February 2008 - VADA-CH

EXTENSIONS
February 2008
Virginia Dressage Association, Inc., Charlottesville Chapter
Volume 20, Issue 2
February 2008 Presidents Message
In This Issue:
Presidents Message
VADA-CH Minutes
2007 Year End Award Winners
2008 Board Members
Advertising Rates
Equine Body Score System
Holly Bergay
From beneath the Palm tree...
p. 1
p. 2
p. 4
p. 6
p. 6
p. 8
p. 9
p. 11
My apologies to both
Erin Sweeney (the out
going VP) and to Nancy
Lowey (the 2008 VP) for
my error in the January
Newsletter.
February Events - Come One, Come ALL
the 12th - VADA-CH Monthly Meeting @ Vinny’s in the Target
Shopping Center across from Forest Lakes. 7:00 pm.
By Laws VOTE!!!
HI Everyone,
A note from sunny Ocala! Yes it’s 80 degrees down here.
And very sunny. We had to get the horses clipped first
thing before we could do any work as they were sweating
quite a bit.
Otherwise it is going great.
Now down to business, I hope you all have a
great time at the two upcoming Banquets the VADA-CH
one on Jan 19th (I’ll be in Timonium, MD doing a nutrition
talk at the Horse World Expo). And then the State
Awards Banquet on Jan 27th, same place, the Double tree
in C’ville.
Our next Chapter meeting is Feb 12th at Vinnie’s
in the Target shopping center across from Forest lakes.
Please come and bring your ideas and your enthusiasm.
We need suggestions (and organizers) for Evenings
with… and for clinics and events.
There should be the usual three schooling shows
this year with Toadhollow in the early Spring, followed by
Wolftrap and then the Fall show at Grayson. We are still
working on the Brian Ross Fix-a-Test and the Alexander
Clinic. We’ll announce dates when we get them.
Please check out the new By-Law changes which are
posted on the website at (www.vadach.org) and when
the time comes please vote o them. They are being done so
that we offer the scholarships without constantly having to
ask the membership to vote on the individual changes.
These changes gives the Board the power to discuss and
then vote on the amounts and individual requirements as
the circumstances require.
Please do plan to participate, this club cannot
function unless it’s members take part and get involved.
Remember when you say “They should do….” That the
Board members also have jobs, horses, homes and in some
cases kids to take care of, we are just as busy as you so we
don’t have extra time to devote to all the causes dear to
your hearts, we tend to do the ones dear to ours!!! So if
you really want an activity planed the best bet is to plan it
your self, we’d love to help, and to get involved, but the
initial impetus needs to come from you!
This is your club just as much as it is anyone else’s.
So come on out and get involved. If you have Agenda
items please send them to Nancy Lowey, Nancy Lowey
nlowey@rocketmail.com, Nancy has the delightful task of
running all the meetings until I get back.
For those of you interested, I’ll send a separate column on
how it goes down here in Ocala. First one should be in this
newsletter!
Have fun, I hope it does not get to cold or icy.
Yours in sunshine,
Melyni
Please check the mailing label on your
January & February
newsletter . If it has a set of dollar signs
across the bottom this means your
membership has
expired and this is your last newsletter.
January 2008, Monthly Meeting Minutes
The January meeting was called to order 7:15 pm by Vice President,
Nancy Lowey (President Melyni is currently in Florida). Members and
non-members present: Sarah Vogeley, Amy Gadsden, Sarah Kern, Carter
Bass, Lauren Forestell, Barbara Goshorn, Cindy Aspden, Sherri Booye,
Nancy Lowey, Stephanie Witmer, Anita Woodward, Jan Templeton, and
Bettina Longaker.
The December minutes were approved as read.
Treasurer/Membership report:
Amy Gadsden’s check for the Chapter’s Annual Dinner was not deposited,
as a thank you for all of her work on the yearly awards, she will be the
Chapter’s guest. Sherri Booye reported that the balance is currently
$8,408.92. Outstanding payments include: $125 to the USDF Region 1
Omnibus (for the September show prizelist listing) and the VADA/USDF
dues for the 2008 members.
Membership was at 50 with one member joining at this meeting, now at
51.
Annual Banquet:
At this date, 22 have signed up. The following award sponsors are
scheduled to come: Blue Ridge Trailer (2). As there is no Intermediaire II
award, Grand Champion Trailer will not be there. Also noted, was there
are no winners in the Schooling Show division for First level and no
winners at Fourth level in the Licensed show division..
