WPCSA Southwest Region Blog, May 2016, Judy Hubert and Debbie Elliott-Fisk
I (Judy) love going to the AGMs, as #1 it’s a “break” from the daily routine, but best of all, #2, I get to see pony friends I haven’t seen for a year or more, and always come home invigorated and excited about the Welsh Pony/Cob family! Nowhere do you find such good people!
A HUGE “thank you” to the Texas group – primarily the Red River Welsh Pony Association, for all the work they put into the success of this event. It’s really hard to put down on paper the enthusiasm we all felt – the help and cooperation with all of the events and activities, the table decorations that were absolutely out of this world (thank you Robin Nowak and company), the young people all pitching in and helping with awards, and the overall good will and enthusiasm of all.
The WPCSA is making progress! We will all find that the efforts of the past couple of years are really beginning to be noticeable to all.
One of my personal frustrations has been the website, but now I understand! Currently there are two websites – welshpony.org and wpcsamembers.com. The older, original site has all the data on it while the new site has all the applications – whistles and bells – that allow us to do all our business on line. Unfortunately, in the tech world, the older site (data) is written in out-dated “tech talk”, so major work needs to be done to seam these two operations into one. The goal is for us to be able to go to one site for ALL business. The proceeds from this year’s very successful auction (both silent and live) are designated for the purpose of completing the website project.
As an Area Rep, along with my best helper and co-rep Debbie Elliott-Fisk, we have tried a couple of areas of communication with very little success. This job is a “work in progress”, and we need YOU to help us. The over-all consensus is that Facebook is the best and easiest mans of communication. Along with this, e-mail (and we need your e-mail address!) and the WPCSA Blog are the “vehicles” we are currently using. Debbie has posted a couple of blogs, primarily to let you know what is going on in our (CA) area/region. We want to hear from you – same information! What’s going on in your area? Do you have concerns with the WPCSA? If so, please share them with us. We want to resolve questions and areas of concern, as well as share the “brags”, success stories, etc.
Our kids had a wonderful time at this year’s AGM. They all had the opportunity to become Roving Reporters. Pat Cochran gave them a quick lesson on this job, and they were taking pictures throughout, interviewing attendees, and submitting their reports to either Pat or Martha Stover. What a fun opportunity for them – and there were prizes!
A huge “thank you” to Bonnie and Todd Barbey for all the wonderful pictures they have recently shared with all of us on Facebook, primarily the fantastic pictures from this last year’s American National! After attending this exciting event, it was really fun to come home and look at all the pictures, and “live it “ all over again. Not only did Bonnie take those pictures, but she was able to put them all together and post them for everyone to enjoy! Many thanks, Bonnie.
I’d love to challenge everyone of you to take a minute to send a “thank you” to the WPCSA Board, as well as the WPCSA Office staff. All e-mail addresses are listed on the WPCSA website. We all get wrapped up in our own little worlds, but these people spend hours & hours of their time, all volunteer (except for the few paid office staff members), in an effort to keep all of us happy, while working to keep the society working within the guidelines of our Mission. A little “thank you” is so easy for each of us, and means so much to those in the trenches.
There are many things we, as members, can do to support the WPCSA, without a whole lot of effort! By going to the wpcsamembers.com website, you can learn many things about the WPCSA. Take some time and go through the various tabs. You can find a listing of all the committees, an area that all members are welcome to join. If you have an area that you think could use your expertise, please contact the chair of that committee, and join. For the Welsh Review, articles are always being sought after. Do you have historical information that others would enjoy? Please put together an article for The Review. Did you know you can read The Review on line? Yes! This year, you can do a pony search for FREE! Please contact Lisa Landis at the office, and she’ll get you set up. There is a definite “go to” place if you have animals for sale – the section called Studs/Breeders/4 sale – the ultimate classified spot! Do you have ideas/suggestions/thoughts about the website? Please contact Megan Burtness – she’s done an awesome job, but would appreciate input, ideas, and suggestions. Marketing – Martha Stover is always looking for ideas and suggestions on marketing! Pat Cochran is always looking for new “promotion” ideas – all of us can take a few minutes and write up an article about Welsh happenings in our area and submit these to the local papers that are offered locally.
