In This Issue.… Region 1 2017 Junior Winners!natrcregion1.org/Articles/leadlines/Leadline_Spring_2018.pdf · Photo by Linda Thomason, with permission Grace Boles & Lucky Eddie Photo

The Leadline Spring 2018

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In This Issue.…

Spring 2018

The Voice of NATRC Region 1 Competitive Trail Riding

www.natrcregion1.org

Chair’s Column......................2Region 1 Ride Calendar........3Remembering Those We’ve Lost.......................42017 Region 1 Year-End Awards.............................6Region 1 BOD Meeting Minutes.............9Better Results Through Cross Training.................10Membership Form.................11

Region 1 2017 Junior Winners!

Claire Cichocki & Desert WhiskeyPhoto by Kim Naugle, with permission

Alexis DiMartino & DenababorrPhoto by Linda Thomason, with permission

Grace Boles & Lucky EddiePhoto by Linda Thomason, with permission

Natalie Niderost & AbishaggPhoto by Kim Naugle, with permission



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Chair’s Column. . .

A friend of mine, Jec, is training for an ultra-marathon running event, and I’mtrying to get my mare, Sunny, in shape for our NATRC season. So when Jec sug-gested we meet at Rancho San Antonio for a run together, it sounded like a greatidea – Jec would have company for her run, and Sunny could trot along with a bud-dy. We agreed to meet at 6:30 AM on a Saturday morning.

When Sunny and I pulled in, we looked down on the parking lots – there weretwo of them, each football field size and both nearly full – there must have beenover a 100 cars there. Yikes. I followed the “Equestrian Parking Only” signs andended up in only open place in the lot. Jec jogged over while I was tacking Sunnyup, so as soon as I tightened Sunny’s girth, we were off.

It was pretty crazy. Sunny and I did about 13 miles, about 1 mile of which wasflat. The first 4 miles were uphill and there was a group of walkers or runners every100 yards or so, and I think the average group size was three –so I estimate that wepassed about 150 people. Many of them were really excited to see a horse, so wehad to stop for photos. (I suspect Sunny was a Facebook star the next day!) And,because of the traffic and trail width, while Jec was able to pass them gracefully, wehad to find the right time and place. So, Sunny had to let Jec get away, maneuveraround the people, catch up with Jec again, - then repeat, forever.

When we got to the top of that first long climb, we had to go downhill. We onlywalk downhill and Sunny takes that to an extreme, so Jec just sort of disappearedinto the distance. Sunny just let her. We were doing fine until a female turkeyhopped onto the trail in front of us. Sunny stopped, thought it over, and then we (se-dately) chased the turkey off the road. In a few minutes, Jec ran back to join us, soshe was there to help when we ran into the cadre of *seven* turkeys!

After that, Jec did an out and back up a hill, and we knew we couldn’t keep upon the downhill, so went up a mile or so with her, then went back downhill so shewouldn’t have to wait for us. We beat her to the bottom and waited at the intersec-tion, where about 30 more people gawked at us. When Jec reappeared, we fin-ished the loop. The final mile into the parking lot was a flat single-track, and it waseven more crowded than the trail we’d taken out of the lot, but Sunny let every kidpet her and scrunched herself into crevices along the trail to get out of peoples’way.

When we got back to the trailer, this guy in an official vest was standing there,staring. I thought I’d parked incorrectly or something, but what he said was, “I’veworked here for 15 years and this is the first horse trailer I’ve ever seen!” And wenton to say that it was too crowded for most people, etc.

When we were on the road on the way home, I was trying to figure out why onearth I even got Sunny out of the trailer. We had a good time, but I was imaginingthe responses of my friends, many of whom are far more competent riders than I,and whose horses are uber-trained. And I realized that Sunny and I can do stuff likethis because of our NATRC experience: she trailer-camps several times a year,she’s been on a zillion different trails, and she’s seen a zillion different animals (tuleelk, bears, deer). Horses have ridden away from us, and we’ve ridden away fromthem. Lots of strange people have not only had their pictures taken with her, they’veprodded her gut, poked her gums, and pinched her shoulders!

What I mean to say is that NATRC offered us a chance to experience the worldin a safe and supporting environment, where everyone has a stake in keepingthings calm and safe. The teams we rode with provided great examples of how toapproach things, and the judges who rated us gave us insight into what to thinkabout next.

So, if you know someone who’s looking for the next step with their horse, bring‘em along to a ride! This year most of our 2-day rides will be offering an “Intro Ride”(C ride) on Saturday. It will be an 8 to 12-mile ride that has all the features of anNATRC ride: ride meeting, vetting in, obstacles, timing, etc. Horses and riders willbe scored, but no winners will be announced. Oh yeah, and they’ll cost $40-$50. Ifthe riders like it, they can stay and sign up to ride a 1-day B ride on Sunday.

