THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH TEXAS EVENTING ASSOCIATION CROSS COUNTRY NEWS Special 30th Anniversary Edition - Summer 2011 From the trailer of the President... Dear Members, Families, & Eventing NTEA has an enthusiastic team of Thank you to all of you who shared Enthusiasts, leaders this year who are working memories, stories and photos for this As most of you have heard by now, hard to bring you a great special newsletter; to our talented NTEA celebrates its "official" 30th educational line up. This spring, Newsletter Editor, Mandy Kelly, for anniversary this month, although our NTEA hosted a free body clipping pulling this together;. Quail Run, Bryn roots go back to the 1960s and demonstration and lunch followed by Melyn, and Willow Draw for hosting 1970s. To commemorate this a free equine acupuncture and these events free of charge to NTEA; milestone, we have gathered some alternative medicine demonstration trainers Kim & Jody Taylor, Leslye photos and memoirs for this and lunch, both at Quail Run, as well Shellam and Meg Fletcher for newsletter to share with you just a as an equine bodywork volunteering to teach at the Intro little bit of history. We hope you demonstration at Bryn Melyn Farm Clinic; and Mike Huber for hosting enjoy it! by renowned therapist Jim and teaching a weekend clinic for Masterson. We hope to continue this our members at a substantially Mark your calendars now for our free educational series at schooling reduced price. If you can give some fantastic year-end gala on January days this coming Fall! time to help with any of the NTEA 7, 2012 at The Party Barn in clinics this summer, or if you have an Mansfield to celebrate another On July 2-3, NTEA is sponsoring a idea for a Fall educational activity, terrific year of eventing in north low cost "members only" clinic at or if you would like to host one, Texas and Area V and to honor our Gold Chip Stables with Mike Huber. please contact Kim Willnow, our founding members, high point Then, on July 16, NTEA is hosting our A c t i v i t i e s V P, a t winners, scholarship winners and first "Intro to Eventing" Clinic at [email protected] or call special award winners. Whether or WillowDraw, which will focus on 817-919-7263 not you are a current competitor or educating horsemen and women a current winner, please join us at from other disciplines about our Thank you for partnering with us to the party - this is your sport and sport. The next day, July 17, NTEA make this the best year yet for NTEA your club, and it won't be the same offers another low cost clinic for and eventing in Area V. without you! We will be sponsoring members, with a $10 Dressage Ride another brief online survey later this a Test at Willow Draw and schooling day. summer to find our your ideas about Mica Pryor how to make the year-end party more fun and to increase attendance President - please let us hear from you. Special Anniversary Edition Newsletter - Memories and photos from some long time NTEA/NTCTA members - Program from the 1987 NTCTA Horse Trials at Quail Run - NTEA Member Profile: Jan Michie - In Loving Memory of a beloved and well known horse www.nteventing.net NTEA Reflections Alison Ramos (NTEA Founder Don and Pat Collier hosted and Life Member) the first gathering at their home where we formulated It used to be in a plan. Then we went on to t h e w o r l d o f hold a public meeting and, eventing that when lo and behold, the NTCTA USCTA President (now the NTEA) was born. Neil Ayer spoke, we Pat became the first listened. So when at President of this little club o n e o f t h e long before it was officially Governor¹s meetings incorporated in 1981. I in the 1970s Neil can see that meeting broached the idea of room in my mind¹s eye forming local but faces are blurred. So Combined it would be wonderful Training Associations, to hear from anyone we listened. It seemed who was there, for you a great idea to me. were the pioneers of When I got home, what I call the second anxious, I must admit, stage of the sport in to make Area V look the U.S. Neil¹s idea good to our East Coast opened the door to so masters. I sounded out a many newcomers who few fellow eventers were able to take and we got to work. Alison and “Mateus” advantage of the (Pat Collier looks on) simultaneous creation of new divisions of competition with reduced difficulty in distances, speeds and size of fences while having