As I reflect on my year as President of the San Mateo County Horsemen’s Association for 2007, I must tell you how proud I am of all the endeavors that this Association and its Membership has accomplished.

During this last year, the Association and its members have continued to play a vital role in the fight for the rights of equestrians to access the vast trail system throughout San Mateo County. We have also lent our voice to issues that were plaguing some of our equestrian friends in neighboring counties. There is strength in numbers when we rally together and through our collaborative efforts we have been successful on a number of issues; especially when it related to safety issues and concerns regarding allowing bicycles access to the trails in Huddart/Wunderlich Park. It is imperative that all the equestrian groups and community continue to work alongside the Blue Ribbon Committee in finding a safe alternate route for the bicycle community from the Valley to Skyline; thereby continuing to protect the existing equestrian/hiking trails for many years to come.

Our Junior Committee, which is comprised of some very dedicated individuals (Janice Olson, Cindy Machado, Melanie Likins, Nancy Kouchekey and Kathie Goddard) continues to strive to provide great events for our Junior members. As most of you know, the kids of today have schedules that would make most of our heads spin; if not explode!! Whether it is time dedicated to homework, sports practice/games or taking care of their animals, there just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day, let alone week, to add one more thing – so getting them to participate in one more thing sometimes just isn’t possible. Amazingly enough, this does not discourage our Junior Committee; they continue to provide quality events for our Junior members to participate in, because they realize the importance and need to support this vital group of our membership. We all need remember that they are our future and the key to carrying on SMCHA’s legacy.

In July 2000, the Clarkia Trail in Edgewood Park was adopted by the San Mateo County Horsemen’s Association; under the Presidency of Libby Armanino. Back in 2005, the SMCHA Board of Directors decided to once again make the Clarkia Trail Adoption a top priority and since then our members have participated in numerous trail clean-up days. Our last clean-up day in June was so successful that the Park Rangers decided to post-pone our September scheduled event – way to go! I look forward to working alongside many of you next year and in the many years to follow. The Western Riding Clinic, co-sponsored with the Mounted Patrol of San Mateo County, continues to be a huge success and this year was no exception!

The Western Riding Clinic was started back in 1970, so this year we celebrated the 37th year for this marvelous event!! SMCHA Board Member Karen Shawback has been chairing this event since the 1980’s and is one of the main reasons why this clinic is so successful – she has everything so dialed in that she could run the program in her sleep! Another reason why the clinic is such a huge success is the fabulous riding instructors we have training our participants. This year our instructors were Noel Moody, Joan McLaren and Jason Attard – thank you for your marvelous instruction, enthusiasm and encouragement! The clinic is also successful because of the continued collaboration and support from the Mounted Patrol of San Mateo County. A big standing ovation and round of applause goes out to Dave Burlingame, who took time out of his schedule every Wednesday night to groom the arenas before every clinic! We can only hope that this event will continue well into the future – I know it is a favorite amongst our members!

This year the Horse Shows were well attended and everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves. The Western Schooling Show & Playday and the English Schooling show were once again held at Webb Ranch and the number of participants was still strong! These shows always seem to get a good response; especially because of the great schooling opportunities for the riders and horses alike. The Nor-Cal Open English/Western Show was once again held at the Horse Park at Woodside – a great location for a great event! With the relocation of this event a few years ago, we are now able to accommodate an ever increasing number of entries. I wish to extend my thanks to both Kathie Goddard and Noel Moody, who are the Horse Show Committee Chairs; and to all those who volunteered and lent their hand to the Association during these events – people like Cheryl Basin, Karen Shawback, Larry Pelzner, Adeline Forrest, Al Filice, Gretchen King, Elizabeth Sullivan, Dan Johndrow, Bill Ashton, Sara Esquivel, Ann Farris, and Paul Williams; to name a few. If I have left someone out, please accept my most sincere apologies!

This year the Jack Brook Horse Camp event was truly phenomenal. SMCHA strives to provide events for the whole family and the Jack Brook Horse Camp event is a great time for one and all! I still can’t believe there are a few of you who have not taken advantage of attending this spectacular event in this most heavenly location; there is something magical about camping with your horses and friends! The Friday Night at the Movies was once again a huge hit; this year we played “City Slickers”, popped popcorn in the Pop-Corn Machine that Libby Kurtz donated to our Association last year, and roasted marshmallows! The Saturday night dinner and raffle was a huge success – with the proceeds from the raffle we will be able to make a sizable donation towards the Folger Estate Stable Project! I especially want to thank Adeline Forrest, SMCHA’s 2nd Vice President, for her hard work and dedication to putting on such a wonderful event – kudos Adeline!!! I also want to thank Barbara Stogner and Sue Sheehan for working closely with Adeline on this event! Please plan on attending next year; you won’t regret it!!!

This year SMCHA members and their guests were able to attend some fabulous General Meetings. The first meeting of the year in February was held at STAR Equine Medical Center; where the Peninsula Equine staff gave lectures on EHV-1 (Equine Herpes Virus-1), use of Cisplatin Beads in the treatment of Sarcoid tumors and an update on the West Nile Virus. In April we all gathered at Bay Meadows Racecourse for another Friday Nite at the Races – fortunately it looks like we will be able to have this event one more year!! This always is a favorite amongst our members! In September our General Meeting was held at the new location for NCEFT (National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy). Dr. Wayne Browning gave us a tour of his new EquiSport Therapy and Rehabilitation Center on the NCEFT property and farrier Steve Wiberg gave a great lecture on emergency hoof care and corrective shoeing. I can’t wait to see what is planned for the November General Meeting! A special thank you goes out to 1st Vice President Cheryl Basin for all her hard work and dedication to making these events informative and spectacular! Thanks goes out to all of you who helped Cheryl with all the plans and preparations – I’m sure it made the event even more spectacular!

