Dear Members,

Spring has Sprung! Now that the roads are thawing out and drying up, we should look forward to many trail rides soon. Dust off your saddles, take one last picture of your hairy, dirty, horse, and get ready for a lot of wonderful VHC events. We now have 3 trail committees. Our ever-evolving NEKET trails, our new Trail Maintenance Fundraising trail rides, and our Annual Fall Foliage trail ride. NEKET got a nice shot in the arm from an Amy Tarrant grant ($2,000) and signed on 4 new sponsors. Morris has set a tentative trail ride date for late June to raise funds for trails, and our Tunbridge ride is shaping up to be better than ever! I’m very proud of our schedule of events and all of our committees.

Some questions I’ve answered lately are:
Why do I have to be a member if I want to join a committee?: First of all, it is not fair to other members that non-members get to be on a committee. A huge benefit of joining VHC is getting to know other people, handling a project, and reporting back to the President. That’s what being in a state wide organization is all about. Also, it is safer for the non-member in the long run. As a 501 c 3 non-profit, our members are protected from liability in the case of negligence. Non-members are not protected and could be held liable in a court of law. If you are interested in a specific committee (like NEKET) and want to be a part of the goals, deadlines, and a key player, you are willingly offering to help up front then it is only right you join. Our insurance is a limited liability policy, covering neglect on the part of the organization. The policy does not protect you as an individual. And by being a member of a 501c 3, you fall under the organization.

What do I do if I’m bored but don’t own a horse. If my dream is to have horses in my life and can’t quite afford to have one at this time: Take lessons from an instructor you feel comfortable with. You will learn a lot about yourself, horses, and communication. You’re never too old to learn to take direction, listen, and learn to relax.

Its hard to believe its been a year since my first letter to you. Many improvements have been made, resulting in increased membership, happier volunteers, and increased VHC events for our members. This year is shaping up to be very eventful. Look forward to Everything Equine April 24 and 25, the Draft Horse Auction May 1, Riding Clinic with Judi Whipple May 16th, Governor’s proclamation Parade May 22nd, Trail Ride to raise funds for trail maintenance in June, Fall Trail ride in September, and the Equine Affaire in November. That’s not to mention board meetings, the 4th of July, and then the holidays! Whew!

I’m really excited about the group of people I will be working with this year. I’m sure we will be an excellent team. Please welcome our 2004 Officers: Terry Rose, President; Susan Mitchell, Vice President; Robyn Barabe, Secretary; Cindy Rose (no relation to me), Treasurer; and Lynn Dow, Director At Large. And, our Board of Directors: David Blow, Northeast Kingdom Region; Jane Thompson, West Central Region; Lynne Miller, East Central Region; Melody Squier, Southwest Region; and Virginia Lancaster, Southeast Region.

I’m sorry to have to say ‘good bye’ to 2003 Treasurer, Sharon McNeil. She has been a wonderful part of our growth for the last 4 years and I’m going to miss her very much. Sharon plans to devote more time to her barrel racing career. Also, Cher Laston, 2003 Secretary, will be concentrating on her career at the Barre Opera House. Good luck to both ladies and thank you very much for all you have done for VHC.

Sincerely, Terry Rose, President

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Vermont Horse Council Annual Meeting - Minutes
Vermont Horse Council
March 27, 2004
Green Mountain Horse Association, South Woodstock

Meeting called to order by President Terry Rose at approximately 10:05 a.m.
Present: Officers Terry Rose (President) Morris Lasell (Vice President) Sharon McNeil (Treasurer); Directors Lynn Dow (Director at Large) Sue Mitchell (East Central Region) Virginia Lancaster (Southeast Region). Members Cherie Clarkson, Melody Squier, Gina Lancaster-Salguero, Betsy Greene, Lisa Moreno, Sue McNeill, Ted Russell, Josie Ritter, Nancy Magnant, Cindy Cross-Greenia, Barbara Gerstner, Mary Marsh, Katy Yeatts, Lynne Miller, Robyn Barabe, Jim Barabe, Clara Davis, Karen Blow. Guests Joe Silva, Mrs. Greene (Betsy’s mother)

Secretary’s Report: Robyn read the Secretary’s report from 1/4/04. Motion was made (Morris) and seconded (Betsy) and unanimously approved to have the Minutes approved with revisions. (Annual Trail Ride correction; caterers have been contacted, not contracted).

