The Leadline Fall / Winter 2016

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In This Issue.…

Fall / Winter 2016

The Voice of NATRC Region 1 Competitive Trail Riding

www.natrcregion1.org

Chairman’s Message.............3Award Sponsors Sought........3Region 1 Mini Convention and Awards Luncheon....42016 Region 1 Year End Point Standings..............62016 Region 1A Year End Team Awards.................8National BOD Meeting Report............................92017 Ride Calendar...............9Progress in Equine Pain Recognition....................10Region 1 BOD Meeting Minutes..........................11NATRC Membership Form....12

Let me tell you my experience of Cowboy Camp this year. Pull up achair, grab the popcorn.

I had signed up for the 1-day B ride on Sunday. Although this is my thirdyear riding NATRC, it is the first year (and second CTR ever) for my justturned-6-year-old Morgan, Bravo. I had done one ride my first year and tworides my second year with my older QH, Cooper. My minimum goal this yearwas to complete three rides.

I had debated whether to continue with Cooper or to try it with Bravo.Although he did his duty for me because I asked, Cooper’s heart was not re-ally in the game, so Bravo was elected. (As I understand it, there was a barn-yard vote, and everyone agreed Bravo should be the one to do it. I hear thebarn cats were adamant about it. You know how cats can be….)

Our first ride, Mt. Diablo, had gone reasonably well for us, all things con-sidered, so I was expecting it would go as well or better for Cowboy Camp, aride I’ve always felt was less strenuous than Mt. Diablo. However, it had beena wet spring, the ground was deep and slippery, the creek was high, and Bra-vo was just starting to catch on to the fact that this was a competition, andthere were horses moving out AHEAD of him right from the get-go! Plus, theyhad all gone out the day before, leaving him stranded at the trailer, for goshsakes. I’m sure in his mind he had some catching up to do!

So Bravo was revved from the start. He could feel the electricity in thecamp at the break of day when everyone was up moving around, feed panswere banging, and all were tacking up in the gray dawn. He knew somethingexciting was happening.

Some changes had been madeto our ride due to the rain the day be-fore that made driving the P&R guysout impossible. I was totally im-pressed that a whole new map hadbeen made for us! The footing wastoo slick in a lot of places, so westayed more on the roads.

A change also required a judgedmount in camp prior to the ride,something that is a little challengingfor some of us. Our judged mountwas pretty poor. At that point Bravowas paying no attention to me what-soever, and he moved away from themounting block a couple times beforeI could finally get him stopped longenough to get on. Not a great start.

Cowboy Camp RodeoBy Sheila Christensen

Sheila and Bravo at the startof the Cowboy Camp ride.

Continued on page 2…

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The Leadline Fall / Winter 2016

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And, man, was he wound. The longe-ing I had done earlier had done noth-ing other than loosen up his muscles.

My friend, Mimi, and I felt thatperhaps we would do better if wedidn’t try to hold our horses to theback, so we attempted to start outearlier in the Novice group. We hadbeen circling at the starting area forawhile, both horses were trotting cir-cles, slipping in the deep mud hiddenby high weeds,-- a half-rear here, --alittle buck there,-- with Bravo’s “airsabove the ground” thrown in for stylepoints. I saw a look of concern on thefaces of several of the people stand-ing around watching us. Later on oneof the ladies told me Bravo “lookedlike a jack-in-the-box”.

Mimi and her mustang, Tang,usually have a certain amount of jig-ging to get through before things set-tle down, and in the past, Bravo,despite his youth, has often been the“voice of reason” between the two ofthem. Not so at Cowboy Camp. WhileMimi did have her hands full, she saidshe felt much better about Tang afterwatching Bravo act out! No bueno…

Eventually it was our turn tostart. We timed out and made an at-tempt to head down the trail. But eve-ry time I would point him in the rightdirection, Bravo would grab the bitand make an attempt to run, I wouldpull him up, and we would go back tocircling and doing figure eights whilehe bounced around. The footing wasso sketchy and there were holes; Iwas getting worried about him slip-ping and falling, or finally just blowingup and bucking me off from frustra-tion. Mimi and I were both gettingnervous, both horses were getting outof hand, and we were unsure whetherwe should even do the ride. So weturned around and went back intocamp while our time was ticking awayand let all the other riders go onahead.

Both horses settled down nicelyriding the opposite direction backthrough the camp, and we did, too.We discussed our options and decid-ed to forget the clock and make it intojust another trail ride, just the two ofus, like we do all the time. We figuredwe would just get started and go as

far as we wanted and forget about itbeing a competition. If we could justget started. Others agreed it would begood for those two horses to have todo the 20 miles, anyway. Forty wouldhave been even better.

So after the last rider was out ofsight, we tried it again. Someonecommented on how calm the horseslooked as we approached the startagain, and she asked how long Ithought they would stay that way. Isaid, “Until I turn him down that trailwhere the others went.” I tried to stayas quiet and calm as I could, to keephim calm, but I can’t say the start wasfar better. Bravo immediately startedtrying to rush to catch up again. Butwe were determined to get going, sowe sputtered and stuttered our waydown the path.

Unfortunately, right away we raninto a congested hold at the first ob-stacle, the creek crossing, which re-quired us to mill around in circlesagain while we waited. We stayedback as far as possible, out of sight ofthe other horses, but our horses knewthey were there just around the bend.This was a most uncomfortable startto the ride!

When it was finally our turn forthe creek crossing, all but one riderwas out of sight, and the technicaldifficulty and deep water gave Bravosomething else to think about. That isthe deepest water crossing I’ve everdone; it was over his belly and my

stirrups got wet. Then again, he’s notthat tall and I have quite long legs.But still…

Once we got through the creek,we had made the mental change from“holding back” to “we are on our way”.Finally. Sigh of relief. We were about30 minutes behind maximum time bythen, but at that point we didn’t care.We were just going to do the milesand see how it turned out.