fun and feeling part of a close knit group, their local CTA. The creation of the NTCTA and its sister organizations was not the dawning of eventing in Area V. For nearly twenty years a bunch of diehard enthusiasts had built courses, run events, and competed (this writer included) wherever and whenever they could. During this time the influence of the US Pony Clubs was of overwhelming importance and helped steer us all in the right direction. Those years make a story unto itself, a story which I would enjoy telling at another time. For the moment, Alison and “Friendly Persuasion” my thanks and congratulations go to all the members of the NTEA who have kept the dream alive for thirty-plus years. NTEA Reflections Jeri White and ”Casino Royale” Bottoms Up! NTCTA Volunteers Richard Hester and Alison Ramos at Lickskillet Jeri White and Pat Collier sport of eventing. In those days, Watkins (Olympic medalist and first (NTEA Founding Members) allowing schooling days on courses woman inducted into the USEA Hall didn’t exist. We ran them cold. What of Fame) and other eventing Eventing in the 70’s makes me think a way to move up a level ! A big greats beginning in the 1970s. of many wonderful people and of moment for the club was getting wonderful events which we no longer permission from Walter Strauss to have. There are memories of school his water jump and only the The sport has evolved in many ways Cedarwood, Lickskillet, Sky Vista, water jump. We will always be with more technical courses and Three Day Farm, Prairie Creek, grateful to Walter for his many better safety concerns. However the Tipasa and others. Cedarwood had contributions. club’s lofty goals have remained the a combination named New York Life same with a dedication to the which kept many a rider up the night betterment of eventing. Many before. Prairie Creek had some In the early days, NTCTA members thanks to our founder Alison Ramos! awesome steps which seemed to fall went as a group and built jumps at off a cliff and Lickskillet had a deep Lickskillet and other venues, dry creek bed which wasn’t on eventually building a Preliminary course but caused many an unofficial recognized course there. NTCTA stop. There must have been a bear organized and hosted horse trials, in there somewhere. We formed and also hosted hunter trials and Editor's Note: Jeri White served on teams which added to the clinics at Stone Farm and Three Day the NTCTA board for many years and comradeship. How I would love to Farm with eventing legends such as lives with her husband George on their ride for Team Hiney just once more. Jack Le Goff (veteran of several farm in Bartonville. Pat Collier is the Olympic games and long time coach first President of NTCTA and has of the USET), Richard Meade retired with her husband Don to their All of these events had great people (eventing Gold medalist from 1968 home in Florida. behind them which furthered the and 1972 Olympics), Torrance NTEA Reflections Mare Pack (New Day Farm) and Noreen Corlett (Curragh Equestrian Center) Thirty years! That is quite a bit of time! I look over my shoulder and see we have c e r t a i n l y Noreen Corlett and “Finnegan” o f t e n did not offer any ritzier standard of Mare Pack and “Royal Duke” accommodation for humans either! Our Photo by Leslie Wilson ® 1983 come times spent in some of those motels might classify as "B a long, long, way in the horror flicks", but on we went... for the love of the sport. North Texas Eventing scene. I think of event It was a time when most had but one saddle for all 3 venues, not only perhaps forgotten by the few of us that have phases, when many rode a mere pasture pet onto triumph, been around awhile but most likely never known by most of and just completing a dressage test found you in contention! the NTEA's current membership: Horse Trials such as When a "good mover" was defined as a horse who could Blanco, 3 Day Farm, Mortgage Hill, Tipasa, Sky Vista, Prairie walk, trot and canter without hitting its chin with its knees, Creek, and our much loved Cedarwood whose predictable and a clean cross country could include an unseated rider BN course provided the first nervous strides out of a start who hung on until the "penalty zone" was cleared. Parking box for many an area rider. was a gathering of two horse trailers, with the exception of Let's look back, but not to compare and find a previous era Alyce Hinkle's big rig :-).