I hope to see you on the trail – along with some of your friends!

Donna Stidolph

The View From 14 Hands

Region 1 Board of DirectorsChair:

Donna Stidolph831.427.3646 [email protected]

Treasurer:Linda Thomason 510.708.1439

[email protected] Secretary:

Stephanie Swain707.529.6330 [email protected]

Corresponding Secretary:Sheila Christiansen

National BOD Representative:Angie Meroshnekoff

707.743.9973 [email protected]

National BOD Representative:Jamie Dieterich

530.394.7584 (cell) [email protected]

National Alt. Board Member:Linda Thomason


Regional Board MemberLee Cannon


CommitteesRegion 1 PointsDonna Stidolph


Wonder Worker RecruitmentSteve Meroshnekoff


The Leadline EditorLaurie Knuutila


Publicity / OutreachLinda Thomason


Ride / Clinic CoordinatorJamie Dieterich [email protected]

530.394.7584 (cell)

WebmasterDonna Stidolph


Trails Advocacy Representative:Trisha Taniguchi


See www.natrc.org for a completelist of National Board members

and Committees.


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected].



















mailto: [email protected]

mailto: [email protected]




www.natrc.org




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THE LEADLINE is the official publication of Region 1 of the North American Trail Ride Conference (NATRC). The Leadline is published three times peryear and mailed or emailed to all NATRC Region 1 members. It is available by subscription to non-Region 1 members at $8 per year. Issues containupdated information from Region 1 committees, ride results, point standings, minutes of board meetings, and the current Region 1 ride schedule. Sendsubscription requests and payments (made out to NATRC Region 1) to Phil Young, 2384 Templeton Dr, Redding, CA 96002. Contributions are welcomeand may be sent to Laurie Knuutila, 455 Ream Lane, Fairbanks, AK 99712 or email to [email protected]. NATRC Region 1 and The Leadlinedo not necessarily endorse or support the opinions expressed in printed articles or advertisements. The Editor reserves the right to edit material asnecessary. No letters to the Editor will be printed if not signed. NATRC and the staff of The Leadline are not responsible for errors in spelling of horses’or riders’ names.

Deadlines:Spring issue - Submission: April 15; Publication: May 1

Summer issue - Submission: August 1; Publication: Aug. 15Fall/Winter issue - Submission: Dec 15; Publication: Jan. 1

Advertising rates per issue:Full page—$40Half page—$20

Quarter page—$10Business card—$5

Classified ads are free to Region 1 members in good standing, one per issue, up to 30 words. Submit ads to the Editor via email or as hard copies viaregular mail; hard copies will be scanned as submitted. Make checks payable to NATRC Region 1.

Junior Rider RebateJunior riders who are NATRCmembers by the second Sundayin November of a ride year andcomplete 3 or more rides in thatsame ride year are eligible to re-ceive a rebate of $30 per complet-ed ride for up to 3 rides. Pleasecontact Linda Thomason, R1Treasurer, for more details.

Is there NO year-end high point breedaward for your

equine’s breed?Are you a member of

your breed association?Are you an NATRC member?

If you answered YES to all threequestions, please initiate contact

with your horse’s breed associationand hook them up with our Executive

Director, Sarah Rinne, [email protected]!

May 5 Mt. Diablo Clayton, CA “B” O/N/CP Ellen Pofcher (925) 672-3733 [email protected]

Sec: Jessie Simons (925) 672-4348 [email protected]

May 19-20 Cowboy Camp Williams, CA “A” O/CP/N; “B” N Jean Armer (530) 755-8301 [email protected]

Sec: Linda Thomason (510) 708-1439 [email protected]

June 16-17 Eel River Potter Valley, CA “A” O/N/CP; “B” NSteve Meroshnekoff (707) 743-9973 [email protected]: Maria Pilgrim (707) 795-8163 [email protected]

July 28-29 Knik River Ramble Palmer, AK “A” O/CP; “B” N Pete Praetorius (907) 745-4747 [email protected]

Sec: Jessica Kelsch (907) 590-1234 [email protected]

August 18-19 Jackson Forest Summer Ft. Bragg, CA “A” O/N/CP; “B” N Steve Meroshnekoff (707) 743-9973 [email protected]

Sec: Maria Pilgrim (707) 795-8163 [email protected]

Sept. 29-30 Round Valley Regional Park Brentwood, CA “A” O/CP; “B” N LIMIT 45 Gene Boicelli (925) 672-6491 [email protected]

