March 2019 FCOHC Newsletter – Ohio Horseman's Council, Fairfield Chapter

I heard on the morning news we are only 22 days from spring. Is anyone ready for a change in the weather besides me?

February has been a slow news month. Some of our hardy bunch have logged a few miles here and there but from what I hear, the majority of us have stayed closer to the house and a warm fire.

Tom has tried to set up some work days this past month, but the weather has not co-operated. We finally got a break and were able to organize a day to clean trails Saturday, March 2nd. All total there were 24 members and friends that showed up to help. This group was divided up into teams and dispersed to different areas of the park. A special thanks to Dave Clary and Jimmy Miller from Ross county OHC and Craig and Charlene Santee from Licking county OHC who came to help us at the cleanup. There are too many members to list everyone individually but to all from Tom and I, Thank You. It was a great day.

A week or so back I filled out and turned in the application paperwork for a grant from South Central Power to assist us with two projects we had discussed for Hocking State Horse Camp and trails. South Central reviews and makes decisions on these requests on a quarterly basis. This quarter, the timeline is March 31st. Tom is also working to acquire other funds from additional sources. It is our goal to complete the hardening work at the state camp prior to warm weather. Last fall we spread 60 tons of stone at the state camp. The biggest problem was excessive rain plus the tie stalls were in constant use. The end result, in the wetter stalls the stone disappeared into the mud. Hopefully, if we can get on this project early, we can avoid the same results.

Last fall our club replaced the original aluminum tie lines at the state camp with steel cables. Richard Reisinger also put together drop chains and rings with a swivel. The original tie rings were replaced with the new upgrade. We ended up about 10 short to complete the job. Richard put together a bucket full of the new chains this winter which I picked up from him about a week ago. June and I went down to Hocking last Saturday and completed the project. On a side note, so far it doesn't look like anyone has camped since way last fall. I know shocking!

At this point, I think Kathy Smith has completed everything I have asked her to do with our web page. The most recent project was to post our meeting secretary report on the member-only page. This addition gives our members that cannot attend our meeting but are interested in what we are doing a chance to at least read about our plans and activities. For those not familiar, to access the members-only page, the password will be sent separately in an email to members. Again for those not familiar, to find our web page simply google ffohc.com. Once there, I think you will find the page very user-friendly. We are very lucky to have a member like Kathy with her computer skills to work on these type of projects. Thanks Kathy!

Last month I started a sign-up sheet for the All American Youth Show in Columbus. As most know, we do this in 4-hour shifts. We have 4 days to cover which are May 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th. The shifts start at 7:30 am with the last shift starting at 4 pm. This project takes all of us to make it function smoothly without putting an unnecessary work burden on just a few. This is our clubs' only source of income for the projects we fund at Hocking. Take a look at your calendars, find a few hours and come help. It is fun.

I have ordered and received the trail patches for those that turned in trail miles and qualified for a patch for 2018. I will be passing them out at the March meeting. The qualifying miles were over 200, over 500 and over 1000. We had a sizable list of qualifiers. I hope all of you can attend the meeting and receive your patch in person.

My last item of business is just a reminder of our first trail ride and camp out is on March 29th, 30th and 31st at Mohican State Forest. It has been a couple of years since we were granted a camping permit at Mohican. Let's show our appreciation and pack the park. No advance sign up is required.

Be safe and hope to see all of you at the March 10th meeting.

Chris

Our featured officer this month is Pam Dean. Pam had been our treasurer the past 3 years. For 2019 she stepped up and was elected to Vice President. Meet Pam!

<div style="text-align:left;">I think I rode a horse before I was born because my mother could never stay off a horse. She rode all during her pregnancy, and I was on a horse with her as soon as I could sit up straight in the saddle. I would always sit in front of her in the saddle and hold the reins. I thought it was big stuff! As soon as I was too tall to sit in front because I was hitting my head on her chin, she put me on my own horse. We owned quarter horses back then and rode pretty much every day possible. In the summer we would ride as soon as dinner was over and dad had gone back to the farm. During school, we rode when we got off the bus before dad would come in for dinner. Mom had the riding schedule down to an art so dad wouldn’t think we were just horsing around! </div> — I think I rode a horse before I was born because my mother could never stay off a horse. She rode all during her pregnancy, and I was on a horse with her as soon as I could sit up straight in the saddle. I would always sit in front of her in the saddle and hold the reins. I thought it was big stuff! As soon as I was too tall to sit in front because I was hitting my head on her chin, she put me on my own horse. We owned quarter horses back then and rode pretty much every day possible. In the summer we would ride as soon as dinner was over and dad had gone back to the farm. During school, we rode when we got off the bus before dad would come in for dinner. Mom had the riding schedule down to an art so dad wouldn’t think we were just horsing around!

This is me and my sister on a palomino given to mom by her father when she married dad. And so the Beery horse farm began! Wonder (the palomino mare) threw a sorrel filly from a palomino TWH stud (we never figured that one out!) This filly named Rusty was my first horse and from there Rusty had many more. My sister showed 4-H but I never took interest in showing. All I cared about was pleasure riding with my girlfriends, riding crazy fast, swimming the horses and just having a good time. There were always fun times like rounding up loose cows that had escaped from fence lines. Those quarter horses could run! We raised and broke colts, usually several colts at a time. Back then we never rode trails at state parks. Our trails were all the many acres around the farm

Mom had our kids on horses as soon as they were able. Kailey and mom have always had a special bond because of riding, and I know Kailey got her passion through her grandmother. We rode the back roads many times from our house in Lancaster all the way to Sugar Grove to my grandparent’s farm. Even though it was only a 10 mile ride each way, 20 miles round trip was a lot to a kid and an all day trip! As both Becky and I gained interest in boys, we rode less, or rode for other reasons!

I think Frank knew he had to ride if he wanted to marry me, but lost interest after a pretty bad spill and a nice scar from an Arabian mom had. He knew he was just showing off! His interest became other fast things like motorcycles and wave runners. and dad moved from quarter horses to Tennessee Walkers when dad became more interested in the socialization of riding and wanted smooth gaited horses. He made many great friends in the FC OHC and you could say I have done the same because of him!

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Calendar

Meet Pam Dean, FCOHC Vice-President

Trail Clearing at Hocking, Saturday, March 2