One thing I will say about Bravoand Tang---they are not dawdlers.Bravo sets a quick walking pace, andTang is ready to pick up a trot at alltimes. So without a lot of extra trying,we started to whittle away at our timedeficit. P&R’s were good, and eventu-ally they started acting like normalhorses. The rest of the ride was prettyuneventful, thankfully.

When we got back to camp, wewere greeted by applause! I thinkthey had been wondering if we would,1) even do the ride, and 2) stay on.We did both! And, we had made upso much time we even came in ontime! Amazing.

At the vet checkout Bravo wasstill a little bit of a steam engine onthe trot-out, so those 20 miles suredidn’t hurt him any. He could havedone a whole bunch more.

I will tell you, I’m not the bravestrider in the world. I have very littletolerance for the shenanigans of highhorses, behaviors that could turn dan-gerous. So what I took away from thatride was that I needed to contact mytrainer and have her help me comeup with a better way of setting us upfor success, especially at the start ofa ride. A couple weeks later I metwith Shauna Brantley-Terazon, andwe did an on-trail trainingsession/lesson where she helped meunderstand my horse better andcome up with some helpful responsesfor what he was throwing at me. Aftershowing me some things and talkingabout Bravo’s point of view (horsesare big on “fairness”), she left me withthis: “One of you is going to have todecide to trust the other one first.” Apoint to ponder.

Bravo is a wonderful younghorse with a ton of potential, he justneeds to learn. As do I.

Don’t we all?Sheila and Bravo on the trail atthe Cowboy Camp ride.

…continued from page 1

The Leadline Fall / Winter 2016

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Award Sponsors Sought

Winter is HereWith winter here and not being able to get out on the trail as much as we

would like, perhaps it is a good time to take a look at your horse.Winter seems to always be the hardest time on the horse, especially the

older ones. They tend not to drink as much water as they need, which in turnleads to colic. Or they tend to lose weight because the body is burning up morecalories to stay warm in the cold weather.

If it is getting really cold out, besides upping the feed and monitoring thewater intake, blanketing the horse can help keep the chill off and the weight onthem. Check that the blanket fits properly and is really water proof. Rubbing andrain rot can be problems in the winter as well.

Keeping the horse out of the mud and water can help with hoof problems.Do they really need shoes in the winter?

Check to see if the horse is chewing the feed properly. If he is leaving be-hind clumps of feed, it could mean there is a problem with his teeth. Perhaps it’sa good time to get the teeth looked at.

Not being able to ride doesn’t mean the horse doesn’t need grooming andthe TLC that they get the rest of the time during the year.

Keep up the good work.

Region 1 Chair,

Steve Meroshnekoff

Chairman’s Message. . . Region 1 Board of DirectorsChair:

Steve Meroshnekoff707.743.9973 iambrewing@aol.com

Treasurer:Phil Young pbyoung@sunset.net

530.283.3221 (July 1-Nov 1) 530.222.2978 (Nov 1-July 1)

Recording Secretary:Stephanie Swain

707.529.6330 stephswain@earthlink.net

Corresponding Secretary:Davern Kroncke

707.585.1930 horsies4dk@gmail.com

National BOD Representative:Angie Meroshnekoff

707.743.9973 awhitedog@aol.com

National BOD Representative:Jamie Dieterich

530.394.7584 (cell) jamiek@gotsky.com

National Alt. Board Member:Linda Thomason

510.708.1439 linda.thomason0610@gmail.com

Regional Board Member:Donna Stidolph

831.427.3646 donna@stidolph.com

Regional Board Member:Gene Boicelli

925.672.6491 geneboicelli@gmail.com

CommitteesRegion 1 Points & Membership

Donna Stidolph831.427.3646 donna@stidolph.com

Wonder Worker RecruitmentSteve Meroshnekoff

925.672.6491 iambrewing@aol.com

The Leadline EditorLaurie Knuutila

907.590.4080 wildrosepht@yahoo.com

Publicity / OutreachLinda Thomason

510.708.1439 linda.thomason0610@gmail.com

Ride / Clinic CoordinatorJamie Dieterich jamiek@gotsky.com

530.394.7584 (cell)

WebmasterDonna Stidolph

831.419.0835 donna@stidolph.com

Trails Advocacy Representative:Position Vacant

See www.natrc.org for National Board,Committees, and Secretaries

Region 1 year-end awards are just around the corner and will be presentedto the winners during the Region 1 Mini-Convention on March 4th. Please consid-er supporting your region by sponsoring an award. Your donations help R1 tocontinue giving high quality year-end awards.

The cost of sponsoring an award is:● $100 for a first place Horse or Horsemanship Award for each of the class-es (a total of 11 awards for 2016)● $50 per class for ribbons, Horse or Horsemanship (a total of 11 ribbonsets). Classes available this year for sponsorship are: Open HWT, OpenLWT, Novice HWT (horse only), Novice LWT, Novice JR & CompetitivePleasure.● $65 for a special memorial award. These include: Bob Smith PerpetualAward (High Point First Year Novice/CP horse); and the Pat Ersepke Me-morial Award (High Point Novice Horse/Rider Combination).

Any other donations in the amount of your choice will, of course, be grate-fully accepted. You might even consider getting together with someone to spon-sor a class or memorial award together.

Contact Betty Young at 530-222-2978 for more information or to reserve aparticular award.