Sec: Linda Thomason (510) 708-1439 [email protected]

Oct. 13-14 Fall Fiesta – Cache Creek Williams, CA “A” O/N/CP; “B” N/CP; “B” N Co-chair: Steve Meroshnekoff (707) 743-9973 [email protected] Co-chair: Jean Armer (530) 755-8301 [email protected] Sec: Angie Meroshnekoff (707) 391-3408 [email protected]

2018 NATRC Region 1 Ride Schedule

http://www.natrcregion1.org/





















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Bob Young spent much of hisboyhood in the San Francisco Bay Ar-ea helping his father who worked as apolo pony trainer for Bob Smith (NancyKasovich’s first husband) and Will Te-vis. Bob received his veterinary de-gree from the University of California inDavis in 1961.

After doing some trail ridingand packing with their children inthe Sierras, Bob and his wife,Lori, entered their first NATRCride in 1975 at Uvas Dam. Bobshowed up in a cowboy hat,chaps and cowboy boots ridinga racing Quarter Horse namedMoon Chic. Bill and JoanThrogmorton befriended Bob,were very encouraging, andasked him to become an

NATRC veterinary judge. Bob re-ceived his apprentice judge’s card in1975 and judged his first ride (for free!)at the Uvas Dam Benefit Ride in 1976.

Bob bred competitive distancehorses, rode and won endurance rides,finished the Tevis eight times, and was

on the Tevis Board for 5 years. Duringthe 1970’s, Bob was very instrumentalin getting Shell Oil animal product divi-sion as a major sponsor for theNATRC awards which really helpedNATRC avoid a financial crisis. Heserved on the NATRC National Board

of Directors 1977-79, was VicePresident in 1979, and a co-chairof the Judge's Committee. Heworked on standardizing veteri-nary judging and the horse score-card. Bob judged at least oneNATRC ride a year (and some-times as many as five), often indifferent regions. He alwayswent out of his way to make timein his very busy schedule to ac-commodate any ride that re-quested his help.

Remembering Those We’ve LostHank Cook, DVM

December 30, 1923 - August 19, 2017Hank Cook was born in Nebraska,

then moved to Riverton, WY where hegraduated from high school. He earnedhis Bachelor’s Degree at the Universityof Wyoming in Laramie and his Doctor-ate of Veterinary Medicine at ColoradoState University in Ft. Collins. He prac-ticed in Denver for awhile, then movedto California.

Hank ’s passion for raising horsesbegan early in life. Over the years, heenjoyed tending to the health of horsesin conventional and endurance races,was the designated Head Track Veteri-narian at various horse races through-out the state, and performed hisservices for many Hollywood celebri-ties. One of our first NATRC veterinary

judges, he judged many rides in R1and R2 from the 1970’s to the early2000’s.

He was a friend to so many ridersand was so well respected in thosebygone years. He had a reputation forbeing generous and always had a sto-ry or a joke to share.

Bob Young, DVMSeptember 14, 1930 - March 6, 2018

Larry Goss, DVMMay 19, 1952 - October 8, 2017

Larry Goss lost his battle with ALSon October 8, 2017, at his home in Au-burn, CA. Larry was born in Iowa andgrew up in southern California. Heearned his B.S. in Genetics and D.V.M.at UC Davis. After completing an in-ternship at Thousand Oaks, he and hiswife settled in Auburn.

In addition to judging endurancerides and the Tevis, Larry judged theMt. Quarry and Georgetown rides for

several years starting in 2004. Ironi-cally, Hank Cook was lined up to judgethe Mt. Quarry Ride but had to canceldue to an eye infection. Not to be de-terred, Marilyn Hunter asked Dr. Gossto be an “emergency guest judge.” Heaccepted and was subsequently ap-proved.

Larry Goss was an avid outdoors-man, a good veterinarian, and a genu-inely nice man.


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Region 1 2017 Year-End Awards Program

●R1 Mini-Convention: Davern Kroncke●Registration: Linda Thomason and

Betty Young●Membership/Voting: Phil Young and

Lee Cannon

●Awards: Betty Young and DavernKroncke

●MC: Maria Pilgrim●Program: Jamie Dieterich

●Photos: Linda Thomason and Kim-berly Naugle

●Projectionist: Linda Thomason●Convention Photography: Donna Sti-

dolph

Credits:

In Remembrance:Ellen Lovett Larry Goss, DVM Hank Cook, DVM

Super Benefactor ($1,000 and up):Tammy Brown – In honor of DougBrown, to replace the trophies thatwere lost.

