as soon as the snow
melt starts and the ditches are running. We use flood irrigation-a
manual process that involves damming the ditch and flooding the fields
with water. We only have access to the water on certain days (since we
share it with others), so our whole lives tend to revolve around
irrigation days. Water is a big deal in the West; water rights are very
valuable and never taken for granted. We have to work the water through
the fields to make sure every nook and cranny is covered; the water is
far too precious to waste even a gallon.
We also mow our fields once or twice during the
summer. Horses are very particular about the actual plants they eat,
selecting the tender sweet grass and leaving the weeds and other kinds
of grasses. By mowing (with the blades set as high as they go) we chop
off the weeds before they seed and the grass gets stronger. When you mow
grass before it seeds out, it grows even harder, trying to get to seed.
Keeping our fields mowed improves the growth and quality of the grass
while discouraging the weeds.
A Labor of Love
Maintaining the pastures is a lot of work, but like
most things in life, if it's important to you it's worth working for.
Seeing the horses content in the field, basking in the sun and picking
and sorting through the plants to find their little treasures more than
makes up for the work we put into it. Seeing the shine and dapples in
their coat that only green grass gives a horse pleases my eye and puts a
smile on my face.
There's a reason why horse enthusiasts tend to be
hard workers-it takes a lot of effort to keep horses happy and healthy!
But the end result makes me forget about the extra work and gives me the
satisfaction of doing the best I can do for both the horses and the
land.
Enjoy the ride!
Julie Goodnight
Making Time For Horses
Website:
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Volunteer Time Sheets
To help you keep track of the time that you volunteer with the Wet Mountain Valley Saddle Club, we have created a time sheet.
Please
note that a Board of Directors member will need to approve your time
with a signature. Below you will find a sample of the time sheet.
Click Here
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WMVSC MEMBERSHIP SATISFACTION SURVEY
Dear Saddle Club Members,
This year
the Saddle Club would like to reach out to our members for your
feedback. The Saddle Club Board of Directors will address specific
concerns that you may have as a member.
Below you will find a survey for you to complete and return either via email to anniekerns@centurylink.net, or if you wish to remain anonymous, please return at the next membership meeting.
As we move
forward together as a club, an important goal for success is increased
involvement from our membership. Current studies show an average
of 40 members out of over 100 attending monthly meetings. The
average number of volunteers is 10%.
We value our members and realize that your talents and ideas are vital to the growth of the Saddle Club.
Click Here
Thank you for taking the time to respond. Your input is very much appreciated!
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--
Cowboy Dressage of Colorado
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
We need set help with set up and show
operations on Wednesday and Thursday, March
8th and 9th. If you would like to come have some
fun, learn about the court set up, and how a
show runs, please send your contact info to
Amy Ryals @ equine71ar@gmail.com.
Volunteer times begin at 7am Wednesday.
Many open spots available so let us know when
to expect you! Spots available to work at our
booth during Expo, March 10th -12th.
We are always grateful for the wonderful folks
that show up to help.
You are what keeps us going!
No experience required. Come learn!
http://cowboydressageofcolorado.com
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Special Pricing for Saddle Club Members!
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SANGRES BEST GRASS-FINISHED BEEF
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MOUNTAIN LAND PROPERTIES, LLC
BROCK AND SARAH FLYNN
719-783-0563 - 307B Main Street
REAL ESTATE SALES & SERVICES
Full-time, Hardworking, Professional
Real Estate Brokers since 2003
Buying or selling...we would be honored
to assist you with your real estate needs!
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3115 County Road 160
Westcliffe, CO 81252
"Experience the Difference a View Makes"
P | 719.783.9100
F | 719.783.9519
rdh@apaintedview.com
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2017 WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY SADDLE CLUB BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Marcie Wommack (719) 371-1508 marci.wommack@gmail.com
Jim Bidwell (719) 239-0776 jdbidwell41@gmail.com
Alternates: Bob & Holly VanDuys (719) 783-0920 hollyihardin@aol.com
ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM
Annie Kerns, Executive Director (719) 783-2886 anniekerns@centurylink.net
Manuel Fernandez, Webmaster mfernandez3141@gmail.com
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