The Chapter received a very nice Thank You note from Holly Bergay - to
whom the Chapter donated $500 to help her on her quest to the 2008
Para-Olympics.
Emails! Sherri requests that all members keep her apprised of any email
changes.
Old Business:
1. Sherri discussed the cohesive Awards/Scholarship planned by the
Chapter. For 2009, the member will earn the eligibility to enter in 2008 so it will always be the previous years volunteer time to count. For 2008,
due to the lateness of the By Law change, member may use their previous
hours earned from 2007. But, the submission must be made by July 2008.
The Winners of this scholarship will be required to write an article about
how they used their scholarship. If they do not, this winner will be barred
from winning a scholarship ever again.
The scholarship must be used within one year. The Chapter Board can
extend the time for extenuating circumstances. Each year’s winner must
skip the next year’s drawing. At each Annual Dinner, starting in 2009,
there will be two winners drawn from the lower levels (3 rd and below) and
one from the upper levels (4 th - FEI). Each recipient will receive $300.
At the February meeting, ALL members present shall vote on the ByLaws
change. 50.1% of those present and voting will effect a change.
Further changes to the By Laws, no more Patron membership, the Board
will be allowed to make Administrative changes and start Educational
grants or scholarships without a Chapter vote.
Amy announced that all the perpetual trophies had been returned. Nancy
and Amy will run the Annual Dinner.
Schooling Shows:
Dates are needed for all. Contacts are or are in the works:
Renee & Ann for Toad Hollow; Barbara will talk with Kim Schmidt about
the Grayson show; Sarah will talk with Sue Blikslager about the Wolftrap
show.
It was discussed that the Chapter needs to have some clinics in 2008.
The Fix-A-Test will by with Brian Ross (S). It was suggested to have three
clinics, lower, mid, and higher level. Also, maybe hosting “An Evening
with”. Ideas and clinicians/presentors are needed.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 pm.
Fix-A-Test Clinic:
Carter called Brian Ross and they are looking at March. Amy will call the
Reuters once Carter has a date. It will have to be on a Sunday, if we want
Cindy to work.
VADA Annual Banquet.
Woo’s your pet? Is the Chapter’s theme. Barbara Goshorn has been
collecting items for our basket. It will be put together at the Chapter
dinner.
New Business:
In Virginia, all equine dentists, who are not licensed veterinarians but be
licensed by the state to practice Equine Dentistry.
Go to
http://www2.virginiainteractive.org/dhp/cgi-bin/search_publicdb.cgi - then
search for your dentist to confirm whether they are licensed.
Respectfully submitted,
Bettina Longaker
Classified Ads
Ansur Amigo Saddle - Has all knee and thigh blocks plus
dorsal supplement front wedge pad. $1,250. Contact
Lindsay McKillican
434-295-0493 or 906-3290.
2007 VADA-Charlottesville
Final Year End Award Standings
Schooling Division
Level
Introductory
Rider
Beth Marcinko
Horse
Stirling Castle
Placing
1
Avg Score
64.13%
Trophy Sponsor
Amy Gadsden (plate)
Training
Hollyn Mangione
Diane Laurie
Ruth Hewitt
Beth Marcinko
Tax Dance
Leo
Maki
Stirling Castle
1
2
3
4
67.74%
66.98%
66.39%
62.59%
Foxden Equine (bowl)
Diane Laurie
Elizabeth Gathright
Psammead
Little Sure Shot
1
2
60.16%
57.45%
Sherri Booye (plaque)
Avg Score
Trophy Sponsor
Second
Melyni Worth
Recognized Division
Level
Rider
Horse
Training
Erin Sweeney
Melyni Worth
Ruth Hewitt
Kim Schmidt
Royce
Cita Normark
Maki
Andromeda
1
2
3
4
70.63%
65.92%
64.48%
63.76%
Crawford Saddlery (bowl)
Erin Sweeney
Barbara Goshorn
Melyni Worth
Solstice
Belvedere
Cita Normark
1
2
3
69.19%
67.17%
63.54%
Gifted Horse (plaque)
Second
Lynn Childers
Poetic Justis
1
67.59%
Amy Gadsden (crystal horse)
Third
Ame Hellman
Celia Rafalko
Melyni Worth
Schuberts Ronaldo
Leviticus
Xavoy Middelsom
1
2
3
68.14%
60.26%
56.36%
Keswick Equine Clinic (plaque)
Prix St Georges
Kim Schmidt
Portobello
1
65.25%
Blue Ridge Trailer Sales (bowl)
Intermediaire 1
Carter Bass
Gossamer
1
64.03%
VA Breast Care (tall cup)
First
Joe Crawford
Lena Beck
Dr. Greg Schmidt
Rob & Donna Martin
Dr. Linda Sommers
2007 VADA-CH Awards winners
presented by Vice President Nancy Lowey &
Amy Gadsden
All photos credits: Lauren Forestell
Carter Bass, Gossamer, Champion,
Licensed Division, Intermediaire 1
Barbara Goshorn, Belvedere, Reserve Champion,
Licensed Division, First Level
Lynn Childers, Poetic Justis, Champion,
Licensed Division, Second Level
Opps, these trophies are HEAVY!!!