Platinum (($500 - $999):Robyn Berwick – to help replace tro-phies lost in the fireEileen, Jeff and Claire CichockiLinda Clarke – to reimburse for the lossof the Pat Ersepke Award and otherawards as neededDarlene, Brian and Haley Schlerf – tosponsor the CP Division in honor ofDoodah

Gold ($100-$199)Linda & Lee CannonAshley & Joe DillardKay LieberknechtEric SchroederBetty & Phil Young – in honor of HRSelect (aka “Hisself”)

Silver ($50-$99)Nancy KasovichLinda Thomason

BronzeReta Cole – in honor of Rod ColeJeanine Wolf

Thank you to our generous R1 award sponsors:Jonathan Moeller, Sculptor

Region 1 would like to extend our sin-cerest appreciation to Jonathan Moel-ler, Sculptor, who generously gave usmore than a $500 discount on his love-ly bronze, "The Monarch", to be thereplacement trophy for the Pat ErsepkeAward. The original was destroyed inthe Redwood Valley fire in 2017.

Response to Sponsor RequestsBecause of the overwhelming re-

sponse from our members to the re-quest for awards donations this year,we have been able to create an

“Awards Kitty.” We already haveenough in it to pay for all the 2018awards! Many thanks to everyone whocontributed so generously, with special

thanks to Tammy Brown, Linda Clarke,Robyn Berwick, the Cichocki familyand the Schlerf family.

National Sponsors: Be sure to thank and support our national sponsors.

Carri-Lite CorralsChiggerville FarmsThe Distance Depot

Equisure

Perry & Trent Law FirmPrairie Sylvania Arabians

Renegade Hoof BootsRiding Warehouse

Specialized SaddlesSports Saddle

Wander Themes

The fires last fall significantly af-fected many of our R1 family. NancyKasovich, the Cichocki’s, and MikeWitt, DVM, lost their homes. Angie andSteve were faced with possible forcedevacuation and still held off until thelast minute canceling the Fall Fiesta

Ride. Davern and Stephanie wereevacuated. Our BOD communicationsand Face Book became fire situationstatus reports. The level of concern ofthose of us not directly affected re-minded us how important our friendsand families are, and NATRC has be-

come such a large extended family forall of us. The fires are over, but the ef-fects will last a long time.

May this help us remember to bethankful for what we have and notsweat the small stuff!

Fires, Friends and Families


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LL Editor: Laurie Knuutila Webmaster: Donna Stidolph

2017 R1 BODwith thanks and appreciation

Lee CannonJamie Dieterich (NBOD)

Davern KronckeAngie Meroshnekoff (NBOD)

Steve MeroshnekoffDonna Stidolph

Stephanie SwainLinda Thomason (Alt. NBOD)

Phil Young

Outgoing R1 BOD:Davern Kroncke

Phil Young

Incoming R1 BOD:Sheila Christiansen

2017 Ride Chairswith gratitude and appreciation

Linda Thomason & Jean Armer -Cowboy CampGene Boicelli -Round Valley

Spring in the Redwoods -Steve Meroshnekoff

Jackson Forest -Steve Meroshnekoff

Challenge of the North -Laurie Knuutila

Thanks Also To:

Region 1 Appreciation CertificatesEllen Pofcher

by Betty YoungThe first Mt. Diablo competitive trail

ride happened in 1942, and over theyears this ride became legendary. Al-though initially touted as a "pleasure ride",it was tough, and it wasn't unusual to have100 or more riders show up for the chal-lenge. In the late 50's the founding groupobtained land on Mt. Diablo and movedtheir operation to the mountain itself.

Their goals were to encourage thebreeding of sound, suitable horses for trailriding and to teach people how to trainand care for their trail horses. This neworganization became The North AmericanTrail Ride Conference. Their first eventunder that name was in 1961, and sincethat time the Concord Mt. Diablo TrailRide Association (CMDTRA) has hostedapproximately 80 NATRC rides, missingonly 3 years in a span of 56 years!

In recent times, with the diminishingnumber of competitors, it has becomevery financially challenging to continue theride, and were it not for one amazinglydedicated woman, it would have mostlikely ceased to exist several years ago.Ellen Pofcher has continued to lead theiconic tradition of NATRC's inaugural rideand the place it holds in our history. Weare all in her debt and will be forevergrateful for her perseverance and her un-willingness to let the Mt. Diablo Ride die.

Thank you, Ellen, for all your hardwork and dedication. It is truly appreciatedby so many of us, and the ride will hope-fully continue on into the future for manyyears to come.