We have many talented folks in our WWW – Wonderful World of Welsh! Let’s make 2016 a year of positive help, positive feedback, positive promotion, and a positively great year!
Local News
Our first show of the season is now “in the books!” While we were small (72 equines), it was a wonderful show, with some very nicely turned out Welsh Ponies, Welsh Cobs, and Mountain and Moorland ponies! Many thanks to all of you who made the effort and came to the show.
One of the highlights at the event was the sharing of the mulit-ring facility at the Brookside Equestrian Park with the Mini’s. They had 116 mini’s at their show, and it was amazing to watch them! Those little guys did a LOT of driving that weekend, and turned out beautifully for their halter classes.
If the Mini’s can do it, there’s absolutely no reason why the Welsh can’t turn out 116 ponies/cobs at our fall Brookside/Western Regional Show, September 2 – 5 (only 4 days this year instead of 5 days)! For those of you who haven’t been showing lately for whatever reason, it’s time to come to this event. The Board and Show Committee folks are working to make this a really good event for all. As a reminder, please keep in mind that in addition to having a first-class show, the facility offers their swimming pool, we have our Fun with Fido event, those who are showing get a free dinner (we’ve done this for the past two years), Brookside always offers a very low-cost meal in addition to their extra “goodies” – and we are hoping to offer whatever other fun things you may be interested in having – we want you to have fun! Kids – a pool/pizza party is being planned by our Jr. Board Members! And importantly, if we get 100 or more Welsh Ponies, Cobs and Partbreds exhibiting, exhibitors will earn QUADRUPLE WPCSA points – how can you beat that!
OK – got my “plug” in for September – so what happened in May? It was the hottest day of the year for one of the days, and then cooled down with Delta breezes for the rest of the show. We had a little bit of both types of weather. Many of the kids made it to the swimming pool after their day of showing, as well as to the air-conditioned Brookside Cafe for lunch and ice cream!
Our junior. riders are growing up – had several of last year’s walk-trot kids tackle the 3-gaited classes this year, and successfully! How fun to watch these kids grow up. Additionally, they are excited about the Ridden Pony classes, and have started participating! And, last, but not least, new kids taking on the Hunter ring! These kids are all doing a great job, and the big kids better watch out – there’s going to be some new challenges! J
Our thanks to Kim Boyd and Alissa and Carrie Kirtlan for their efforts in managing this show. Most of the Kirtlan family ended up in the show ring at one time or another helping with ring steward duties, and they all did a wonderful job. And Kirtlan niece Riley also helped with ribbons and prizes. At the end of the show, we even got Alissa on the microphone and she did a great job announcing. In addition to Alissa, both Kim and Nora Frushour handled the announcing duties, and Nora was a huge contributor on Sunday with all of the hunter classes, and, as always, they BOTH did an awesome job! Bud Gearhart was also a big help at the gate. Trying to pull all the pieces together to make a show happen, in addition to showing your own animals, is an almost impossible task, and we are always grateful to those who are willing to take on this job. Many, many thanks to everyone who had any part in the operation of this event, as there were many contributors.
In addition, many thanks to our judges Faye Cole-Tanner and Guy Clardy for their expertise. It’s been several years since Guy has been out here, so it was a real treat to see him and show under him. It was also fun to see Guy’s wonderful wife Helen again, who always adds to the fun of any event!
To our Show Secretary, Jen Sommer, we cannot say “thanks” quite enough. Jen is a professional to the first degree, and manages to keep all of us on task, and in order. She’s been able to manage and account for all the entries, monies, problems that come up along the way. Without her expertise, the shows would not be the success they have been. We are truly grateful – you are AMAZING, Jen!
Regional News
To those of you in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah – what’s happening in “your neighborhood?” Trail rides? Dressage? Open Shows? Foals? Please take a few minutes to share what’s happening at your place, and in your area. At this point, we are your “Area Representatives”. What can we do to represent you? What ideas do you have – to have better events, better communication? What are your expectations from the WPCSA? Are those expectations being met? If so, kudos to those who help make them happen. If not, please share so we can work on improvement. Please keep in mind, this is YOUR society – we are all part of it.
All the best,
Judy and Debbie