Please mail your donation, made out to NATRC Region 1, specifying yourfirst and second choice of awards that you wish to sponsor. Kindly send them byFeb.20th so that your sponsorship can be acknowledged in the awards program.Mail to:

Phil Young, Treasurer2384 Templeton DriveRedding, CA 96002

Thank you in advance for your support of Region 1.

mailto:iambrewing@aol.commailto:pbyoung@sunset.netmailto:stephswain@earthlink.netmailto:stephswain@earthlink.netmailto:horsies4dk@gmail.commailto:horsies4dk@gmail.commailto:horsies4dk@gmail.commailto:awhitedog@aol.commailto:jamiek@gotsky.commailto:jamiek@gotsky.commailto:linda.thomason0610@gmail.commailto:linda.thomason0610@gmail.commailto:donna@stidolph.commailto:donna@stidolph.commailto:geneboicelli@gmail.commailto:donna@stidolph.commailto: iambrewing@aol.commailto:wildrosepht@yahoo.commailto:linda.thomason0610@gmail.commailto: jamiek@gotsky.commailto: jamiek@gotsky.commailto:donna@stidolph.commailto:donna@stidolph.comwww.natrc.org

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NATRC Region 1 Mini-Convention and Awards LuncheonSaturday March 4th 2017

Reserve this date on your calen-dars for the 2017 mini-conventionand awards luncheon.

Hold your horses. We have anew venue - The Sonoma CountyDriving and Riding Club in Santa Ro-sa, CA. Many thanks to Davern Kro-ncke, Region 1 member, competitorand currently serving on the R1Board of Directors. She explored theoption of having our mini-conventionat this site and has agreed to chairthe 2017 convention. Kudos to Dav-ern!!

The Sonoma County Drivingand Riding Club was founded in1937 and has been focused on pro-moting equestrian organized clubrides and social activities for itsmembers and guests. The club-house is located on Aston Street atthe back of the Sonoma County Fair-grounds in Santa Rosa.

There are two speakers sched-uled for morning talks.

Dr. Amber Bowen will focus onacupuncture and alternative medi-

cine venuessuch as stemcell therapy.Dr. Bowencurrentlyworks at Co-tati Large An-imal Hospitalin Cotati, CA.

Dr. Bo-wen grew up in Forestville. She com-pleted her undergraduate degree aswell as a Master's degree in AnimalScience at Cal Poly State Universityin San Luis Obispo. After graduatingfrom U.C. Davis Veterinary Medicinein 2014, she traveled to Ocala, Flori-da, to work at a practice focusing onperformance horses. She is certifiedas a veterinary acupuncturist fromThe Chi Institute in Florida. Her inter-ests include equine medicine andlameness, acupuncture, and digitalimaging. In her free time, she enjoyskite surfing with her husband andbeing back in Sonoma County. Dr.Bowen will join us for lunch and beavailable for questions after her talk.

Our second speaker is Kirk Ad-kins. Kirk graduated from U.C. Davisin Animal Science and went on to do

graduate studies at U.C. Davis inComparative Anatomy and Agricul-tural Education with additional grad-uate studies in Anatomy Pathologyand CellBiology,also atU.C.Davis.Kirk’sprofes-sional listis toolong topost inits entire-ty, but togive you a glimpse into his achieve-ments: he was a staff farrier at U.C.Davis 1986-2000; was farrier for theUSET World Endurance Team 1996and 1998; is the founder and presi-dent of Equithotics (incorporated1990); and he is currently a guestlecturer for the Animal Science De-partment Horse Production Course,U.C. Davis. He has also publishednumerous journal articles. Workingon 300-600 lame horses per year atDavis, he developed the horse“sneaker” product that is the founda-tion for Equithotics. As you can see,Kirk is not “just a farrier”. He is worldrenowned, and we are fortunate tohave him as a speaker. At the end of

Just for Juniors4-H Junior Rider Year End High Point Award

Are you a 4-H member? Know someone who is? Encourage your friends to do com-petitive trail rides. They and you can compete against each other to win NATRC’s 4-HJunior Rider Year-End High Point Award.

To be eligible is simple. Just compete in any division, nominate yourself, and provethat you are a 4-H member! Here are the specifics.

• The award goes to the high point horse and high point rider regardless of therider’s division.• Your self-nomination must occur before the end of the ride year, which is the sec-ond Sunday in November. (For 2016, that will be November 13th.)• You must (1) be an NATRC member, (2) send an email to Sarah Rinne(natrc@natrc.org) stating that you are a 4-H member, and (3) have your 4-H leaderalso send Laurie an email verifying that you are a 4-H member.

Additionally, in a number of states (Colorado is one example), 4-H now recognizescompetitive trail as an activity that qualifies as a 4-H member’s project. How cool is that?!

Questions?Contact Angie Meroshnekoff, awhitedog@aol.com.

Chair, Riders and JuniorsCommittee

Continued on page 5…

Kirk Adkins with Valerie and Dan-ielle Kanavy after the closing cere-monies of the 1996 World EnduranceChampionships

mailto:natrc@natrc.orgmailto:awhitedog@aol.com

The Leadline Fall / Winter 2016

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For those of you who wish to bring campers or RV’s to the Mini Conven-tion, the Sonoma County Fairgrounds RV Park is located directly acrossthe street from the convention venue. The RV park is pet friendly, andfrom the RV park, you can simply walk to the convention venue. There arealso multiple hotels in the area for those of you not wishing to “rough it” inyour campers and RV’s.

Sonoma County Fairgrounds RV ParkAddress: Amenities:1500 Aston Avenue Full HookupSanta Rosa, CA 95404 Total Units: 156707-293-8410 Laundry Facilities

Showers Pet Friendly

his presentation, Kirk will be availa-ble to discuss questions with the au-dience about shoeing and anatomy.