Treasurer’s Report: Sharon McNeil reported as of 3/24/04, with no outstanding liabilities:
General Account $4,640.47
NEKET $4,537.54
Youth 4-H $601.15
Clif Memorial Scholarship $1,717.48
Total Cash Assets $11,496.64
Additional monies ($538.00: $350 in membership, $75 in NEKET, $15 in Clif/Floyd, $10 in Youth/4-H, $8 in bumper stickers, $60 in signs, $20 in riding & driving) will be deposited shortly.
And expenses ($12.21 Postage to Terry Rose, $60 Website to Gina Lancaster)
There was also a day-to-day run down of deposits and payments available upon request from 1/1/03 to 12/31/03.
Motion was made (Morris), seconded (Betsy) unanimously approved to accept the Treasurer’s Report as made.

Committee Reports:
Farm Show: Morris reported VHC made $647 at the Farm Show. $155 in memberships, $45 in liability signs, $24 in coloring books, $423 in raffle tickets. It was Morris’ opinion that 2004 was the best year, financially, at the Farm Show.
NEKET: Kim Parsons, chairperson, was unable to attend the meeting. Ted Russell, committee member, reported NEKET received a $2,000 Grant. VELCO power company wants all riders to sign a liability release before riding on their land. The release at that time was being drawn up by VHC legal counsel, Jessica Ebert of Collins, McMahon & Harris, P.L.L.C. It was suggested our lawyer talk to Velco’s lawyer to get an agreeable liability waiver for all VHC events.
Currently there are 90 plus marked trails in the Northeast Kingdom Equestrian Trails. The Draft Horse Association did a ride in late 2003. The committee has built camp grounds but some bridge work needs to be done this year. They are hoping to have more camping available at Maidstone Lake this year. Brush hogging, trails, camp grounds, brochure and map will all be new goals for this year.
Karen Blow suggested, as President of Dog River Horse Club, that it would be tough for her to decide which 15 people got the NEKET passes if they were not exchangeable within the club. Virginia suggested there be a reduced rate for Clubs, and anyone with their name on the NEKET pass would need to sign a release. This also brought up a good question about guests riding on Guest Passes. How would we be assured the guest signed the liability release.
Membership: Terry Rose, chairperson, reported 177 members, this compares to 96 on April 6, 2003, this compares to 130 on 1/5/03 (some didn’t renew on time by cut-off of March meeting). There was a question raised by Lynne Miller “what accounted for such an increase in membership?’. Terry reported: 1) the Equine Affaire, 2) increased communication 3) NEKET trails 4) Sue Mitchell as Director of Central Region ‘pushing VHC’
Newsletter: Virginia Lancaster, chairperson, encouraged more people to submit interesting articles like the Marwari Horse. Get the information to her early and she’d be pleased. The current deadlines are good deadlines:
January January 1-10
April April 1-10
July July 1-10
October October 1-10
Riding & Driving: Brenda Lasell, chairperson, was not able to attend but had a written report. Read by Robyn Barabe, currently 24 member in riding & driving with 9 at risk of losing current hours due to non-renewing their dues. There was one suggestion that the awards in the program be “practical”. No proposal, no vote.
Safety: Lynn Dow, chairperson, reported good progress with Horse Safety month and the governor’s proclamation. The official title: ‘Horse Safety Hits the Road’ will be advertised at Everything Equine and during a parade in Montpelier. The tentative dates for the parade are May 15th or May 22nd. It was proposed that if VHC couldn’t get the Governor, we’d like to have a Senator present at the State House for the Proclamation.
Cindy Cross-Greenia has ordered and receive 2 different safety bumper stickers to sell as a fund raiser and to raise awareness of horses on the road.
Scholarship: Lynn Dow , chairperson, reported the committee has received 3 inquiries from seniors requesting applications for information on the Clif Murray/Floyd Fuller Memorial scholarship. No completed applications have been received yet.
There will be a riding clinic at Breckenridge Farm May 16th. Instructor will be Judi Whipple. It is open to 12 riders at $60 per horse and $15 for auditors. Contact Lynn Dow if interested in the clinic.
Annual Trail Ride: Karen Blow, chairperson, reported there was a mistake in last meetings minutes, noting the caterer services were still being priced. There was discussion and it was decided the ride would be limited to the first 150 people, not including committee people. Currently Karen has 290 names of people who have attended the ride in the past. The Fair Grounds has limited our numbers to 375 people. Karen read some issues riders had last year which the committee was trying to improve. Specifically, a bigger breakfast and new trails. Anne Gorman is working on getting new trails, pending land owner permission. We tabled the decision to send the brochure in the April newsletter. A brief post card type alert will be mailed out soon. The actual application will be final once the liability waiver is approved by the board.
Website: Gina Lancaster, chairperson, fielded questions regarding the website. One user had problems using the ‘back’ button when using our website. Gina will look into it.
Trail Development: Morris Lasell, chairperson, proposed VHC join the North East Trails Membership. That would let other riders know about our trail rides and perhaps increase membership for VHC. The fee of $15 will be paid by Morris for reimbursement later.
The first fund raising trail ride will be hosted in Williamstown. Location to be determined. Current members: Morris Lasell and Julie Gauthier. Committee currently looking for more members to help out.