Jo Schliesmanby Brynn Bollinger

Jo participated in many CTR’s on herMorgan mare, Ginger. She also took sev-eral young relatives to compete with heron various rides, riding her other horses,such as Rosie. Not focusing on her owncompetition, she made sure that they hada great time, stayed safe, were consider-ate of others, and took good care of thehorses, serving as a great role model forthe things NATRC values. She taught hergreat-niece, Brianna to ride. She pur-chased a young Mustang, Cherokee, whowas trained through the prison program atSan Quentin, for her niece, Cedar, whohoped to ride him in NATRC herself. “Life”happens, and Jo is still caring for Chero-kee at her “ranch.”

Not competing did not stop Jo fromcontributing to NATRC. She did P&R'smany times, and was in the back of thepickup during that infamous Mt. Diabloride. She was a convention chair for ourfirst convention in Santa Rosa at the ho-tel. She has been ride secretary, rulesinterpreter, worked on Leadline, andhelped Kitty Weber many times with ridetiming. She was my able and super helpfulassistant at the Livermore Conventionwhen I spoke on Restricted Free Feedingseveral years ago. Since Kitty and Neilmoved to Illinois, she has continued timingrides--annually at Round Valley, and alsoat Jackson Demonstration Forest.

Jo epitomizes sacrificial giving of her-self, her time, her expertise, and her re-sources, and continues to serve, despiteworking two or three jobs, and tutoringweekends.

Jessica Monlux

Jessica took her daughter, Anais, toAngie for riding lessons when Anais wasabout four years old. Then Jessica startedtaking lessons herself a couple of yearsago. In 2016, we needed a secretary for ahorsemanship judge at Cowboy Camp,and Angie asked Jessica if she wanted totry it since she was accompanying herdaughter to all the rides anyway. She ac-cepted and has become an excellent, en-thusiastic secretary – even when herdaughter doesn’t compete. We all thankher for being the kind of volunteer weneed.

NationalAppreciation

Phil YoungText in Hoof Print

WorkersHall of Fame

Linda ThomasonText in Hoof Print


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Region 1 Year-End Awards

NoviceDivision

1st Lucky Eddie / Grade Anais Monlux & Grace Boles2nd Denebaborr / Arab Alexis DiMartino2nd Desert Whiskey / Must Claire Cichocki

Novice JuniorHorsemanship

1st place sponsored byAshley & Joe Dillard

Ribbons sponsored byReta Cole and Linda Thomason

1st Natalie Niderost2nd Claire Cichocki3rd Grace Boles4th Alexis DiMartino

Novice JuniorHorse

1st place sponsored byKay Lieberknecht

Ribbons sponsored byLinda Clarke 1st OM El Sharav / Arab

Ashley Dillard2nd OM El Shakeeb Dream /Arab Joe Dillard3rd OM El Bilbao / Arab Debbie York4th Dundee’s Playboy Bunny / MFT Robyn Berwick5th Pistol Pete DF / Arab Jean Armer6th Bodacious Tailfeathers / Grade Kay Lieberknecht

Competitive PleasureDivision

Competitive PleasureHorsemanship

1st Place and ribbons sponsored byDarlene, Brian and Haley Schlerf

1st Ashley Dillard2nd Joe Dillard3rd Kay Lieberknecht4th Debbie York5th Robyn Berwick6th Jean Armer

Competitive PleasureHorse

1st Place and ribbons sponsored byDarlene, Brian and Haley Schlerf

1st Desert Reinbeau / Must Angie Meroshnekoff

OpenDivision

Open LightweightHorsemanship

1st Angie Meroshnekoff

Open LightweightHorse

1st place sponsored byEric Schroeder

Ribbons sponsored byLinda Thomason & Jeanine Wolf

Angie Meroshnekoff & Desert ReinbeauPhoto by Kim Naugle, with permission

KayLieberknecht& BodaciousTailfeathersPhoto by LindaThomason, withpermission

RobynBerwick &Dundee’sPlayboyBunnyPhoto byLinda Thomason,with permission

Ashley Dillard &OM El Sharav

and Joe Dillard &OM El Shakeeb

DreamPhoto by Kim Naugle,

with permission

Jean Armer & Pistol Pete DFPhoto by Kim Naugle, with permission

Debbie York & OM El BilbaoPhoto by Kim Naugle, with permission


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ArabianOM El SharavAshley Dillard

