LARA Arena Clean Up

WOW!!! The arena and grounds look FANtastic! Thank you members who participated... the weeds are gone, trees trimmed, grass mowed, fence boards tightened, rocks picked up and arena surface was smoothed out. Clay electric installed two new lights, so if you are a current paid member, you can come and use the arena (and round pen)  in the evenings when it's not so hot.

After a few hours of working, we sat in the shade and enjoyed horse tales and watermelon. If this sounds like too much fun to miss, please plan on attending the next arena maintenance day on October 13th... there are lots of boards that need to be painted! Click here to see pictures of our August arena maintenance.

LARA Kicks off the New Year!

Our new calendar year begins August 1st... the kids have gone back to school and we are dreaming of cooler weather so we can get out and enjoy riding and not sweating and swatting bugs. There are big plans for the new year. We have removed items from the calendar that were not supported by the membership. More trail rides and camp outs are planned. The equestrian neighborhood has come to expect our two big fund raisers each year - so we are looking forward to the obstacle challenge and poker ride, as well as a new function that will support our Friends of FL State Forests program. By springtime we plan to have the Jennings Long Branch trail marking project well under way and even have a fund raiser planned which will be staged at the new trail head!

Please support our club. We have great prizes and snacks at the monthly meetings and of course good fellowship. Come and learn what's new with the club and hear about the plans for upcoming events. Be a part of the bustle. Your energy brings life to our club. Don't just pay your membership for free hot dogs!! Get busy and participate!

July 4th Parade in Keystone Heights

LARA members and their horses (and donkeys!) did a fantastic job in the July 4th parade.  The horses behaved like old pros and it was nice to give the parade watchers a chance to meet our horses up close and personal. I think everyone appreciated the good ole fashioned idea of horses in the parade. Thanks to Carole & Crystal for making the patriotic breast collars and thanks to Lisa for the flag motif saddle blankets.. We looked like professional parade marchers! Apparently the press noticed us too.. as there have been articles and pictures in Clay Today and Jacksonville.com. Thanks to everyone for the team work and patriotic spirit that made our outing so grand! Click here to see some of the pictures from the parade! And here is the link to the pictures on Jacksonville.com . Do ya think we are proud... here are more pictures! Here is the grand finale of pictures.. thanks for capturing the whole parade!

Annual LARA Picnic

The weather was BEAUTIFUL for our annual picnic at Jennings Live Oak. The temperature was not too hot and there was a nice breeze all day.. which allowed the riders to enjoy a nice stroll in the forest.

Back at the picnic pavillion, burgers and dogs hit the grill and everyone brought side dishes to share. We had several new friends join us to see what LARA is all about, and I think they got a good impression. Hope to see some new members soon!

Click here to see the picnic pictures!

Jennings Long Branch Trails Exploration

Members hit the trail recently with compass and canteen to explore the new area of Jennings Forest. The trail head is located off Hwy 217 on Long Branch Road in Middleburg. It is nicely laid out with adequate parking for about 6-8 rigs and there are picnic tables, but no water or restrooms. Future improvements will hopefully include these amenities, and the club is registered with the "Friends" program, which will allow any funds raised to be designated for our specific area, rather than just general use.

Previously we explored with the rangers by truck. This was the club's first mounted outing. It seems like it will offer a variety of scenery and distances for riders to enjoy. We look forward to future exploration and development at the Jennings Long Branch Trails.

Click here to see pictures of the exploration!

Independence Day Parade in Keystone

LARA will be participating in the July 4th parade in Keystone Heights. Numerous members have expressed interest in showing off their parade horses, so we look forward to having a good turn out. Please contact Lisa Buchanan if you would like to participate. Special celebration T-shirts will be worn for the event, so please let us know ASAP so your shirt can be ordered! Celebrate our Independence and come ride in the parade!

Year End Picnic at Jennings Live Oak Trail Head

Join us on Saturday June 16th at the Live Oak entrance of Jennings Forest. LARA will hold our annual summer picnic and get together from 10AM - 2PM. Club will provide burgers, dogs, drinks, plates and cutlery. If you want to join us, please bring a side dish to share with other members. Please email or call Lisa Buchanan to RSVP. This will allow us to purchase the correct amount of food. Picnic pavillion is reserved for us and you are welcome to bring your horses and ride. Hopefully the rain will take a break and the bugs will be napping that afternoon! We hope you will make plans to attend this club event!