Both speakers welcome yourquestions. However, it will expeditethe question/answer sessions andprovide more comprehensive an-swers if you can submit questionsahead of time. Send them to DavernKroncke prior to convention athorsies4dk@gmail.com.

Pasta King of Santa Rosa is ca-tering lunch which will be served af-ter the speakers. Menu details will beavailable in future e-blasts and onthe registration forms. A vegetarianselection is available. The 2016 R1Awards presentation will be held inthe early afternoon following lunch.

It’s a fabulous lineup. Pleaseshare this information with your rid-ing friends. The general public is in-vited to join NATRC Region 1 for thisevent.

Breakfast goodies, lunch andcoffee/tea/water are included in theregistration fee. There will be a raffle

and silent auction to benefit Region1. If possible, please submit itemsahead of time to Davern Kroncke orLinda Thomason. If you bring themthe day of the convention, make sureto submit them early so they can betagged and displayed.

There will be a few vendors sell-ing hand crafted products and horsewares during the day.

Final details are still beingworked out. Information as well asregistration forms will be sent to eve-ryone via e-blasts and will be postedon the Region 1 website.

If you know of anyone whowould like to be added to the Region1 mailing list please have them sendtheir e-mail address to Linda Thoma-son atlinda.thomason0610@gmail.com.

Have a wonderful Christmas,New Year, or whichever other Holi-day you choose to celebrate! Seeyou in Santa Rosa on March 4,2017.

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 wildrosepht@yahoo.com. 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.

…continued from page 4

Reminder from the Pointsand Data Committee

1. To be eligible for year-end awards,membership dues must be paid bythe second Sunday in November,the end of the Ride Year.

2. It is the responsibility of the ownerof the horse to accurately report/verify the horse’s breed to NATRC.

3. Year-end breed awards. Manybreed organizations sponsor year-end high point breed awards. Mem-berships in NATRC and the breedassociation are required.

4. Questions about the horse and/orrider records should be directed toNATRC, natrc@natrc.org.

NATRC StudentLoan Program

Student loans are available up to $5,000per person /year, at the discretion of theNATRC National Board of Directors, af-ter proper application has been submit-ted. Preference will be given to afull-time student who has been a mem-ber of NATRC or whose family has beenan active member for at least threeyears. Consideration will also be givento a student or a student’s family whohas been an active member of NATRCfor less than three years but more thansix months.For more details and an application,please go to: www.natrc.org.

Junior Rider Rebate

Junior riders who are NATRC membersby the second Sunday in November of aride year and complete 3 or more ridesin that same ride year are eligible toreceive a rebate of $30 per completedride for up to 3 rides. Please contact PhilYoung, R1 Treasurer, for more details.

mailto:horsies4dk@gmail.commailto:linda.thomason0610@gmail.commailto:natrc@natrc.orgwww.natrc.orgmailto:pbyoung@sunset.netmailto:pbyoung@sunset.net

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2016 Region 1 Year-End Point StandingsMust have completed 3 rides

Novice Lightweight - HorsePl Horse Breed Rider Pts Miles1 Chism Must Micheline Pino 26 1402 NHR Bravo Morg Sheila Christiansen 25 80

Novice Lightweight - RiderPl Rider Pts Miles1 Micheline Pino 23 1402 Sheila Christiansen 21 80

Pl Horse Breed Rider Pts Miles

1 Pop Star MFT Linda Cannon / Athena Davidson 13 80

Novice Heavyweight - Horse

Pl Horse Breed Rider Pts Miles1 Lucky Eddie Grade Claire Cichocki 32 1402 Serafina SAA Kirsten Johnson 28 120

3 Valentyne Grade Savanah Gipson /Alexis DiMartino 23 80

4 Abishagg Arab Natalie Niderost 19 605 Mistress Jezebel Grade Lia Xerogeanes 16 806 Lola 3 Grade Anais Monlux 13 60

Novice Junior - HorsePl Rider Pts Miles1 Claire Cichocki 31 1402 Kirsten Johnson 27 1203 Savanah Gipson 20 1004 Natalie Niderost 17 605 Anais Monlux 15 606 Lia Xerogeanes 14 80

Novice Junior - Rider

Competitive Pleasure - HorsePl Horse Breed Rider Pts Miles1 OM El Nairobi Arab Ashley Dillard 44 1402 OM El Bilbao Arab Debbie York 41 140

3 OM El ShakeebDream Arab Joe Dillard 38 140

4 Tura Lura H-Ar Linda Cannon 24 1205 MK Vangouh Arab Ron York 18 1005 Stealth Knight H-Ar Vicki Boicelli 18 100

Competitive Pleasure - RiderPl Rider Pts Miles1 Joe Dillard 46 1402 Ashley Dillard 42 1403 Debbie York 29 1404 Linda Cannon 26 1205 Ron York 23 1006 Vicki Boicelli 16 100

Open Heavyweight - HorsePl Horse Breed Rider Pts Miles1 Amiraborr Arab Gene Boicelli 22 150

Open Lightweight - HorsePl Horse Breed Rider Pts Miles1 CR Sierra Sunrise Arab Donna Stidolph 26 2101 Desert Reinbeau Must Angie Meroshnekoff 26 150

Open Heavyweight - RiderPl Rider Pts Miles1 Gene Boicelli 16 150

Open Lightweight - RiderPl Rider Pts Miles1 Donna Stidolph 27 2102 Angie Meroshnekoff 23 150

CombinedNovice Lightweight

Pl Horse Breed Rider Pts1 Chism Must Micheline Pino 492 NHR Bravo Morg Sheila Christiansen 46

Novice JuniorPl Horse Breed Rider Pts1 Lucky Eddie Grade Claire Cichocki 632 Serafina SAA Kirsten Johnson 553 Abishagg Grade Natalie Niderost 364 Mistress Jezebel Grade Lia Xerogeanes 30