Missouri Fox TrotterDundee’s Playboy Bunny

Robyn Berwick

MustangDesert Reinbeau

Angela Meroshnekoff

GradeLucky EddieGrace Boles

Region 1High-Point

Breed AwardsCreated by Angie Meroshnekoff

Wonder WorkersA hat and patch were presented to

Linda Thomason

100% ClubFor attending all R1 2017 rides as rideror volunteer and the R1 Awards Pro-

gram in Santa RosaClaire CichockiNatalie Niderost

Lee CannonKay LieberknechtAlexis DiMartino

Joe DillardAshley Dillard,

Linda Thomason

Steve & Angie Meroshnekoffdeclined another jacket or vest

Region 1 Special Awards

Bob Smith AwardHigh Point 1st YearNovice or CP horse

Sponsored by Nancy Smith Kasovich

OM El Sharav / Ashley Dillard

Pat Ersepke AwardHigh Point Novice

Horse/Rider ComboSponsored by Tammy Brown; Linda

Clarke; Robyn Berwick; Eileen, Jeff &Claire Cichocki; Betty & Phil Young

Desert Whiskey / Claire Cichocki

Fran & Carol Duport AwardHigh Point 1st Year

Open horse

No horse qualified

The Pat Ersepke Trophy

Region 1 Awards at the National LevelPresented February 10, 2018, at the National Awards Banquet, Albuquerque, NM

Novice Junior Team1. Desert Whiskey / must...................Claire Cichocki..............................56 pts.2. Denebaborr / ar ............................Alexis DiMartino.............................45 pts.3. Lucky Eddie / gr...............................Grace Boles................................42 pts.

Competitive Pleasure Team1. OM El Sharav / ar...........................Ashley Dillard.............................114 pts.2. OM El Shakeeb Dream / ar...............Joe Dillard...............................104 pts.3. OM El Bilbao / ar..............................Debbie York................................64 pts.4. Dundee’s Playboy Bunny / mft......Robyn Berwick..............................50 pts.4. Bodacious Tailfeathers / gd.........Kay Lieberknecht............................50 pts.5. Pistol Pete DF / ar............................Jean Armer.................................40 pts.

Open Lightweight Team2. Desert Reinbeau / must.............Angie Meroshnekoff..........................82 pts.

Team Awards – Sponsored by Region 1Team awards recognize combined horse and horsemanship. All points for ridesin which the same horse and rider combination competed are added together. Atleast three rides must be completed to qualify for annual awards.

2017 Rider MileageChevron & Medallion

Awards

4000 Miles – Bronze MedallionSue Flagg

2017 Horse High MileageAwards

1000-Mile Horse AwardPistol Pete DF / Arab / Jean Armer


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Minutes of the NATRC Region 1 Board of Directors MeetingThe meeting was held via telephoneconference on February 4, 2018.

Call to Order:The meeting was called to order at10:05 am by Chair Steve Meroshne-koff.Present: Stephanie Swain, Linda Tho-mason, Angie Meroshnekoff, SteveMeroshnekoff, Phil Young, Davern Kro-ncke, Donna Stidolph and Jamie Diet-erichAbsent: Lee Cannon (excused)Guests: none

Secretary’s Report:Need approval of minutes of meetingheld 19 May 2017. Due to the NorthernCalifornia wildfires in October, the Oc-tober meeting was cancelled, and theboard was unable to find a suitabledate to reschedule.

Treasurer’s Report:Submitted electronicallyChecking balance: $25377.53 (as of12/31/17)Currently using Excel spreadsheet, willbe moving to QuickBooksAngie moved to accept treasurer’s re-port, Stephanie seconded. All agreed.Federal and State tax forms filed for2017 – no taxes owed

COMMITTEE REPORTS:Physical Resource Coordinator: Lin-da Thomason – inventory submittedvia email; Angie has Riding Ware-house banner from Convention – willbring to rides.

Historian: Davern Kroncke – Davernwill bring historical materials to theMarch Mini-Convention, custody to betransferred to Donna Stidolph. Discus-sion re: digitizing and posting materialsonto the web and archiving physicalmaterials.

Wonder Workers: Steve Meroshne-koff - No update

Points/Membership: Donna Stidolph– No update

Publicity/Outreach Coordinator: Lin-da Thomason – working on calendarinfo to be submitted to Horsin’Around,BAEN, Riding Magazine – will go outby end of week.

The Leadline: Phil Young – 12/12/17printed 20 copies, 16 mailed. Cost was

$34.11 plus postage. Linda will checkon postal discount for 501(c)(3) corpo-ration.

National BOD: Angie Meroshnekoffand Jamie Dieterich - There are a lotof rule proposals for 2018 with no limi-tations on how many will go forward fora vote as in past years. Sarah Rinnedid a survey of riders with about 450respondents. Of those 25% have neverbeen members, 23-24% are past mem-bers. Special rate proposed to bringmembers back. Linda will draft anemail to remind people to renew beforethe start of ride season, listing benefitsof membership.

CP proposal will have Lightweight /Heavyweight classes; Open Light-weight / Heavyweight may be mergedat management’s discretion if too fewriders.

