Showmanship Clinic Well-Attended

We had a good turn out for the recent showmanship clinic. It was a mixture of members and guests and children and adults who learned alot at the clinic. After some exercises and discussion about proper form and position, the participants did some drills to polish their presentation. I know we will see all of these future showmanship stars at the next horse show! Click here to see pictures from the clinic!

Special thanks to Gayward Hendry and Robert Bond for donating their time and fuel to prepare the arena for the event. Also thanks for the time donated by our instructor!

August Meeting Stresses Safety

We had a great August meeting. Guest speaker, Capt. Jason Boree from Clay County Fire Rescue spoke with members about first aid for injured riders. Capt. Boree addressed the common injuries that he has seen during his years with the county. We should always have a plan and let someone know when we are going on a trail ride and when we expect to return. In the event of an injury, we learned some simple first aid procedures and stabilizing the injured person until the paramedics arrive. Click here to see pictures from the meeting!

We had a special prize drawing for a bag of horse treats and sold tickets for the 50/50 drawing. A good turn out made it an exciting evening and we look forward to all of the events for the new year!

July 4th Parade in Middleburg

LARA's parade unit made a great showing in the Middleburg July 4th parade. We had riders of all ages who proudly wore the red-white-and-blue. Carol Wells did a great job of organizing the parade and made the patriotic neck straps that the horses wore. Click here to see pictures from the parade!

July Membership Drive at Tractor Supply

July 4th weekend we had a membership drive at Tractor supply in Orange Park. Lisa and Traci set up a booth and shared info with Tractor Supply shoppers. We gained some membership and gave out lots of info about our club! click here to see pictures!

The following weekend the booth was set up at Tractor Supply in Starke. In addition to giving out information and free horse cookies, we sold hot dogs, drinks and chips and earned a little income for the club. Again, we met some new friends and generated alot of interest in our ever-expanding club. If you have any ideas for future membership drives, please bring it up at a meeting so we can make plans!

Proceed with Caution

Paula and Frank were in a head on collision recently. Luckily they had dropped off their horses and only had an empty trailer, so things could have been much worse. We wish them a speedy recovery from the bumps, bruises and sore muscles.

We never know how others will drive or what they are doing while driving... PLEASE use extreme caution on our crazy roads, especially over the July 4th holiday weekend!

Officers Elected

The overwhelming majority elected our officers for the new year. Lisa will continue to hold the position of president/treasurer, Traci is our vice president, Paula is secretary, Nancy is the publicity director and Rachel is the fund raising coordinator. There are still some vacant spots that can be filled if anyone wants to step up and help make things happen!

We have lots of exciting events planned for the new year and encourage participation from all. Invite your friends and neighbors and get involved! We need your support!

June Horsemanship Clinic

Our June Horsemanship clinic with Mike and Traci Woodard was a fun and rewarding day. Participants braved the heat, and started the session with ground work, focusing on flexing, yielding the hindquarters and the sending exercise. Mike explained how these basic elements are the foundation to good riding skills. After practicing these exercises, participants mounted up and did the flexing exercise. This progressed to the passenger/cruising lesson, where riders used the one rein stop method to develop more control of their horse. The session was finished up with some "natural" obstacles, such as a log crossing, brush to walk through and a water crossing. Riders who's horses wouldn't cross the obstacles dismounted and used the sending exercise to get their horse to do what they were asking. Delaney's young buckskin was not very sure of crossing the water but soon had enough confidence from the sending exercise that she bravely crossed it. All of the riders and horses did a great job and got some good ideas for things they can work at at home to improve their skills. Click here to see pictures from the clinic!

Special thanks to Paula for volunteering to sign in participants and sell lunches for the club. Also, we appreciate the hard work of Lisa's husband, David, for working so tirelessly in preparation for our event. Thanks to Robert and Traci for the tractor work!

The next clinic is eagerly awaited. Everyone do their homework and come back next time ready to learn some new skills!