Today is April 1^st, the proverbial “Aprils Fools Day” and the weather outside is warm and beautiful, not a cloud in the sky, and yet both Sarah and I are working diligently on writing articles for this spring magazine. I’m working on this President’s message and Sarah is in the process of writing on an article on our last General Meeting that was held at the Peninsula Equine/STAR Medical Center. We still have an article to write jointly on a Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue class that we just attend at the Eastern Kentucky University.

On Thursday, February 17^th, we had our first meeting with our Junior Members for the year. The original Junior’s Program was started on May 28^th, 1947; 58 years ago. The purpose of this meeting was to allow the Junior Members to network and discuss the types of events that they would like to participate in. We had a great turnout; they discussed and voted on a multitude of their ideas. The Junior’s decided to participate in the Woodside May Day Parade on May 7^th and the 4^th of July Parade in Half Moon Bay. They also wanted to have a Team Penning Clinic and end with a Barbeque. This will take place on June 18^th at Ed Cohen’s Rancho Viejo in Menlo Park. On August 27^th they decided on Gymkhana at the Driscoll Ranch in San Gregorio. The last planned event will take place on September 24^th ~ 25^th and will be an Overnight Trail Ride and Playday. This will be a family event and will be held at the Driscoll Ranch.

This year the group will be overseen by Board Members Terri Pacheco, Melonie Likins, Cindy Machado, Janice Olson, Nancy Kouchekey and Kathie Goddard. I want to personally thank these wonderful and dedicated individuals for taking over the new Junior’s Program. I promise our Membership that this year’s Junior Program will be like no other; so you parents with Junior members, please get them involved by calling Terri Pacheco @ (650) 726-3062 (evenings) or Kathie Goddard @ (650) 917-1895 (evenings).

On Thursday, February 24^th, we had the first General Meeting for the year, it was held at the Peninsula Equine/STAR Medical Center and it was an exceptional event. So let me begin by thanking Doctors Russ Peterson, Sandra Bauer, Lucia Mokres and Sinead Devine for their wonderful and informative presentations on the various subjects presented at our February General Meeting. I would also like to thank their staff that was present which included Dr. Matt Randall and Veterinary Technicians Jan Peterson, Tara Mullaney and Corri Moesta and lastly we can’t forget all the help we received from Lavergne Poe. So, on behalf of the San Mateo County Horsemen’s Association we want to again thank you for bringing to our membership these types of quality lectures. Furthermore, we look forward to working personally with Dr. Russ and his wonderful staff in the future. For those of you who were unable to attend please look for the article in this magazine that Sarah has written, as an overview of the subject matter that was presented.

By the time you have received this magazine we will have already had our second General Meeting which was the “SMCHA’s Friday Night at the Races”. It was held on April 8^th at Bay Meadows Racecourse. The cost was $25.00 per person and it was a “SOLD-OUT” event; sorry to all you who wanted to attend but tickets weren’t available. We originally had 60 tickets and they went faster than the horse in the first race. The price included parking, admission, a race program and a fabulous buffet dinner. There were a total of 8 races in all and I want to congratulate those of you who were the big $$$$ winners for this sold out event; you can make an appointment with Larry Pelzner, Board Member and CPA, who will be more than happy to help you protect your new found fortune!

Well on to the next subject, I know that some of you already received this as an email, but its subject is so important that’s worth repeating; so please bear with me.

A number of year’s back the San Mateo County Horsemen’s Association adopted the Clarkia Trail that lies within Edgewood Park. We agreed to actively monitor and maintain this trail for the San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Department. In the past, our Association scheduled regular workdays throughout the year and members, like you, would show up and donate time towards the maintenance of this wonderful trail. Unfortunately, in the past few years the Association has neglected to live up to our adoption agreement with the County regarding the maintenance of this trail.

Recently, members of the Board of Directors decided to make the Clarkia Trail Adoption one of our top priorities. We scheduled several meetings with members of the Park and Recreation Department to further discuss this trail. We then formed a subcommittee and physically walked with a few of the Park Rangers the entire trail to become familiar with its maintenance needs.

On Saturday, April 30^th at 9:00 am we have scheduled the first Clarkia Trail Clean-up Day for the year.  Please contact either Cheryl Basin (650) 364-3020 (anytime) or Sarah Filice (650) 368-1304 (weekdays) if you are able to participate. We will be providing you with a continental breakfast at the entrance to the Clarkia Trail on Canada Road.

Please consider this, if you are contemplating whether or not to participate in this clean-up day. The equestrian community has been actively fighting to keep our rights to the continued use of many of the existing and newly proposed trails. We need to show the County Officials that with the current trend of reduced funding and budget costs that we are an important and a much needed asset to them when it comes to monitoring the trail systems and their maintenance. Please bear in mind that we have over 450 members within this Association so we should be able to provide the manpower needed on this day; please make the effort and donate your time for this event.

Lastly, for you parents, this is a great opportunity for your children and their friends to learn the value in volunteering and giving back to the community. This may also help your children to meet and complete some of the community service that may be required for graduation.

On May 7^th, SMCHA will again be participates in the Annual Woodside May Day Parade. We would like to have a strong presence by our membership. If you are unable to ride we still will need volunteers to help groom, tack and walk along side the group for safety and crowd control. The line up will begin promptly at 9:15 am and the Parade will start at 10:00 am sharp. Trailer Parking will be at the Woodside Elementary School. If you are interested please contact Kathie Goddard (650) 917-1895 (evenings).

Beginning on Thursday, May 19^th we will be starting the SMCHA’s Western Riding Clinic which is always a well attended event. The clinic will be held every Thursday evening through July 14^th, with the exception of June 30^th. The final event for this clinic will be held on Saturday, July 16^th when we will be having the Western Clinic Show & Dinner. Look for the flyers that will be mailed out shortly or you can contact Karen Rowley-Shawback at (650) 851-2314 (evenings) or (510) 491-1134 (weekdays).

Al Filice