For 2018 there will be a trial period in-troducing a new introductory or “C” ride– 1 day, 8-12 miles; to be held at theoption of ride management. No mile-age or awards points will be given untilsuch time as the “C” ride becomes anationally sanctioned competitive enti-ty.

Region 1 Website: Angie Meroshne-koff and Jamie Dieterich – Donna isdoing a great job! Hereinafter, respon-sibility will be changed to Donna ratherthan Angie and Jamie.

Ride/Clinic Management: Jamie Diet-erich – Cowboy Camp and most otherRegion 1 rides will have a “C” ride. Noadditional insurance is required for the“C” ride.

Trails Advocacy Coordinator: Openposition.

Bylaws: Jamie Dieterich, Phil Young –it has been determined that no chang-es to the bylaws are required followingincorporation as a 501(c)(3).

Judging Issues: Angie Meroshnekoff,Jamie Dieterich – NBOD pushing forjudging standards as there have beenproblems in some regions with judges“doing their own thing”. In Region 1there is a problem with not havingenough judges. Region 1 will pay 2018membership dues for R1 veterinaryjudges who judged last year – Leroy

Burnham, Carol Meschter (Carol Or-mond is a Lifetime member).

OLD BUSINESS:501(c)(3) Status Update: LindaNew articles of incorporation were sub-mitted and approved at the Federallevel and an EIN# was issued. A dona-tion receipt form is being created byLinda.2018 Mini Convention Update: Foodand speakers arranged; Betty hasawards ordered; only 2 vendors – may-be find a few more. Linda will send outanother reminder.

NEW BUSINESS:National Convention: National hasrequested that each region provide agift basket and a ride entry. R1 willfund a gift basket and provide an entryfor the Cowboy Camp ride.

ACTION ITEMS:Need T-Shirts.Need Board nominee as there are twoopen seats and only one nominee.

NEXT MEETING:Time: Immediately following Mini-Con-ventionDate: 03 March 2018Location: Santa Rosa, CA

CLOSE OF MEETING:Stephanie Swain moved to adjourn themeeting at 11:13 am; Linda Thomasonseconded. All agreed.

Respectfully Submitted,

Stephanie Swain


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If your goal is to produce a willingand athletic equine partner, you will do wellto commit to cross-training regularly. For-merly the domain of students with extratime, but now increasingly the advice ofscience-backed studies, varied exerciseroutines are almost always the key toprogress and to a sound horse.

Not only does cross-training alleviatethe potential boredom and repetitive mo-tion injuries from everyday riding but it im-proves the body in ways that evenexceptional riding within any singular disci-pline cannot. Research over the past dec-ade has agreed: to strengthen and loosenthe horse, you need to get outside yourown discipline. Assuming that cross-train-ing needs to be time-consuming or com-plex, many riders only add it to theirschedules on a sporadic basis. Used cor-rectly, cross-training strategies need to beneither complicated nor time intensive, butthey DO need to be consistent to havebenefit. Aim for a minimum of one day perweek.

Before we cover my simple sugges-tions for cross-training your way to excel-lent results, let’s examine what exactlyhappens when you tackle these trainingexercises outside your disciplines.

Most critically, varied training devel-ops more efficient muscle function. Whennot cross-trained, the horse’s two mainmuscle networks-- postural muscles andgymnastic/movement muscles-- mergeroles, which produces tension andspasms, and gaits that are not fluid.Through more comprehensive training,muscles can be strengthened in their cor-rect roles—either to stabilize and supportposture or to move limbs. Further, mixedexercises allow you to replace movementproduced from central pattern generatorswith fuller and more expressive motion. Inother words, it wakes up the nervous sys-tem to override movements generated bypatterns or neuron habits.

Change up your SurfacesOne of the easiest ways to improve

your horse’s athleticism and fitness is toexercise him on various surfaces through-

out the week. This not only fine-tunes hisproprioception (the message system of hissensory and motor nerves) but leads tofuller recruitment of muscles and support-ing soft tissue. Training in surfaces of dif-ferent depths increases elasticity and toneof soft tissues as well as builds bone den-sity by stimulating the layer of cartilage onthe ends of bones that cushions stride im-pact. From a performance standpoint, thisoffers a comfortable reward: the horsemoves with more suspension and moregraceful gaits.

Injury and rehab data shows thathorses worked consistently on the samesurface every day are more susceptible tostrains, especially those that exercisemostly in groomed all-weather arenas dayafter day. The nerve signals to limbs andstabilizing muscles become dull or “bored”from repetitive motion and fail to make thecalibrations as when reading a differentsurface underfoot. This means lesser par-ticipation of the nervous system and move-ment muscles it controls; or in other wordsthe horse is not getting as much from hisworkout as he could.