Hollyn Mangione, Tax Dance,
Champion, Schooling Division,
Training Level
Elizabeth Gathright (horse owner), Maki,
picking 3rd place ribbon up for Ruth Hewitt
both Sch. & Lic. Division, Training Level
Beth Marcinko, Stirling Castle, Champion,
Schooling Division, Introductory Level
Elizabeth Gathright, Little Sure Shot,
Reserve Champion, Schooling Division,
Second Level
Congratulations to all
the 2007 Winners!
Advertising Rates for EXTENSIONS
Full-page ad
½ page ad
¼ page ad
Business Card
Classified ad
$15.00/issue
10.00/issue
7.50/Issue
5.00/Issue
5.00/Issue
$150/year
100/year
75/year
50/year
50/year
There is no charge to VADA-CH members for classified ads
or business cards which run for two months and must be
renewed. Advertising deadline is the 25 th of each month.
WANTED by this NEWSLETTER....
Reproducible quality photos of Chapter Members (jpeg)
Reproducible quality and LEGAL sketches of Dressage
horses (jpeg)
Email to: vadvirag8@gmail.com
Any image may be published on www.VADACH.org
Any advertisement that includes pictures must be cameraready. Preferred medium is jpeg sent via email:
vadvirag8@gmail.com
I receive a LOT of mail and ads may get misplaced with
show entries.
Please make checks payable to VADA-CH and mail to the
Treasurer, ads will not be run until payment is received.
Sherri Booye
721 Lake Rd
Troy VA 22974
2008 VADA-CH Board Members
President:
Melyni Worth
540-942-4500
Melyni@thorlaser.com
Vice President:
Nancy Lowey
nlowey@rocketmail.com
Secretary:
Mary Lou Goings
marylouwatt@hotmail.com
Treasurer/Membership:
Sherri Booye
434-589-1851
nizra@earthlink.net
Newsletter:
Bettina Longaker
vadvirag8@gmail.com
State Board Members:
Cindy Aspden
434-242-2093
Sarah Kern
sarahkern@embarqmail.com
Bettina Longaker
vadvirag8@gmail.com
I would like to thank Lauren Forestell (2007 VADA-CH
Extension Editor) in advance for editing the March issue of
Extensions. Due to excessive Dressage Show secretary
commitments in Florida (2/25-3/3 & 3/25-31) and California
(3/11-16), I won’t be in Virginia or sane enough to get that
issue out. THANK YOU LAUREN!
As Winter goes on and on, February is a good time to take a good look at all of your horses (sans blanket) and assess
their body weight. We all like them a little “fat” for the Winter, but remember the Spring grass will be upon us
before we know it in late March and now it the time to have our friends at the proper weight, as to avoid future and
possible deadly consequences.
Equine Body Score system
Score
Appearance
1. POOR
Animal extremely emaciated: back bone, ribs, tailhead, point of hips, and point of buttocks project
prominently: bone structure of withers, shoulders and neck easily noticeable; no fatty tissue can be felt.
2. VERY THIN
Animal emaciated ; slight fat covers base of backbone; base backbone in lumbar region feel slightly
rounded; backbone, ribs, tailhead, point of hips and buttocks prominent; withers, shoulders, and neck
structure faintly discernable.
3. THIN
Fat buildup about half-way on backbone; base of spine cannot be felt; slight fat cover over ribs; ribs
easily discernable; tailhead prominent, but individual vertebrae cannot be indentified visually; point of
hips appear rounded but easily discernable; point of buttocks not distinguishable; withers, shoulders, and
neck not obviously thin.
4. MODERATELY THIN
Slight ridge along back; faint outline of ribs discernable; tailhead prominence depends on confirmation,
but fat can be felt around it; point of hip not discernable; withers, shoulders and neck not obviously thin.
