AUGUST 2010 THE RIDER /13 2010 Ontario Trail Riders Association Board of Directors
President Janice Clegg
Everett, ON L0M 1J0 Home: 705-434-0816 Cell: 519-940-1445, Work: 800-360-5821, Email:
pineriverranch@gmail.com
1st Vice President / Booth/ Marvin Halladay Orton, ON L0N 1N0 Home: 519-787-2307 Cell: 519-938-0695
Email:
marguerita_halladay@hotmail.com
Membership/ Web Site/ Education Wendy Downer Elmvale, ON L0L 1P0 Home: 705-322-0287 Email:
wnewdawn@xplornet.com
Newsletter/ PR/ Promotions Karin Zawadowsky Toronto, ON M9P 3T2 (647) 239-6509
Email:
kzawadowsky0228@rogers.com OTRA: Box 3038, Elmvale, ON L0L 1P0 •
www.otra.ca
The Ontario Trail Riders Association Inc, established in 1970, is an equestrian organization which promotes recreational trail riding and the creation, development, preservation and safe use of trails.
2010 All-Member Survey Update
An all-member survey was developed over the win- ter by the Ontario Trail Riders Association Board of Directors. This was distributed to members at the April AGM as well as mailed to members along with their new OTRA 2010 Event Calendar. The deadline to return completed surveys was July 15 2010. At the time of writing a very encouraging 97 surveys have been returned which is a 51% return rate. Over the summer your Board will review the results and a detailed report will be shared with readers in the fall. We really appreci- ate those members who took the time to complete the survey and share their views on what is important to them as far as OTRA activities and trail riding in gener- al. If you still have an incomplete survey lying around and want to send it back to us in the stamped, self- addressed envelope provided in your membership pack- age, we will still include it in the survey tabulation.
News from the Board
Rules! Rules! Rules! I think there is a little rebel in all of us, and sometimes we like to forget the rules. However at Otra rides, the rules are there for the safety of everyone. There are only 7 of them: • No Alcohol on the trail • No dogs on the trail
• No smoking on the trail except where designated by the Trail Boss
• OTRA rides as a group unless otherwise stated in the Ride Schedule.
• The Trail Boss has the authority to enforce all rules. • Riders ride at their own risk
• All participants must sign an otra waiver Because trail riding activities take place outside the confines of the training pen, many unpredictable factors affect you and your horse. This situation requires not only a well educated equine partner but also the imple- mentation of common sense, rider etiquette, safety guidelines and trail ride rules. All of them should be practiced whether you ride alone, with a small group or with a large number of other trail riders.
Please feel free to contact the Board if you have any concerns. You can email any of the directors or go to the web site (
www.otra.ca) and on the membership page under members corner download an incident report form.
Janice Clegg President
OTRA and its members represent the equestrian trail user with the Ontario Trails Council, Ontario Equestrian Federation and Equine Canada. We welcome your membership to help sup- port the voice of OTRA on your behalf. For more information please visit our website at
www.otra.ca
Trail Riders Handbook
At the July OTRA Board Meeting, with the trail riding season in full swing, it was decided that it would be worthwhile to feature in The Rider some of the key objectives and rules that are outlined in the Trail Riders Handbook. All new members receive the handbook as part of their membership package. If you have misplaced your handbook you can still locate the information on the OTRA website at
www.otra.ca. Much of this information is also provided in your 2010 Event Calendar which contains the ride schedule.
Because trail riding activities take place outside the confines of the training pen, many unpredictable factors can affect you and your horse. This situation requires not only a well educated equine partner but also the implementation of common sense, rider etiquette, safety guidelines and trail ride rules. All of these should be practiced whether you ride alone, with a small group or with a large number of other trail riders.
OTRA Trail Ride Rules are as follows: 1. No alcohol on the trail. 2. No dogs on the trail.
3. No smoking on the trail except where designated by the Trail Boss. 4. OTRA rides as a group unless otherwise stated in the Ride Schedule. 5. The Trail Boss has the authority to enforce all rules. 6. Riders ride at their own risk.
