Wisconsin Morgan Horse Club Newsletter AMHA 2013 Club of the Year December 2014 Affiliated with the Wisconsin State Horse Council and The American Morgan Horse Association WMHC is raising funds to make a donation to the Ackermann family for Sue’s continuing care/rehab. Judy Tate, 2015 treasurer, will be responsible for the collection. We hope to continue to receive donations until Sarah’s fund raiser this winter. HOLIDAY BRUNCH and JOLLY CHRISTMAS PARTY Lauraine Smith is already busy planning for next year’s Horse Fair. As SUNDAY DECEMBER 14TH 11 AM always,this is a major undertaking on the part of this club and its members. at the Fox and Hounds Information on how to nominate your horse to participate is on pp. 12~13 1298 Friess Lake Rd, Hubertus, WI ‎ (262) 628-1111 foxandhoundsrestaurant.com‎ Don’t know who Dundee was? The cost is $21 for adults and $18.50 for Find out pp. 14~15 seniors. That includes beverage, tip & tax. Carol needs to collect the money at the onset. Please RSVP to Carol Pasbrig promptly Find the revised membership form for [email protected] (262)-593-5612 2015 on pages 16 & 17 - and use it! Once again you can list all your horses at no additional cost - which makes a In the spirit of the season, please bring an item/items permanent the record of Morgans in for donation to a food pantry. Also good chance to make a contribution to the fund for Sue Ackermann’s ! Wisconsin. Your horses will be proud to continued care. be included. Also, you can buy an ad or place a special family photo for posterity! Directions (sort of): Located about midway south of Membership dues have not gone up in Slinger and north of Sussex. You can take Freiss Lake Rd ages (probably since last century. ) south from Holy Hill Rd (167) and follow signs. Or, coming north (from Sussex area) on 164, go left/west on Huburtus Rd. What a deal. Turn north on Friess Lake Rd. and follow signs. Strongly Please do renew and plan to return your suggest you go on line for your own version of membership by Jan 15th to be included in the directory . Oh good! directions. This ‘n That We have one tote left from a previous 2014 Officers fundraiser. It was decided by the Club Ron Loos ~ President last Sunday that they would be sold [email protected] for $10.00 each and the proceeds will go 262-673-5061 to the continued therapy for Sue Ackermann. Carol Pasbrig ~ Vice Pres. The tote is plastic lined to be water [email protected] resistant. It is white with a royal blue (262)-593-5612 trim. There is a logo of a running horse in a navy multicolored thread. THERE IS ONLY ONE LEFT!! You can reserve Katz Jackson ~ Secretary it and I will deliver it to the next meeting. It might make a great Christmas gift [email protected] to a special friend or relative. (608)-655-3347 Contact Judy Tate at 608-524-3938 or [email protected] Chrissy Kirch ~ Treasurer [email protected] (608)-606-5807 Want to walk safely in the yard/barn yard this winter? Even down hill on glare ice? Directors: Amy Ziegler ~ Dist. 1 ICE trekkers diamond grip stretch on “grippies” come [email protected] with a 5 star recommendation from me (editor)! Leave them (608)-332-2418 on a spare set of boots for those days when you NEED them.** Beth Anne Heyrman ~ Dist. 2 [email protected] Thanks to the officers and others who shepherded the (920)-488-2703 WMHC through 2014. Hurray for us! Jim Harris ~ Dist. 3 [email protected] And welcome and good luck to the officers (mostly the same with some (608)-987-3600 shuffling) for 2015. Left: secretary extraordinaire Mary Ellen Gray, Newsletter Katz Jackson, new [email protected] treasurer, Judy Tate, and (262)-242-3043 now well seasoned director Jim Harris (also our WHC rep.) Next, that national Debbie Fairbanks, treasure, vice president [email protected] Carol Pasbrig, Facebook Membership /Directory guru and director Amy Ziegler and past president - Heidi Harvey - Website moving into a director slot, [email protected]: Ron Loos. Beth Anne www.wisconsinmorganhorseclub. Heyrman will debut at the president position. 