5. MODERATE
Back is flat (no crease or ridge); ribs not visually distinguishable but easily felt; fat around tailhead
beginning to feel spongy; withers appear rounded over top; shoulders and neck blend smoothly into the
body.
6. MODERATELY FLESHY
May have slight crease down back; fat over ribs spongy, fat around tailhead soft; fat beginning to be
deposited along side of withers, behind shoulders and along sides of neck.
7. FLESHY
May have crease down back; individual ribs can be felt but there is noticeable filling between ribs with
fat; fat around tailhead is soft; fat deposited along withers, behind shoulders, and along neck.
8. FAT
Crease down back; difficult to feel ribs; fat around tailhead very soft; area along withers filled with fat;
area behind shoulders filled with fat; noticeable thickening of neck; fat deposited on inner thighs.
9. EXTREMELY FAT
Obvious crease down back; patchy fat appearing over ribs, bulging fat appears around tailhead, along
withers, behind shoulders, and along neck; fat on inner thighs may rub together; flank filled with fat.
A body score of less than 4 indicates inadequate energy intake, a score of more than 7 indicates too high an energy
intake. A score between 5 and 7 is indicates the proper amount of energy intake.
Melyni Worth, PhD
Andiamo evented successfully and now is in training with Debbie Bowman. She is solid first level,
schooling second and third leve. She is healthy, sound, and has great feet. $25,000. Contact Debbie at
540-669-6061 or Bernie Dracopoli at 434-293-2099 or email: dracopoli@embarqmail.com
B RO W N L AU R IC H E S ADD LE . Excellent condition, 18” seat, med-wide tree. $3800. Fits a flat-backed horse nicely. Contact Lauren
at 540-672-7177
From beneath the Palm tree…
Tina (amongst others) asked me for a column from Florida, so here it goes! It is early days yet and I have to do
this column quickly as Tina herself is off to Sunny shores to run a show in Loxahatchee.
Firstly the drive down was long, 780 miles, fortunately mostly interstate, but still a very long day of
driving. It took us 14 hours to get here.
We unloaded & settled the horses and collapsed into bed. The next day we unloaded the trailers and sorted out
all of our stuff. Of course setting up ‘home’ required a trip to Wal-Mart/K-Mart/Tack store for a few essentials.
One thing was that it is incredibly hard to plan for 80 degree weather when you are packing in 20 degree
weather so a few summer essentials were left off the trailer.
We are sharing a barn with Mark and Michelle Stopford who train and show Hunters/Jumpers and are
staying with Manette Monroe a friend of mine who lives here. The brand new barn we are in has nice stalls
with a center aisle, and a covered arena to ride in with sand footing, there are individual paddocks for the horses
and about 40 acres to ride around on. We are about 10 mins from the HITS Ocala showgrounds (no dressage
shows only H/J ones there) and about 45 mins from the Florida Horse Park and about 1 hr from Canterbury
Showgrounds. We are 2 hrs from Orlando (Orlando Dressage Inc) and about 4 hrs from Venice (Foxlea Farm)
and 5 hrs from Wellington. Florida is a VERY long state!
Ocala is the highest point in Florida since it is on the center spine, the remains of an ancient coral reef
that once existed in the shallow sea that is now the state of Florida. This means that Ocala has the driest ground
and a good bit of limestone under it. This makes it good place for horses, the Thoroughbred industry discovered
Ocala first and the whole town is built around the TB farms. There are miles and miles of white fences and lots
of gorgeous pastures and fields, well fenced and full of live oaks as shade trees.
Every now and then you see a galloping track, or a jump ring, it’s so easy to build them here on the
sandy soil underlain with limestone the soil drains superbly and the top is always soft due to the sand.
We found that the horses were a bit wired when they first got here, the change in air, smells and
temperature I expect, but they are settling in well. We start riding in the morning and are usually done by 3 pm.
It is nice in the evenings and early mornings but can be hot in the afternoons. So we turn the horses out
at night and keep them in the shade of their stalls in the day.
Well that’s all for the first time, I’ll send you another column for next month!
Yours truly, Melyni
VADA-CH Extensions
8246 Open Gate Rd
Gordonsville VA 22942
Virginia Dressage Association, Inc - Charlottesville Chapter
Current Events
VADA-CH Monthly Meeting
Feb 12, 7 PM @ Vinny’s
(Across from Forest Lakes)