OTRA Safety Awareness Rules when on a Trail Ride: 1. A red ribbon on a horse’s tail is a warning that the horse may be cranky or kick. It is your responsibility to have control of your horse at all times. 2. Keep two horse lengths between you and the horse ahead. Crowding leads to upset horses and kicking. 3. Inform other riders of your intention to pass. Pass only at a walk and on the left. When encountering oncoming trail users, keep to the right in order that passing can be done smoothly and safely. 4. Wear appropriate clothing, footwear and headgear. Long pants, shirt with sleeves, boots or shoes with a heel and a helmet will make your ride safer and more enjoyable. 5. Don’t pass the Trail Boss without his/her permission. He/she is aware of trail haz- ards that you may not be. 6. Never leave the ride without informing the Drag Rider or Trail Boss. They will decide if the ride should wait for you or continue. 7. Don’t let branches snap back at the rider behind you. Instead lift the branch up and over your head. 8. Inform the Trail Boss if you don’t feel comfortable with any obstacle or pace. You are not obligated to attempt anything that you don’t want to - i.e. steep hills, river crossings, cantering. You know your capabilities and your horse’s better than anyone. You are responsible for your own safety. 9. When riding on the road, always ride on the right hand side and as far off the road as you safely can. Even though horses do have a right to the road the same as vehicles, drivers today are not educated about this fact, and it is a dangerous place to be. 10. When riding on the road, ride in single file with an experienced horse in the lead and another bringing up the rear. 11. When crossing a road, do so only when the way is clear for all horses in your group to make it across. Cross quickly at a walk and directly across to the opposite shoulder.
OTRA Policy for the Pace of Rides is:
OTRA has a policy to set the pace of the ride to the lowest level of any partici- pant rider or horse. Safety is first and foremost. It may sometimes be feasible to have more than one group of different skill levels go out, but this is dependent on the avail- ability of qualified trail bosses.
“HOOF PRINTS OF HOPE” Charity Ride
Ontario will be represented
On Sept. 3, 2010 a small group of horse back riders will be traveling across the province of Alberta, stopping in over 30 communities to collect donations for research and distribute literature about Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a terrible progressive degen- erative disease of the brain. It is suggested that it begins years prior to the signs of impaired memory and think- ing. It causes brain cells to degenerate and die. There is no cure. The number of people affected is predicted to greatly increase as our population is aging. The charity ride will cover approx. 700 km. (a six week journey) starting at Jasper and ending at the Saskatchewan border. The initiative was started by Rose Mary Axell of Lamont, Alberta.
Rose and her father have specializing in breeding trail riding horses for over 16 years. Two years ago Rose’s father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Her way of helping was “Hoof Prints of Hope”. Details are out- lined on her web site:
www.hoofprintsofhope.com Rose was seeking volunteers to help with this very
worthy cause.
One of the riders participating is from Ontario; Mary Lui of Terra Cotta, a life long equestrian has vol- unteered to help. Mary has three friends that have lost a parent to Alzheimer’s disease. She is not looking for personal sponsors and she is paying for all of her own air fare costs.
Your donations will be directed to the Alzheimer Society of Alberta (ASANT). ASANT contributes all research donations to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. The program provides grants and training awards to Canadian researchers in the field of Alzheimer’s disease. Contributions can be made through the www.hoof-
printsofhope.com web site via “Canada Helps” Reg. Charity # 12969-0343 RR0001
every step count. Unified we amplify our goal. We can help make
Mary Lui Terra Cotta
Administration Shirley Bodnarchuk Elmvale, ON L0L 1P0 Email:
shirley@auracom.com
Fundraising/ Special Projects Morris Radomskey Everett, ON L0M 1J0 Email:
morris@sprayhts.com
2nd Vice/ Trail Book/ Grants Marjory Morden Proton Station, ON email:
ochrerider@live.ca
Secretary/ Ride Schedule Kari Kelly
Elmvale, ON L0L 1P0 (705) 322-6338,
Email:
kkrkelly@xplorenet.com
Treasurer Jan Belanger
Elmvale, ON L0L 1P0 Home: 705-322-2027 Email:
janbel@csolve.net
Trail Development Ruth Pugh
Woodstock, ON 519-424-3661 Email:
rpugh@equinechiro.ca
Ontario Trails Council / Ontario Equestrian Federation Regional Representative Coordinator Bonnie Simpson
Kirkfield ON K0M 2B0 Home: 705-438-5752 Email:
equestriantrails@hotmail.com
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