(Newsletter)
Riding Sessions:
We geared up and began Class #2 on May 22nd. This class seemed like just such a short and sweet class as we only ran for five weeks instead of six, due to the Memorial Day Holiday. Rider numbers were down slightly also, due to some conflicting schedules. We were in and out of the gold barn in just a couple of hours every Sunday for this class, but that all changed as we started Class #3. Full, Hectic and Hot, describes how this class began. We started at 3:30 pm and ran till 8:45 pm. All the previous riders were back and then some. Starting that late got some of us home pretty late, thanks everyone for your dedications and commitment. We also thought evenings would be cooler, wrong! Thank you ever so much to the Fairground Crew who showed us how to operate the big air fans. That helped us tolerate the temperature much better by keeping the air circulating. We will be forever grateful. We encouraged our volunteers and instructors to drink plenty of water and kept some readily available, along with some neck coolers provided by thoughtful volunteers. With the good air circulation, our riders stayed fairly comfortable. Class #3 no sooner got started then had to break for the fair. It was challenging to move and haul all our equipment (stuff) back and forth as we tried to make room for them. All items have been found and returned to the barn now, and we’re hoping not to have to move them again for a while. A couple of our current riders and a previous rider participated in the fair’s open horse show. We did get to spend a session or two working on the reining patterns for the class. It was very exciting to see our riders participate. The crowd, fairboard, judges, etc., were very accommodating. Thanks for helping us to help them. It was hectic for us, but all the riders had a wonderful time, that makes it all worth it. The smiles from our riders were so big, who couldn’t help but notice. Thanks again to the Fairgrounds Crew who helped up move our ramp.
We will have one more six-week session before we break for the winter. It’s scheduled to begin Sept. 11th and to be held in the afternoons. We’re receiving phone calls everyday, inquiring about them. It looks like it will be full, and some adjustments may need to be made to accommodate some new riders. Calling or emailing would be a very good idea if you have any interest at all in becoming a rider as plans will have to made soon, and we’d sure like to accommodate everyone as best we can.
This will list some of the things our riders are currently working on. Reining independently, balance and body control, hand-eye coordination, color identification, social skills, verbal commands, correctly identifying horses, tack, body parts, colors and markings, counting, equine safety, communication skills with others, manners. As you can see, there’s quite a range of things that we’re working on, we have such a diversification of riders, we try to tailor the lessons to the rider and to their specific needs. That is always challenging and it does change as we master one small step at a time. Everyone moves forward at a slightly different speed. But isn’t wonderful, that everyone is moving forward?
Fundraising:
Independence Farms served Roberts Ice Cream at the Fairgrounds Monday evening, July the 4th, before the fireworks display provided by the local fire department. Lots of ice cream was served. The amount of people who favor the taste of strawberry took us by surprise. We figured we could count on the two old reliable flavors of chocolate and vanilla, but guess on the third. It was a pretty close three-way tie as far as flavors were concerned. The evening cooled down rather nicely, the ice cream was delicious and the fireworks, breathtaking. Thanks to all who helped make this a success. We’re already planning flavors for next year. Make your suggestions now.
After having to spend much more time on the horse auction project than we’d like to have, it has all paid off. Rosie has become a more settled, calmer horse than she started out to be. Stephanie Helms Ohlde has certainly done a great job with training her. We have now set the Date! Rosie will be auctioned on Sat. August 13, 2005 at 8 PM. We have tied it in with the Kansas Junior Rodeo Finals and activities that our local saddle club is helping to host. Rosie will be on display and helping in the arena during the Saturday performance. Come take a look at what this horse can do and enjoy a good rodeo performance also. The Ks Jr. Rodeo Assoc. (KJRA) will be holding a supper meeting on Saturday and then they will be holding their own auction to raise money for them. Their auction is open to the public, everyone is invited to attend and bid. They will have a variety of items to auction off. The items usually are along the means of horse tack, equine equipment or supplies, western or cowboy decor or art related types of things.
Check out our News, Events page for further details. The DVD player will also be drawn for that evening. Chances can be purchased at the Beauty Knook,
Visitors:
Have had visitors at almost every session. These visitors are possible new riders and or volunteers. We are encouraging every to come and watch what we do to see if it’s for them. Anytime you see the doors on the Gold Barn open and the horse trailers parked outside, feel free to stop in and see us. Please use the west doors to enter by and sit on the west side. It causes less interference for riders, horses and volunteers. It also keeps everyone safer.
Training for Volunteers:
We’ve taken a new approach to training prospective volunteers. We are having them come and visit a session on a Sunday to see, first hand, what it is we do, and how we do it. We talk to them afterwards and make sure it is still something they want to do and find out which position(s) they’d like to fill. After watching, most people say it is something they’d like to do; so then we set up a group training session with other prospective volunteers. The training sessions are scheduled for before or after a regular Sunday riding sessions as we are already at the facilities and so are the horses. This training will be done in one or two hours, on one or two different Sundays. Then we will mentor the new volunteers in with seasoned volunteers until they themselves are seasoned volunteers and feel comfortable with our riders, horses and other staff personnel. We want to make it a safe enjoyable experience for all, keeping it efficient too. We try to get a group of 3-4 prospective volunteers together before we schedule a training session. Scheduling is always a conflict, but we do make adjustments to accommodate if we can. We don’t ever want to turn down volunteers, but we want to make sure your trained properly too.
NARHA State Meeting Set for August 27th:
One of our very own is the NARHA State Representative. It is our lead NARHA Certified Instructor, Michelle Woerner. It’s a duty of hers to arrange a NARHA State Meeting. The meeting will be a place for camaraderie, fellowship, sharing and learning. Learn from Cindy Branham, a John Lyons Certified Trainer, who will be speaking on horse behavior, communication and training. For NARHA members the sharing, fellowship and meeting begin at noon. There is a fee to attend this, but Independence Farms has extended an invitation to local 4Hers to attend the seminars that will be held later in that afternoon, free of charge. RSVPs are very important as we plan for this event. Please call Michelle at 785-348-5789 or email ifinstructor@bluevalley.net to make your RSVP by Aug. 13th.
Board Meetings:
Public Forum is set for the first fifteen minutes of each board meeting. What is public forum?? It’s a chance for volunteers, riders, parents or just interested person, to come and talk to the board. This is a time for the board to listen to you, intently, one on one. The board just listens at the forum. No action is taken.
Why public forum? We’re interested in what you have to say, your ideas, concerns or your suggestions. At a riding session, it’s very hard to listen and remember things when you have so many other responsibilities. It’s also better to hear your comments straight from you, not a third party. If you plan on coming to a public forum, give the Pres. Terri Gauby a call, at 325-2719, to let her know your coming. If meeting location or time gets changed at the last minute, she can notify you of the changes too. Meetings are usually scheduled for the third Monday of the month.
Annual Board Meeting Date Set for August 15, 2005:
Election of officers, etc. will take place at this meeting. It has been scheduled to for 7:30 PM at the First National Bank. Call Terri Gauby at 785-325-2719 for more information.