5 Lola 3 Grade Anais Monlux 28

Open HeavyweightPl Horse Breed Rider Pts1 Amiraborr Arab Gene Boicelli 38

Open LightweightPl Horse Breed Rider Pts1 CR Sierra Sunrise Arab Donna Stidolph 532 Desert Reinbeau Must Angie Meroshnekoff 49

Competitive PleasurePl Horse Breed Rider Pts1 OM El Nairobi Arab Ashley Dillard 86

2 OM El ShakeebDream Arab Joe Dillard 84

3 OM El Bilbao Arab Debbie York 704 Tura Lura HConn Linda Cannon 505 MK Vangouh Arab Ron York 416 Stealth Knight H-Arab Vicki Boicelli 34

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Donna Stidolph and CR Sierra Sunriseat the Cowboy Camp ride

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Ron York and MK Vangouhat the Cowboy Camp ride

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Ashley Dillard and OM El Nairobiat the Round Valley ride

Claire Cichocki and Lucky Eddieat the Round Valley ride

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A group of junior riders at the Cowboy Camp ride

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Sunny Pang and Diamonteat the Cowboy Camp ride

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Open Heavyweight1. Laurie Knuutila /Indy’s Midnight Sun /har.....................302. Susan Dent /Vaergskjona /icl........................................242. Colleen Fisk /Wild Ladys Nite /paint.............................243. Brenda Grogan /Willow Bey Star /morab......................20

Open Lightweight1. Donna Forrester /Flash’s Gentleman Jim /mft..............242. Zoe Seppi /Ephrata Cash /qtr........................................182. Jane Adkins /Indy 2/gr...................................................18

Open Junior1. Haley Wehrheim /Elsa /gr.............................................242. Kade Parker /Tazi /gr....................................................142. Brooke Wehrheim /Dryner /gr.......................................14

Region 1A (Alaska) Year-End Team AwardsCompetitive/Pleasure1. Sarah Gotschall /Big Tunes Temptation /tw...................322. Ivana Haverlikova / Alaska Wilderness Holy Smoke /norf................263. Leslie Kitchin /Taz 2 /gr..................................................203. Ashlynn Kirk /Gypsy 7 /gr...............................................204. Claudia Sihler/Katla / icl.................................................185. Erin Przbylski /Marble /gr...............................................106. Frank Sihler /Gjof /icl........................................................8

Novice Heavyweight1. Dawn Vogt /Arrow 3 /gr..................................................10

Novice Lightweight1. Michelle Coburn /Tinni fra Hellissandi /icl........................6

Ivana Haverlikova andAlaska Wilderness Holy Smoke

Michelle Coburn andTinni fra Hellissandi

Laurie Knuutila on Indy’s Midnight Sun andJane Adkins on Indy

(no, the horses are not related!)

Donna Forrester on Flash’s Gentleman Jimand Brenda Grogan on Willow Bey Star

Susan Dent on VaergskjonaP & R stop along the Knik River

Photos from theKnik River Ramble

CTR in Palmer,Alaska

All photos by Pete Praetorius andAlys Culhane,

used with permission

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Region 1 2017 Ride Schedulehttp://www.natrcregion1.org/

May 6 Mt. Diablo Clayton, CA “B” O/N/CP Ellen Pofcher (925) 672-3733 mtnoaks@earthlink.net

Sec: Jessie Simons (925) 672-4348 mtnoaks@earthlink.net

May 27-28 Round Valley Regional Park Brentwood, CA “A” O/CP; “B” N LIMIT 45 Gene Boicelli (925) 672-6491 geneboicelli@gmail.com

Sec: Linda Thomason (510) 708-1439 linda.thomason0610@gmail.com

June 17-18 Spring in the Redwoods Ft. Bragg, CA “A” O/N/CP; “B” NSteve Meroshnekoff (707) 743-9973 iambrewing@aol.comSec: Maria Pilgrim (707) 795-8163 wolves1961@sbcglobal.net

July 29-30 Challenge of the North Fairbanks, AK “A” O/CP; “B” N Laurie Knuutila (907) 590-4080 wildrosepht@yahoo.com

Sec: Marilyn Dowding (907) 888-7756 mddowding@yahoo.com

August 19-20 Jackson Forest Summer Ft. Bragg, CA “A” O/N/CP; “B” N Steve Meroshnekoff (707) 743-9973 iambrewing@aol.com

Sec: Maria Pilgrim (707) 795-8163 wolves1961@sbcglobal.net

Sept 30–Oct 1 Cowboy Camp Williams, CA “A” O/CP; “B” N Co-chair: Jean Armer (530) 755-8301 armer@citlink.net

Co-chair: Linda Thomason (510) 708-1439 linda.thomason0610@gmail.com Sec: Betty Young (530) 222-2978 pbyoung@sunset.net

National Board Meeting Report from November 12, 2016Submitted by Angie Meroshnekoff

The meeting was held in KansasCity, Missouri.

Election of Officers for the 2017year.Treasurer: Mary Jo Malone, R2 Vice President: Shari Parys, R6 President: Angie Meroshnekoff, R1

Membership. 371 new membersused the free membership, and we willcontinue to offer the free membershipsfor 2017. At that point we’ll see howmany of these rejoin as paying mem-bers. Region 1 gained 55 new freemembers in 2016. We need to contin-ue working on retaining members.

The board voted to create a 3-year membership offering $5 per yearoff. However the platinum upgrade isnot included in this; members whowant to take advantage of that have todo that separately on the website.

Total income for National is downtotal about 2% and expenses up 3%compared to this time last year.

