since 1995
October/November 2009
Club Meetings / News and Events
Trailblazers Monthly Meetings
Our monthly meeting will be held on November 19th, at 7pm, at the Old Salem Restaurant, 8366 W. Main Street, Marshall, VA. Come enjoy dinner and good conversation with friends. It’s a great opportunity to catch up on what fellow trailblazers have been up to.
Upcoming Events
Anyone for a Christmas Parade?
Charlestown, West Virginia puts on an all equine Christmas parade. No marching bands, fire engines, or twirling batons to contend with. Just lots of horses, mules, and the occasional donkey. Several of us went to watch last year and it looked well organized and fun. Horses and/or riders were all dressed up or decorated. The drive up there wasn’t bad, about an hour and 15 minutes. Parking is at the race track so there is lots of room. This year’s parade is on Sunday, December 13 starting at 2:00 p.m. I’d like to know whether any of you are interested in getting a group together to represent Trailblazers in the parade. We will need someone to take charge of organizing the group and sending in the application. I really just don’t have time to do it right now. Please let me know if you have any interest in the parade or if you would be willing to help organize the group for the event. Email kcorl@comcast.net or call 540-349-1412.
TRAILBLAZERS MINUTES - September and October – Happy Reading
The September 17, 2009 meeting of Trailblazers was held at Denny’s Restaurant in Warrenton, led by President Karen Corl. First on the order of business this time was our speaker, Mary Page of the Fauquier Equestrian Forum, a group which has formed to promote facilities for horseback riders in Fauquier County. She addressed the FEF’s efforts to put these plans before the Board of Supervisors, which has agreed to a work session with the FEF on October 8 to discuss their proposal. They have several possible sites that should provide adequate space for an equestrian facility, one on either side of Meetze Road in the vicinity of the Community Garden and one at Vint Hill, whose developers have expressed interest in having an equestrian facility of some kind. The hope is that the facility would also be adjacent to riding trails that could be developed and expanded. We could begin with something as simple as a parking space for trailers and portable toilets for trail users and hopefully soon develop at least a decent sized outdoor riding arena for public use, with a covered arena as a future goal. Although current statistics suggest there are some 14,800 horses in the county, these numbers were based upon commercial use data and did not, apparently, include the vast majority of us horse owners who just maintain pleasure mounts. For anyone interested in becoming a member of the organization or just attending a meeting, meetings are the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at Horse Country on Alexandria Pike in Warrenton.
Following Mary’s presentation, the Treasurer announced a current balance of some $4,549 with no outstanding bills.
Barbara went over the upcoming ride schedule for the next couple of months.
Ioanna then passed out Marriott Ride fliers to all who wanted to take some to various establishments in the vicinity; she had them printed on bold colors to attract attention. She also has been getting information out to various organizations and publications in hope of getting further advertisement of the event.
The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
The October 15, 2009 meeting of Trailblazers was brought to order at 7:30 p.m. at Denny’s Restaurant in Warrenton, led by President Karen Corl. Due to the inclement weather, the Marriott fundraising ride will be rescheduled for Sunday, November 8, at 11:00. Because Marriott allows hunting six days a week, it will not be possible to get out beforehand to mark trails for individual departure, so we will have to have a guided ride, with (we hope) two groups, a fast and a slow. We propose to charge $10 for club members to ride so we can have something to donate to the charity we choose. Nonmembers who prepaid will be offered a refund if they choose not to ride in a group.
December 19 will be our Christmas party at Airlie.
The possibility of riding in a Christmas parade at Charles Town, WV was brought up; it is an all-equestrian parade. No action was taken; we’ll take it up at the next meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Where: The Smoke House at Airlie Center, Warrenton
What: Social hour followed by a buffet dinner.
Gift exchange and social time after dinner.
Buffet will include 3 choices of entrée, several vegetables, salads, rice or potato, rolls and butter, desserts, and non-alcoholic beverages. Beer and wine will be available for a small additional charge.
Party dress not required, but no jeans please. If you wish to participate in the gift exchange, please bring a wrapped gift purchased for $25.00 or less.
Directions:
From Warrenton take Rt. 29 North to 3rd traffic light at Commuter Parking Lot. Turn left at light. Go 2 miles and turn left into first Airlie entrance (stone pillars). You will see a sign at entrance that says 6809, bus & service entrance. Just inside the entrance you’ll see the Smoke House with Christmas lights on.
From Marshall take Rt. 17 South. Turn left on Blantyr Road before Ben & Mary’s Restaurant. Take first Right on Airlie Road. Go 1 mile and cross over one lane stone bridge. Take second right after bridge into Airlie. Then same as above.
For further information, contact Karen Corl 540-349-1412 or kcorl@comcast.net
Reservations must be received by Saturday, December 5.
I wish to attend:
Name(s) _________________________________________________________
Phone No. ____________________ E-mail Address ___________________________
Number of Members/Guests attending ____ X $20.00 = $__________
Make check payable to Trailblazers, Inc.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Trailblazers’ polo shirts, sweatshirts and caps are available and can be purchased at Trailblazers meetings and events or by contacting Vickie Bowling at vbowling@comcast.net or 540-937-7744
| Polo Shirt – tan, sizes ladies S through mens XL | $20.00 |
| Sweatshirt – navy, unisex sizes S through XL | $20.00 |
| Caps – tan with green brim | $10.00 |
2009 Calendar of Events
| November 19 | Trailblazers Monthly Meeting- 7pm at Old Salem Restaurant, Marshall, VA. |
| December 5 | Deadline to sign-up for Trailblazers Christmas Party. |
| December 19 | Christmas party at Airlie |
Internet Sites of Interest
The internet can provide a wealth of information about horses. If you have one that you find to be particularly good, please send it to Karen Kachur to share with the group. Here is a list of some you may find useful:
www.horserentals.com [boarding and horse rentals]
www.equine.com [horse sales]
www.horsecity.com [training and items for sale]
www.dreamhorse.com [horse sales]
www.kbrhorse.net [resistance-free training articles]
www.horsetrails.com [trail information]
http://www.roughridersonline.com [rides in the Eastern part of the country]
www.nttp.net/resources/index.html [National Trails Training Partnership website resources]
www.nttp.net/resources/trailbuilding/index.html [National Trails Training Partnership website on Trail Design and Construction] www.nttp.net/resources/trailbuilding/index.html [Presentation from Anne O'Dell, Designing Shared Use Trails to Include Equestrians, select the publication]
http://railtrails.tranguard.com/ [Trails for the Twenty-First Century, from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy - See RTC's bookstore]
www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rectrails/publications.htm [ FHWA's Recreational Trails Program publications (includes trail-related publications from the USDA Forest Service)]
www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rectrails/ [Recreational Trails Program]
www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/te/ [Transportation Enhancement Activities] http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/orgdirectory/equine.html [This site contains a comprehensive list of agricultural and consumer organizations in the state]
www.battlefieldequestriansociety.org Battlefield Equestrian Society (BES)
www.ustrailride.org U.S. Trailride (USTR)
www.thegehs.org Gettysburg Equestrian Historical Society
www.choa-va.com Culpeper Horse Owners AssociationSome New Web Sites to Check Out
www.horsemotel.com
www.baycreekranch.com
http://www.nps.gov/appa/The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) supplies timely information about monitoring and management of equine diseases through the National Animal Health Surveillance System (NAHSS). The NAHSS web site can be reached at www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahss/equine.