New Business:
Procedures manual: General discussion, no vote, no proposal
By-laws: General discussion. Suggestion of Committee: Cher Laston, Robyn Barabe, Sue Mitchell, Terry Rose and Lynn Dow. No proposal, no vote.
VHC mission statement added to the procedures manual: General discussion. Terry Rose, keeper of the procedures manual, agreed to include the mission statement in the procedures manual.
T.R.E.C. event: GMHA hosting event that is open to any age rider as long as they have safe equipment and a neat appearance. More details to follow. (Will not be held this year.)
Large animal safety and rescue: Melody Squier announced a clinic being hosted at her ‘Forget-Me-Not Farm’. Details to be posted in the newsletter and website.
Old Business:
Everything Equine: Betsy Greene reiterated participation of VHC at the event. Things are ‘on track’

Election of Officers: the Vice President, in the Secretary’s absence, cast one vote to elect the following officers for 2004.
President - Terry Rose
Vice President - Susan Mitchell
Secretary - Robyn Service-Barabe
Treasurer - Cindy Rose
Director at Large - Lynn Dow
President to appoint Directors in the very near future.

Meeting adjourned at 12:30

Speaker Joe Silva, Executive Director of GMHA, spoke about large animal rescue and safety issues with big horse events, such as the Olympics or events at GMHA. Showed us equipment such as winch, horse boat, and large ropes. Spoke about different circumstances he’d been called to court over or horse rescues and his live and learn experiences in the horse rescue field.

Horse Person of the Year!

Dr. Betsy Greene

Left, Lynn Dow, was proud to announce Dr. Betsy Greene, center, as the recipient of the 2004 “Horse Person of the Year award.” Terry Rose, President, at right, joins in the presentation..

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CENTERED RIDING
WITH SARAH SEIDMAN

Centered Riding is a new way of teaching the classical principles of riding. It answers the questions of “ how” when the riding instructor tells you” what “ to do to communicate with your horse. It gives you a new perspective on riding as well as life. By becoming aware of how your body works and its unconscious habits and patterns of movement, you can begin to give your body permission to function unhampered. Through the use of the Four Basics- breathing, soft eyes, balance and centering— you can learn to use your own balance, suppleness and coordination to allow the horse to respond with increased balance, poise and forward motion. The clinic will include these activities and principles:

1. both unmounted and mounted exercises designed to teach human anatomy and function.

2. That centered riding is appropriate and helpful for all ability levels and for riders in any discipline; western, English, pleasure, competitive trail, jumping, etc.

3. That it’s a gentle, unthreatening and fun way to get to know yourself and your horse better. The general schedule is usually about an hour and a half lecture/unmounted work and then hour-long mounted “ classes” usually grouped by ability, with a break for lunch. As always, Helmets, shoes with a least a quarter inch heel (no sneakers) and comfortable unrestrictive clothing.