To continue the effort towards im-proving and educating our judges, theboard voted to pay the Continuing Edu-

cation registration fee at the 2017AERC conference for the first veteri-narian from each region who applies.This is a great way to encourage ourveterinarians and promote our sport.

As you know, Sarah Rinne is nowour national executive administrator,and the board is moving to change hertitle to Executive Director. This mayinvolve a change in the by-laws so it’snot a short process.

Rule Changes:The proposed rule, “Addition of a

Non-Competing Adult SupportingMembership,” was voted down.

The change in the Hoof/Leg Pro-tection rule allowing wraps and socksunder the boots was approved

The Junior Competitor rulechange allowing juniors 8 and 9 yearsold to compete was voted down. Thewording was flawed, and we have an-other issue with juniors to consider.Juniors are currently allowed five firstsAND 160 points before Novicing-out.Adding 160 points to having won fivefirsts was thought to be such a large

number of points that Juniors wouldn’tbe forced out of Novice before theywere ready. But now R5 and R1 haveJuniors who could reach that mark nextyear. SO – we need to figure outsomething for Juniors. Increase thenumber of points to not be forced outof Novice? Divide CP into classes simi-lar to Open and Novice? Think about it.

The proposal will be reworkedand presented again in at the Februarymeeting.

All three rule clarification pro-posals were also voted in. These in-volved the office procedure forsubmitting ride reports, introducingthe points distribution table, and clari-fying the end of the ride year. Pleaserefer to the complete report in thewinter issue of Hoof Print, and on theNATRC website at www.natrc.org.

Angie Meroshnekoff was ap-proved for the Worker’s Hall ofFame; Linda Thomason was ap-proved for one of the three nationalappreciation awards.

http://www.natrcregion1.orgmailto:mtnoaks@earthlink.netmailto:mtnoaks@earthlink.netmailto:geneboicelli@gmail.commailto:linda.thomason0610@gmail.commailto:iambrewing@aol.commailto:wolves1961@sbcglobal.netmailto:wildrosepht@yahoo.commailto:mddowding@yahoo.com mailto:mddowding@yahoo.com mailto:iambrewing@aol.commailto:wolves1961@sbcglobal.netmailto:armer@citlink.netmailto:linda.thomason0610@gmail.commailto:pbyoung@sunset.net mailto:pbyoung@sunset.net http://natrc.org/hoofprint/HoofPrint.pdf

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Hiding pain is one of the top sur-vival skills of the horse. An importantpart of horse ownership is learning torecognize the signs a horse may be indiscomfort rather than dismissing cer-tain subtle cues as just bad behavior.Dr. Brianne Henderson recently gave awell-received lecture to a room full ofhorse owners in Guelph, Ontario, Cana-da. The attendees were interested inensuring the welfare of their equinecompanions by honing their skills fordetecting pain.

There has been increased aware-ness of pain recognition and manage-ment in small animals, and this scienceis also gaining more acknowledgementin the world of horses as well. The Fa-cial Grimaces Score used originally toidentify pain in rodents and rabbits hasbeen incorporated into a “grimacescale” for equines.

It uses ear position and tighteningof the muscles around the eyes andmouth to come up with a score (0 – nopain, 1 – moderate, 2 - obvious). Every-one wants to be greeted by a brighteyed, soft and relaxed face. The horseis telling you something hurts when theyavoid looking at you, appear despond-ent, clench their jaw, flatten their earsback and/or squint their eyes.

Henderson went on to briefly ex-plain pain scales used by veterinariansthat focus on physiological parametersand behavior patterns. One includedthe Composite Pain Scale (CPS) whichlooks at the change in frequency of nor-mal behavior patterns such as eating,the presence of pain-related behaviorssuch as kicking at the abdomen andphysiological parameters such as ele-vated vital signs. There is a long list ofsigns that are scored from 0 – 3. Someof these indicators, including vital signs,can also be assessed using a quick 16-point health check poster developed byEquine Guelph. The poster or handynew Horse Health Tracker app are in-valuable tools for horse owners to pro-vide important health data to theirveterinarian.

The choir was obviously presentand little preaching was required asHenderson rolled through a barrage ofimages asking the audience to denotewhich ones depicted animals in pain. Bystance, facial cues and action, the sav-vy auditors were hitting the mark and

also picked up on the fact that circum-stances play a role. How many peoplehave had the phone call of alarm whena passerby sees a horse flat out in thefield when it was actually just nappingthe sun? Flehmen is another responsethat can be circumstantial. It can alsobe a moderate pain response displayingnostril and mouth tension. The stallioncurling his upper lip testing for pherom-ones when a mare passed by is a differ-ent context than the horse who didn’tfinish his feed, is stretched out with hispoll low and is showing the flehmen re-sponse.

Subtle changes require your atten-tion - such as a horse at the back of itsstall with a half-eaten breakfast when itis normally standing at the door waitingto go out after licking the feed tub clean.Catching a potential colic at this earlystage could result in a huge cost savingas well as avoid what could turn into avery painful experience for the horse.The performance horse who suddenlystarts refusing to accomplish tasks thatit used to find easy requires a carefulevaluation, as early signs of lameness-es rather than misbehaving could bethe culprit. As the owner of a stoic ani-mal, accustomed to hiding pain, horsepeople need to be on the lookout foratypical behavior such as a horse whobegins to segregate itself from the herdor suddenly displays a less tolerant be-havior with its paddock mates.

When variations in behavior occur,a step back may be required to figureout if it is you or the horse that haschanged. “If I have had a bad day at theoffice and not taken the time to decom-press, my horse will not come to thegate for me,” Henderson explained.“Similarly, I know if he doesn’t come tothe gate under normal circumstances,there is something wrong because hetypically loves his job.”

