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 President's Message -
Fall 2008
Fall is full of opportunity… An opportunity to begin reflecting on what has been accomplished in the year so far. An opportunity to map out what is still to be accomplished before the end of the year. An opportunity to begin to lay the groundwork for all that is possible to accomplish in the coming year. My focus continues to be to increase participation and community. The results we have continued to produce throughout this summer and into the fall show that we are doing just that. SMCHA has had an exciting summer full of horse shows, rides and horse camp. One of our most popular events is our annual campout at Jack Brook Horse Camp in Sam McDonald Park. This year was a spectacular success and was SOLD OUT. Something folks say hasn’t happened in over 10 years. We had over 45 horses and 55 campers, if memory serves me correctly. For the second time, our weekend was catered by new member, Tim Stewart. Another new member and first-timer at Jack Brook, Lisa Ellsworth, was so impressed by the delicious food and fantastic facility that she’s determined to be back in 2009. She’s not the only one who felt that way… It was very satisfying to see so many new faces and getting to know even more members of our SMCHA family. Mark your calendars now for July 24-26, 2009. You won’t want to miss out on this slumber party in the woods with your horse. August was all about our horse shows. We began with our English Schooling Show held each year at Webb Ranch. We had over 80 horses and riders participating. This year’s show was a rip roaring success! Thanks to the infamous team of Noel Moody and Cheryl Basin and their dedicated crew of volunteers. Hot on the heels of that show came our Nor-Cal Open English/Western Show held at The Horse Park at Woodside. Participation was again strong with around 80 riders and horses. In honor of our Summer Olympics in Beijing, first-place winners were awarded their own gold medal. That proved to be very popular with the participants. I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to both Noel & Cheryl. Noel Moody has been a rock of support in the basic foundation of SMCHA. We couldn’t begin to tally the countless hours she has devoted to the betterment of this organization. SMCHA certainly wouldn’t have been the same without her. Thank you, Noel. As for Cheryl Basin, this year she was thrown into the deep end of the pool, so to speak. Never having run a horse show before, she graciously succumbed to my not-so-subtle tactics and agreed to become co-chairperson of this committee. I have been truly inspired by her unwavering dedication and commitment to putting on the best horse show possible for you. It wasn’t always easy – heck, maybe it never was – but she never let that stop her. Cheryl was an integral part of the unprecedented success of this year’s horse shows. We are so very fortunate to have her on our team. I feel very fortunate to have her as a friend. Thank you, Cheryl. Our 2nd Vice President and Ride Chairperson, Nancy Kouchekey, gave us numerous opportunities to saddle up our horses together. Not only was she responsible for organizing our annual campout at Jack Brook, she has also led us on several wonderful rides. Our August group ride led us along the tranquil trails of picturesque Portola Valley. Webb Ranch graciously allowed us to park there – and we finished up there with an enjoyable parking lot picnic. September brought our Presidents’ Ride. The tradition continued with our ride through Huddart Park followed by a scrumptious BBQ lunch at the East Meadow. We had the pleasant company of a number of our illustrious past Presidents including Harold Zwierlein and his wife, Pat Grady, Ron and MaryJo Harris, Jim & Janet Estep, Noel Moody and Bill Ashton. We all reap the benefits of their efforts in making SMCHA the organization it is today. Nancy even had a bouquet of flowers for each of them. Hats off to you, Nancy! 1st Vice President, Adeline Forrest, has a winning record so far this year. She’s 2 for 2 so far. Everyone enjoyed our first General Meeting earlier in the year – the dynamite Spaghetti Feed & Bunco Tournament. It was such a hit with everyone that we plan on doing it again early in 2009. Our recent General Meeting was on a more serious note. The subject was Estate Planning for Pets. Everyone who attended found it full of useful information. Our next General Meeting will be on Saturday, November 15. On the agenda will be our annual elections to our Board of Directors. We have also been working on updating our club bylaws. I recently sent out an announcement to all of you about this. You can review our bylaws on our website at www.SMCHA.org. We will be asking for you to vote on these revisions at this meeting. I’m a big advocate of mixing business with pleasure. Just to make sure we have some fun that night… we’ll be playing BINGO! Everybody loves Bingo! Dinner will be provided and there’ll be lots of prizes to win. We’ll play as many rounds as time allows. So plan on joining us and help take care of some important club business followed by some good old-fashioned family fun. Check out our website for more details. How can we deliver all of these terrific events throughout the year? I’m glad you asked. It is only through the collective efforts of our members who volunteer their time on our numerous committees. Some of our most dedicated volunteers are members or our Board of Directors. Without the commitment of our Board members we couldn’t deliver the quality events we produce – and we certainly couldn’t produce the number of events we do each year. The Board of Directors is an integral part of the ongoing success of SMCHA. What does this have to do with YOU? Everything! * * * KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! * * * Do you hear that? That’s opportunity knocking for you… We have a seat on the 2009 Board of Directors with your name on it. Contact me for an application. It will be my honor to serve beside you. Happy Trails, Barbara Stogner
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