Muscles become stronger in propor-tion to the amount of stress put on themfrom work efforts. The same applies tobones. As a general rule, deeper footingstresses muscles, while harder surfacesstress bones. Having access to a variety ofriding surfaces allows you to target bothsystems as needed. If you board at an are-na with only access to an arena for exer-cise, aim to find ways to add time ondifferent surfaces. This can be as simpleas:● A brisk afternoon walk up and down a

firm driveway● Riding around for 20 minutes on a

grassy lawn● Warming up in a round pen or pad-

dock with different type of footingthan your arena

Most horses that supplement theirarena riding with weekly trail rides receivethe stimulation of different surfaces as anatural outcome of these excursions. If youdo not trail ride, though, it becomes espe-cially critical that you get creative findingways to log miles on a footing other thanyour arena.

Emphasize CalisthenicsFollowing the commitment to ride on

different surfaces, a calisthenics routine isone of the best ways to improve yourhorse’s ability to move well. Often over-looked as appearing too simple to createchanges, calisthenics enable the horse todevelop new neural pathways, which leadsto different muscle habits. They help clearthe body of restriction, restore full range ofjoint mobility, and stimulate the deep un-

derlying postural muscles that stabilize theskeleton.

For the sake of efficiency, and tomake it easier to stay committed, aim tochoose just three to five maneuvers foryour pre- or post-ride routine. Theseshould take less than five minutes to exe-cute. For conditioning purposes, calisthen-ics are defined as gentle, controlledmovements of the horse’s body through aprescribed range of motion. A partial list ofproven exercises includes:● Backing up hills● Pelvic tucks● Carrot stretches● Un-mounted turns on forehand● Walking slowly over raised poles or

bales● Belly lifts● Tail pulls

Add a Terrain or Cavalletti Day WeeklyThe postural adjustments and stride

changes that result from cavallettis andriding on uneven terrain lead to impressiveresults. These include strengthening ab-dominal muscles, straighter movement andbalance, increased joint flexion, and coor-dination. A well-rounded training programincludes one day per week of either caval-letti schooling or riding outside on uneventerrain.

If you have access to trails with roll-ing hills, use them! In fact, for the types ofmuscle recruitment needed for most disci-plines, rolling hills give better results thanriding up and down steep inclines. Manyriders mistakenly believe they need accessto steep hills to make any kind of strengthdifference, but this is not the case. Onehour of walking and jogging on undulatingterrain strengthens your horse’s entire ringof muscles that creates movement, boththe topline extensor muscles (going uphill)and the flexor chain of muscles (ridingdownhill).

For riders who live in flat areas withno hills, it becomes more important to in-clude weekly cavalletti workouts. Bear inmind that cavalletti routines can andshould be tackled in every gait. Many rid-ers get stuck riding only trotting exercises.For the purposes of basic conditioning,cavalletti exercises need not be complicat-ed. In fact, ones that enable a horse tomaintain straightness and balance, ratherthan over-reaching or flinging himself atthe poles, lead to better changes. Beloware two of my favorites from my bookEquine Fitness.

Snake over PolesPlace several ground poles of any

length end- to -end forming a long straightline of poles. In an energetic walk, ride atight serpentine back and forth over thisline, being sure to change your horse’sbend with each loop. (Continued on page 11)

Better ResultsThrough

CrossTraining

o

By Jec Aristotle Ballou


11

This exercise strengthens hip flexors andstabilizers, the thoracic sling, and the ad-ductor muscles required in lateral move-ments.

Basic BoxSet up four ground poles (eight-foot

length poles are ideal here) in a box withthe poles touching at each corner. If you

have the means to, raise the corners of thebox by placing poles on a block or riser.Begin by walking a cloverleaf pattern offour leaves, with the center of the cloveroriginating in the middle of the box. Focuson riding precise bending lines, steadyrhythm over the poles, maintaining lightrein contact. Now ride the same figure inthe trot. This exercise creates symmetryand straightness by helping the horse useboth sides of his body equally. It also de-

velops the thoracic sling of muscles andpromotes a rounding motion in the horse’sspine.

Jec A. Ballou is the author of fourbooks about equine training and condi-tioning which you can purchase on herweb site at www.JecBallou.com Sheteaches clinics nationally and through-out Canada.

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The LeadlineSheila Christiansen13040 Ivie RoadHerald, CA 95638

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In This Issue.… Region 1 2017 Junior Winners!natrcregion1.org/Articles/leadlines/Leadline_Spring_2018.pdf · Photo by Linda Thomason, with permission Grace Boles & Lucky Eddie Photo