Grooming is the next interactionwhere paying close attention will tell youmuch about your horse’s health. Ratherthan quickly dusting off the saddle areaand jumping on to ride, take the time torun your hands over their whole body,especially the back and legs, beforeand after work, checking for any heat,swelling or reactions that can be earlyindicators something is not quite right.

Obvious pain requires a veterinaryexamination. When a horse comes in

from the paddock hopping lame, it canoften be hard to tell if it is an abscessrequiring a simple poultice or a fracturerequiring much more intensive treat-ment and stabilization. When acute painis obvious, don’t guess or delay – callthe veterinarian.

For less obvious lameness, yourveterinarian has been trained to assessthe severity on a scale from one to five.Early intervention increases the chanc-es of a good outcome and can preventmatters from escalating into a muchworse injury. The veterinarian will checkthe horse in both the walk and trot, onstraight lines and turns. “A lamenessthat is visible at the walk is automatical-ly going to be at least a three if not high-er”, commented Henderson. After athorough exam, a rehabilitation plancan be made.

Chronic pain will impact thehorse’s ability to heal and their quality oflife. “It is an old way of thinking to wanta horse to be a bit sore in the healingprocess to prevent it from box-walking,”explained Henderson. “Our ability tocontrol pain, both every day and cer-tainly in the medical environment, is be-coming more and more recognized asmandatory.” Once the horse is control-led in its pain, they can move better andheal faster and therefore do not lose asmuch muscle quality during the healingperiod.

Modern treatment methods canalso help avoid the knock the effects ofstomach ulcers and sourness that oftenaccompany chronic pain. Choosing theright pain control method or treatment isanother conversation to have with yourveterinarian as there are many optionsavailable and extended use of Phenylb-utazone can have negative effects on ahorse’s stomach.

In addition to being on the look-outfor signs of pain, a dutiful horse owneris always employing prevention practic-es. They apply poultice and wraphorse’s legs to stem swelling after ahard work out and give them time torecover. Similarly, we take care of our-selves after a workout with rest, ahearty meal to replace nutrients andperhaps a hot bath. Our horses counton us, their primary care-takers, to bediligent and attentive in both preventionand early detection of pain.

Progress in Equine RecognitionEquine Guelph 11/17/16 Reprinted form US Rider, with permission

http://www.equineguelph.ca/pdf/media_releases/Grimace_scale_Pain_journal.pone.0092281.g002.pdfhttp://www.equineguelph.ca/pdf/media_releases/Grimace_scale_Pain_journal.pone.0092281.g002.pdf

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Minutes of the NATRC Region 1 BOD Meeting - August 19, 2016The meeting was held at Fort Bragg,CA.Call to Order:The meeting was called to order at12:05 pm by Chair, Steve Meroshne-koff.Present: Stephanie Swain, Linda Tho-mason, Angie Meroshnekoff, SteveMeroshnekoff, Gene Boicelli, PhilYoung, Davern Kroncke, and DonnaStidolphAbsent: Jamie Dieterich (excused)

Secretary’s Report:Will send out final version of Minutes of03 June 2016 meeting for approval viaemail.

Treasurer’s Report:Report submitted electronically viaemailChecking balance: $24,489.94We must provide a copy of the minutesto the bank showing election of officersand have treasurer, secretary and chairsignatures on file with the bank. Bank ofAmerica has changed their procedureand now requires that signature cardscannot be mailed, but must be made inperson at the bank. Linda moved to ac-cept the Treasurer’s Report; Stephanieseconded. All agreed.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:Physical Resource Coordinator: Lin-da Thomason – TV/VCR and Karaokemachine were donated to charity. Nofurther report.Historian: Davern Kroncke – Davernhas one box of historical materials andwill be receiving two more boxes fromLaura Harvey through Donna.Wonder Workers: Steve Meroshne-koff - No update.Points/Membership: open position –discussed the situation and Donna hasagreed to take the lead to develop anew program.Publicity/Outreach Coordinator: Lin-da Thomason – No news. BAEN adshave been running June, July and Au-gust. Welcome notes have been sent tonew riders, and their info has been add-ed to the rider list.The Leadline: Phil Young – printedcopies are being mailed to those mem-bers who don’t want the e-version.There are only a few so the cost is mini-mal. Laurie Knuutila has requestedmore ride stories/human interest and

interesting medical articles (please in-clude source so permission may be re-quested to use the material). Submit toJamie Dieterich.National BOD: Angie Meroshnekoff –

Proposed Rules:1. Non-competing adult membershipwording is completed – needs NBODvote. R1 votes NO.2. Hoof Protection – this is a more de-tailed definition of what is/is not allowed– needs NBOD vote. R1 votes YES.3. Junior age limit change – wordingfinalized at July meeting excludes 12year olds – “under 12” and “13 and old-er”; should be “12 and under”. Stevemoved that R1 vote against the rule asit is written; Donna seconded. Allagreed. R1 votes NO.