2 AMHA CONVENTION IN NEAR-BY MINNEAPOLIS IN FEBRUARY. CHECK IT OUT Wisconsin Morgan Horse Club (WMHC) Minutes Benvenuto’s Italian Grill, Fitchburg, WI November 16, 2014 @ 11:00 AM Members Present-Karen Grace Brunsell, Debbie Fairbanks, Karla Gay, Mary Ellen Gray, Jim Harris, Jeff Heise, Katz Jackson, Ronald Loos, Carol Pasbrig, Annie Randall, Lauraine Smith, Judy Tate, Amy Ziegler Call to order - President Ron Loos called the meeting to order at 12:40 PM following lunch. Introductions were made and new member, Karen Grace Brunsell, and returning member, Karla Gay, were welcomed into the club. Approval of Minutes - October 19, 2014 meeting minutes - Jeff Heise moved to approve. Jim seconded. Motion passed. Treasurer’s Report - Chrissy forwarded checking and CD amounts to Katz. The checking account - balance of $7428.25; the CD was the same as last month, $5107.52. Carol moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Debbie seconded. Motion passed. Directory & Membership Report-Chairperson Debbie requested that all use the revised form distributed on this date. Edits were made to the form included in the November newsletter. Dues must be paid by January 31 to be included in the 2015 Directory. Website - New web-master Heidi Harvey is planning to review the newly designed WMHC website and will demonstrate how to work with the site, including the Facebook feature, at the January 2015 meeting. Newsletter-Mary Ellen provided some information about the MN newsletter, which moved their quarterly publication on-line, with loss of advertising and a total of only six pages. WMHC’s directory costs approx. 70 cents to ship and $1.00 to print. Overall consensus of the group was to retain hard copies of our newsletter, and continue to include special articles. Marsha Valence’s articles on the history of famous Morgan horses were especially noted as adding value to the newsletter. Historian - Chrissy Kirch was not present-no report. Library-Carol Pasbrig encouraged all to see the list of books and video tapes in the November newsletter that are available for check out. An effort is being made to get some of the VHS tapes recorded onto the more user-friendly DVD format in the next several weeks. The tapes provide a valuable repository of knowledge and we look forward to having at least some of them copied into the more usable form. Wisconsin Horse Council (WHC)-Representative Jim Harris reported on the WHC, which he stated is comprised of a very diverse group of individuals interested in promoting the equine industry. Jim clarified that WHC membership has three levels, from individual to association-based. Jim represents WMHC as a Level III Director with voting rights. He also noted the availability of $1 Million Excess Liability Insurance for members and an opportunity to advertise in the newsletter. The council employs a legislative contact who reports at every meeting on upcoming issues and solicits ideas to bring to the Legislature. The WHC monthly Council Letter provides a good summary of upcoming activities and events. WHC provides opportunities for a variety of grants each year for initiatives that are mainly educational in nature. Grant applications are due by January 31 with funds becoming available July 1 of that year. Educational events, trail building, printed material, clinics and seminars are examples of activities funded. Ideas for our club might include the Morgan Field Day, possibly individual application for individuals majoring in an equine-related field, funding for personal acquisition of equine massage therapy program. Much more information is also available on the WHC website, including examples of previously granted scholarships. Wisconsin State Horse Council’s Equine Foundation (WHCEF) is a tax exempt non-profit 501(c)(3) component of the WHC whose purpose is raise funds to support equine needs. As such, individuals can make tax exempt contributions. All were encouraged all to check out the WHC website at www.wisconsinhorsecouncil.org for more information on all aspects of WHC and its initiatives. At this time the council is spending much time and effort on the upcoming Midwest Horse Fair (MHF), scheduled for April 17, 18, and 19, 2015, with the theme of “Galloping into the Future”. Morgan Demo at MHF-Chair Lauraine Smith shared comprehensive packets of information on the MHF Morgan demo. She emphasized the importance of honoring application deadlines. Last year she had a hard time getting all information in on time. All are requested to see her handout, including the information on the new stall dimensions. Hopefully there will be a good number of horses who want to participate. Individuals bringing horse(s) must be members of WMHC. Morgan stallions are also encouraged to join our group, and a young Justin Morgan will also be needed, similar to in 2014. Charity Horse Show-Chair Jeff Heise reported that Mandt Equestrian Center was sold to an in-house trainer. A previous contact stated ground fees may go up and health certificates may also be required. There are reportedly more boarders, which will result in a restricted number of available stalls. Jeff agreed to check back with Mandt again, especially given the tradition of going there since 2009 in early June. Some regular show attendees might be lost with new date and location. Other location possibilities might be the Alliant Center, or an Oshkosh facility.