This year was a very scary time for most of us equestrians, because the Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) came to our backyard and hit the coast-side in March of 2007! With the amazing help of our local veterinarians, especially Dr. Wayne Browning and his staff from Bayhill Equine, and the quick enforcement of “voluntary” quarantines at, and near, the outbreak, the potential spread of this devastating and often deadly virus was halted! I would also like to personally thank Dr. Browning for providing me with so many of the updates during this crisis; this constant stream of data enabled me to forward that information on to our membership and other equestrian organizations. I also wish to thank Dr. Browning and the staff from Bayhill Equine, and Dr. Madigan and Dr. Ferraro from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine for taking time out of their busy schedules to meet with members of the equestrian community during two local forums. These forums were held at Moss Beach Ranch and the Mounted Patrol Grounds on two separate dates – both of these events were very well attended and we thank all those people involved who made those locations possible! I also wish to give a “standing ovation” to the following equestrian facilities – Renegade Ranch, Moon Valley and Ember Ridge – for their immediate response to the EHV-1 outbreak. Their quick action to implement a “voluntary” quarantine (based on the recommendations from Bayhill Equine and UC Davis), and their extreme diligence in carrying out the labor intensive duties throughout the crisis, such as taking temperatures twice a day on numerous horses for weeks at a time, helped insure that this outbreak didn’t spread. It is difficult to know how many horse’s lives were saved by their actions – thankfully we will never have to know! Thank you to the many, too numerous to mention, who also helped get the information out to the masses and those of you who also instituted “voluntary quarantines on your property -- it just goes to show that we, as a collective group, can have an amazing effect on a situation when we put our minds to it!! A round of “kudos” to everyone!!

Wow, what a year it has been! As I look back on all of the experiences I have been apart of as President for SMCHA, I begin to realize what my predecessors must have gone through and truly admire all their dedication and hard work. Even though I assisted my husband, Al Filice, throughout the two years of his Presidency for SMCHA it is not the same as being in that position yourself! Being President is a very huge investment of your time and personal life, and it has always been a position that I have taken very seriously and done with pride. Although you always wish you could have done more, I am proud of all that I have accomplished over this year and I will leave with a feeling of satisfaction on a job well done. Over this past year I have received many wonderful comments and letters from the membership and other equestrian organizations regarding my year as President, and these are the things that I hold dear and will cherish for a lifetime. Thank you everyone for your kind words of encouragement and your heartfelt wishes; they meant the world to me and kept me going when times seemed hard!

I now would like to personally thank the thirty-two members of our 2007 SMCHA Board of Directors; they are Cheryl Basin (1st Vice President/General Meeting Chair), Adeline Forrest (2nd Vice President/Ride Committee Chair/County Fair Chair), Gretchen King (Secretary), Dan Johndrow (Treasurer), Stan Ramirez (Sergeant at Arms), Kathie Goddard (Historian/Horse Show Committee Chair), Bill Ashton, Gene Ericksen, Sara Esquivel, Al Filice (Husband Extraordinaire), Ann Farris (Registrar/Membership Chair), Maria Fonseca (Assistant Secretary), Michelle Goodspeed, Jim Keeton, Nancy Kouchekey, Libby Kurtz (Advertising Chair), Art Lesser, Amnon Levy, Melanie Likins, Cindy Machado (Jr. Color Guard Chair), BJ MacLellan, Rosemarie Menager, Noel Moody (Horse Show Committee Co-Chair), Janice Olson (Jr. Program Chair), Rick Payne (Insurance Chair), Larry Pelzner (Finance Committee Chair), Tanya Rebarchik (Magazine Chair), Karen Shawback (Western Riding Clinic Chair), Sue Sheehan (Historian Assistant/County Fair Co-Chair), Barbara Stogner (Hospitality Chair), and Elizabeth Sullivan. Their participation and planning of all the related activities and events throughout the year for SMCHA members and their guests have been outstanding! I am honored to have worked with such dedicated and hard working individuals! Thank you for all you have done for the Association and all you have done to help me along the way!

I also wish to extend my sincerest gratitude to my husband, Al – you are my rock and my strength, you encourage me when I feel overwhelmed and discouraged, you give me energy when I feel I have no more to give, you make me laugh and rejuvenate my soul, you are my everything! Even though we have been married for twenty-six (plus) years, you still never cease to amaze me and I truly love all the many adventures in life that we share together. Thank you for all the help you have given to me during my year as President – I can never begin to acknowledge and thank you for all the things you have done for me -- even though I often teased you that it wasn’t as much as I did for you during your Presidency!!! All joking aside, you are the best husband anyone could ever ask for – I am thankful everyday to have you in my life!

This year our membership grew to over four-hundred members strong – a number we should all be proud about! It is good to see that our Association is so alive and well, and with members like you, SMCHA is positioned to continue it’s legacy well into the future. Although it is always important to remember that SMCHA is only as strong as its membership, President and Board of Director’s, one can really make a difference by staying involved and being supportive, to participate in the many events and opportunities that SMCHA provides to its membership, to remain active in the fight for equestrian rights, and to help out and attend the many community based activities; like the Clarkia Trail and County park maintenance days. It is true what they say, one person really can make a difference!

Thank you for allowing me to be your President this year; it has been an experience that I will always treasure and hold dear to my heart.

Happy Trails,
Sarah Filice
President SMCHA