Rule Clarifications:1. “Rider fees and notification that rideresults are completed in the Ride Man-agement System will be sent to NATRCNational Office within seven (7) workingdays following the ride.” This wordingbetter describes the current office pro-cedure and emphasizes the 7-day timeframe to submit ride results. All agreed.R1 votes YES.2. “Ride year will end immediately af-ter the second Sunday in November” tobe changed to “Ride year will end thesecond Sunday in November”. Phil ex-plained that the current wording allowsfor completion of Sunday ride. “Midnighton the second Sunday in November”would be acceptable. Phil moved thatR1 vote against wording change as it iswritten; Donna seconded. All agreed.R1 votes NO.3. Points Distribution clarification:Points Distribution Table to bemoved to beginning of section 9.C.Steve moved to accept; Linda sec-onded. All agreed. R1 votes YES.R1 BOD members posed the question:would non-competing membership in-clude Equisure insurance? Angie to in-quire.NBOD approved a reduced member-ship fee for 3-year renewal (save $5 peryear).Re: Junior age limit change: additionalproblem with current wording: “accom-panied by an adult” is not sufficient –future wording should specify wherejuniors must be accompanied, as in “onthe trail”, “in camp”, etc.Region 1 Website: Angie Meroshne-

koff and Jamie Dieterich – No update.Ride/Clinic Management: Jamie Diet-erich – Two Jackson Forest rides, Cir-cle 9 ride still on schedule. The 2017Round Valley ride may be moved to 3weeks after the Mt. Diablo ride withCowboy Camp ride the 3rd week ofJune – further discussion to be contin-ued via email. Round Valley may havea new camp area and access to somenew/different trails.Trails Advocacy Coordinator: TrishaTaniguchi – No report.Bylaws: Jamie Dieterich, Phil Young –no update.Judging Issues: Nancy Kasovich, An-gie Meroshnekoff, Jamie Dieterich – Noreport.

OLD BUSINESS:501c(3) Incorporation – Linda will givebooks on 501c(3) to Jamie, as the classshe was to take was cancelled. Linda isworking on the application through Le-gal Zoom, and has donated the fee fortheir services.Communications at/during rides (Hammoperators) – report to be made byJamie.

NEW BUSINESS:2017 Mini Convention – Davern offeredto Chair with Linda’s guidance. SCDRAclubhouse in Santa Rosa proposed lo-cation; Pasta King to cater food; possi-ble speakers – Dr. Bowen of CotatiLarge Animal Hospital, Lee Cannon onCHP trailer safety. Tentative date firstweekend in March. Linda moved toelect Davern as Mini Convention Chair,Angie seconded. All agreed.Ride Manager/Secretaries gifts – Noconclusion. Needs further discussion.

NEXT MEETING:Time: 10:00amDate: 04 December 2016 (tentative)Location: Davern’s house, Santa Rosa

CLOSE OF MEETING:Steve Meroshnekoff moved to adjournthe meeting at 1:43 pm; Linda Thoma-son seconded. All agreed.

Respectfully Submitted,Stephanie Swain

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Region 1 has aFacebook

Page!

Find us atNATRCRegion 1

NORTH AMERICAN TRAIL RIDE CONFERENCE

MEMBERSHIP FORM – Renew, Join or Buy Items online at www.natrc.org or use this form.Memberships run from January 1 - December 31. We offer six membership plans: four Regular; two Lifetime. We also offer aPlatinum Upgrade to our family and single plans which adds personal excess liability coverage with a $1,000,000 policy limit.

Continued for 2017 - FIRST YEAR FREE FOR BRAND NEW MEMBERS!Check plan desired, fill in your name(s), etc. below, and mail. Platinum Upgrade and 3-yr memberships not included.

CHECK PLAN DESIREDAll memberships include: electronic national newsletter-Hoof Print, your region’s newsletter, E-News subscription, eligibilityfor annual national and regional high score awards and championships, horse and rider mileage awards, reduced rideentry fees, sponsor discounts, enhanced member services, and automatic membership in your region.

REGULAR LIFETIME1-Year 3-Year Voting Privileges (One-time payment)

ADULT ........... __ $60 __ $165 Single adult member (1 vote) ADULT..... __ $ 5,000 (1 vote)FAMILY .......... __ $90 __ $255 Household of 1 or 2 adults and childrenunder the age of 18 as of Jan 1 (2 votes) FAMILY.... __$10,000 (2 votes)

JUNIOR.......... __ $40 __ $105 Single junior under age 18 (no vote)ASSOCIATE... __ $50 n/a Equine groups or businesses only (no vote)Annual Platinum Upgrade: (Optional) Platinum members receive insurance benefits thorough Association ResourceGroup-ARG. Platinum members receive personal excess liability coverage with a $1,000,000 policy limit. Coverage is forclaims brought against members of NATRCTM (Platinum) arising from the use and/or ownership of a horse and for horse-related accidents involving third party bodily injury or property damage. Coverage will apply when engaged in any horserelated activity, and coverage is in excess of any existing valid and collectible insurance. There is no deductible. ProfessionalLiability and business exposures are excluded.

FAMILY..... __ $40 /yr. ADULT ..... __ $20 /yr. NO UPGRADE... __ $ 0 /yr.

NATRC Specialties (Optional)__ Patch ...................................................... $5 ea. A Rule Book is free with your membership. It can be downloaded

from www.natrc.org.To request a print copy, check here ___.

__ 10’’ Round NATRC Emblem Sticker ...... $5 ea.__ 4’’ Round NATRC Emblem Sticker ........

(free with new membership)$3 ea.

PRINTED HOOF PRINT (Optional) Hoof Print will be delivered electronically. For a print copy, add $15 & check box:$ TOTAL ENCLOSED _______________ (Nebraska residents please add 5.5% on Specialty Items)

Please list first and last names, especially those with different last names, of all competing family members.Name(s)_____________________________________________________________Jr(s) BirthdatesStreet________________________________________________________CityState, Zip_____________________________________________________ Phone (_______)Email_____________________________________ (We need your email for delivery of HOOF PRINT. Address stays within NATRC. Thanks! )New member? Please share how you found out about NATRC:

****** Mail completed form and check to : NATRC, PO Box 969, Beatrice, NE 68310 ******A friendly reminder that you must be a current member to receive member rider fee discounts. To be eligible for year-end awards, youmust be a member before the ride year ends. The ride year ends the second Sunday in November. See you on the trail!

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The LeadlinePhil Young2384 Templeton DriveRedding, CA 96002