About the instructor:
Sarah Seidman is presently at the third level of the four-level Centered Riding instructor program and authorized to teach CR clinics. She was introduced to CR by Fourth level instructor Sally Haney, and has since received instruction from the founder of CR, Sally Swift, and Fourth Level instructors, Susan Harris, Sandra Code-Cabell, Lucy Bump and Mary Fenton who has helped coach three time endurance champion Becky Hart to Victory. She has also studied under dressage instructor Judi Whipple of Breckenridge Farm in Barre, Vt.
Sarah has spent 40 years with horses, from hunter/jumper lessons and hot-walking polo ponies as a child in Michigan to working cattle on a ranch in New Mexico, to running her current business, Pease Farm Stables, in Middlesex, Vt, which uses the techniques of CR to teach trail riding, dressage and introductory jumping to adults and children. Pease Farm also offers training and boarding and summer day camps. Sarah has been a recognized CR instructor since 1992 and
credits it with transforming both her teaching and her riding “CR is a fun and common-sense approach to riding. My horses love it and it’s really helped me learn to use my body effectively.” she said.
Susan Mitchell Water Supply DivisionWaterbury, Vermont 802-241-3414.

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U. S. Animal Identification Plan

The American Horse Council reports that they have created a task force in response to the creation of a proposal called the U. S. Animal Identification Plan (USAIP) by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Although, the USAIP currently only pertains to cattle, swine, and poultry, there is a blank section that references the horse industry. AHC hopes that by creating this task force, they may help the horse industry create standards for equine identification in case the USAIP becomes mandatory.
In the Senate, the United States Animal Identification Implementation Act has been introduced. This bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement the USAIP. However, it calls for a phased start-up allowing the horse industry one year from approval, whereas the cattle industry would have 2 to 3 months to comply.
Additionally, in Congress two bills have been introduced called the National Farm Animal Identification Records Act or FAIR Act; one in the Senate and one in the House. Both bills direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a nationwide electronic livestock identification system wherein the USDA can trace an individual animal within 48 hours of a disease outbreak. The House bill includes specific language protecting the information collected through the system by making it exempt under the Freedom of Information Act.
All of the bills have been referred to the Agricultural Committees of the Senate and House. The AHC is hosting a National Forum on Equine Identification April 17-20, 2004 in Washington, D.C.

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TAX tidbits
from the AHC Tax Bulletin

These tax changes apply to horse businesses and were signed into law in 2003.
Depreciation of horses and eligible business property was increased to allow 50% of the cost to be written off in the year of purchase, with the balance of the purchase using standard depreciation in the following years. This bonus depreciation applies only to the purchases of horses and other property if the “original use” commences with purchaser. In other words, if a horse was used for racing and then is sold as a broodmare, the purchaser cannot qualify for the bonus depreciation.
The Expense Allowance was increased to $100,000 up from $25,000 for purchases of horses and other business property provide the total purchases did not exceed $400,000. This allowance applies to depreciable business property purchased from 2003 through 2005 and the purchaser does not have to be the original user of the property for it to qualify.
The top long-term capital gains tax rate was lowered to 15% on sales completed after May 6, 2003.
There were two hobby loss cases involving horses decided by the Tax Court in 2003. Both held that neither operation (one as a “reining” and the other as a “cutting”) was being conducted as a business for profit.

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Take Pride In America

The Take Pride in America (TPIA) program was originally begun in 1985, but “de-emphasized” in 1993. It has now been reestablished. It was established to “encourage volunteers to initiate programs to improve our parks, recreation areas, refuges, and cultural and historical sites.” The AHC suggests that the people in the equine community contact the state coordinator to introduce themselves and ‘increase the profile of the equine community in their state.” However, I have been unable to find just who Vermont’s Coordinator is! According to a bulletin sent in October, no one had been named for Vermont. I have checked the www.takepride.gov site and could not locate that information, although four opportunities for volunteering here were listed. As soon as I can locate the name and contact information for this coordinator I will let you know.
- Respectfully submitted,
Adria Halstead-Johnson

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The Stable Sheet

The William Minor Agricultural Research Institute of NY, in conjunction with the University of Vermont and the UVM Morgan Horse Farm has just introduced an equine version of the award-winning Farm Report. Designed for both horse owners and industry professionals, The Stable Sheet provides practical information on all aspects of horse care, from breeding to training to health and safety. The Stable Sheet is also the source to find out about upcoming equine-related events sponsored by Miner Institute and UVM. Published quarterly, it is available at no cost to subscribers either through the mail or online at Miner Institute’s website (www.whminer.com) . To be added to the mailing list, contact Karen Lassell at 518-846-7121, ext. 120, or email her at lassell@whminer.com . Be sure to specify which delivery method you prefer.

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