The meeting was called to order at 7:35pm at Andi Hill’s Home.

Officers & Board Members in Attendance:
Jessica Haggerty, Andi Hills, Melanie Stoddard, Terry Martin, Leslie Neikrie, Tom McCarthy,  Besty Christensen, Cody Christensen, Ed Hills

Secretary’s Report
Jessica read the minutes from the November 17, 2010 board meeting; Andi and Jessica made the following corrections to the November minutes: under old business regarding the letter to host facilities should read “It might be advantageous to invite prospective host facilities to an open house to discuss this possibility.  The letter to hosts was revised.” Andi made a motion to accept the report with the following corrections, Tom seconded and the motion carried all in favor.

Treasure’s Report
Tom reported that the club currently has 1,658.65. Terry made a motion to accept the report as read, Betsy seconded and the motion carried with all in favor.

Membership Report
Andi reported that we currently have 22 members as of 1/19/2011.  Jessica requested that membership lists be numbered.  Melanie suggested mailing forms to prospective members inviting them to join, she volunteered to petition new members.  Betsy also volunteered to distribute membership forms. 

Reporter & Photographers Report
Melanie continues to submit photos and articles. We will be working on the 2010 scrapbook at Laurianne’s home during the first few weeks of February. 

Correspondence Secretary’s Report
Election & horse of the year ballots have been mailed and Leslie is receiving them back.

Old Business
Melanie reported on the 2010 awards.  All awards have been customized and ordered with recipients input. 
Banquet invitations will be mailed on 1/20 with RSVP by 2/5 to Kim Tuccillo.  Betsy kindly took care of the mailing.  Kim has confirmed that the DJ from 2009 will again be able to do the banquet; Tom will be soliciting donations to help cover the cost of the DJ. Kim is also coordinating the raffle for the night of the awards dinner. 

Andi and Tracy will be arranging an open house for potential host facilities in late March early April.  Finding a central location was discussed as well as revising the brochure and obtaining photos from Laurianne. 

It was determined that we would maintain our relationship with the Horsemen’s Yankee Pedlar for 2011.

2011 divisions and point accumulations were discussed.  Jessica shared thoughts that were emailed to her by a member.  In 2010 we had 5 divisions.  During the 2010 season there was discussion about whether to track a riders top two placings or to track points on a riders first two runs.  Jessica made a motion to track a riders top two placings in a team penning/sorting or team roping event, Tom seconded the motion and the motion carried with one abstention and one member not in favor.  Tom made a motion and Melanie seconded it to continue to the 2010 division for 2011 all were in favor and the motion carried. 

The board discussed thoughts for the 2011 awards.  Betsy and Cody both felt that there should more awards for the novice riders.  The board will take this into consideration when determining awards later this season.  There was discussion about the possibility to track points at a four plus roping.  If a host facility requests the CRHA track points at a four plus team roping event the board will then determine if this event will fit our criteria. 

New Business
Brian of Jolee Quarter Horses suggested the possibility of running a team penning and team roping event to help support the charity We Are the Children.  He requested the support of the CRHA.  More details will be discussed with the club as plans are made. 

Jessica will be submitting a membership to the CT Horse Council for the CRHA.

Litchfield Hills Fencing offered to hold a fence safety talk for the CRHA members.  Jessica will contact the company about possibly making a donation to the CRHA in trade for website advertising. 

26 Election ballots and Horse of the year votes were returned and tallied.

The 2011 Officers and Board members are as follows:
Jessica Haggerty President
Erik Heggland Vice President
Tom McCarthy Treasurer
Leslie Neikrie Sectary
Melanie Stoddard Correspondence Sectary
Tracey Martin Reporter
Laurianne Goulet Photographer
Andi Hills Membership
Terry Martin Sr. Board member at large

Horses of the year will be announced at the 2010 Awards dinner.

Motion to adjourn was made at 9:40pm by Jessica, seconded by Melanie and carried with all in favor.

Respectfully submitted,
Melanie Stoddard

The board meeting was called to order at 7:15 on November 17, 2010 by it’s President, Jessica Haggerty. All board members were present except Toby Neubig.

The minutes from the October 13, 2010 meeting were read and accepted as read by Eric Heggland and seconded by Tom McCarthy.

Tom McCarthy read the Treasurer’s report. There were no changes since the previous meeting. There was $1995.53 in the checking account. Additional money was received from the horseshoe tournament – $140 and the sale of apparel – $50 which will bring the total in the checking account to $2185.53.

Andi Hills reported one additional member – Mike Latella. We now have a total of 64 members.

Club reporter, Melanie Stoddard, has sent in articles to the Yankee Pedlar. The next issue will be about the Berlin Fair and the following article will report on the Equine Affaire. The horseshoe tournament will also be mentioned.

Laurianne Goulet, club photographer, met with the editor and assistant editor from the Yankee Pedlar. She is working on editing photos from several events.

Corresponding secretary – no news.

There was only a small turnout for the horseshoe tournament, but it was a fun event and newcomers to horseshoes (like myself) caught on quickly and had a good time. We will have this event again and Crotta’s has generously offered their heated indoor arena.

Andi’s letter to host facilities and organizations requesting their membership to the club was discussed. The discussion included whether a business membership should include 2 point tracking memberships. Also by promoting individual memberships, organizations may be encouraged to join. A list of the divisions and the criteria should be included with this letter. Quarter H Farm would like to host events. Happy Trails in Danbury has also expressed an interest in having events as is Pee Wee Farms. It might be advantageous to invite prospective host facilities to a board meeting to discuss this possibility.

There will be 3 awards given for “horse of the year”. One for divisions 1 & 2 – team penning and sorting. One for divisions 3 & 4 – team roping and one for division 5 – ranch versatility.

We will not be able to do electronic voting, instead a letter will be going out to members to cast their vote and mail it back. The back side of this letter will be voting for officers and board members. A membership renewal will also be included in this mailing. Jessica made a motion to accept the letter and it was seconded by Eric & Tom. The ballots must be returned by our January 19th board meeting.

Our annual banquet is scheduled for February 19th. The price will be the same as last year. A second membership renewal will go out with the banquet invitation, as will the donation request form for the silent auction table. Jessica will send a letter to Smith Brothers – they want our membership list. Andi will contact Smart Pak.

We spent $2199.60 last year on awards. $1210 was spent at KO Trading with award winners adding $390 to upgrade their award. The saddle was $700 and $289.60 was spent on 4 plaques for horse of the year. This year we will have only 3 plaques, but there will be 2 novice buckles added. The recipient for the Bob Mitchell award was chosen. The budget for the awards will be the same as last year. The cost of the banquet was $3048.24. The majority of the cost for the DJ was donated. Kim Tucillo will talk to the DJ.

Upcoming expenses are insurance at $481 for the year due on 12/2/10 and the hosting fee for the website which is $95.

Lauri mentioned the CHC calendar that was done for the 2011 year with the members submitting photos to be included and the possible income to be generated by this. Maybe something CRHA would consider for the 2012 year.

There won’t be a board meeting in December. We plan on beginning scrapbooking in January.

The next meeting will be January 19, 2011.

Jessica made a motion to adjourn at 8:38, seconded by Terry Martin.

Happy holidays to all.

Respectfully submitted,

Acting secretary,

Leslie Neikrie

Officers & Board Members in Attendance
Jessica Haggerty, Andi Hills, Melanie Stoddard, Terry Martin, Laurianne Goulet, Leslie Neikrie, Tom McCarthy,

Secretary’s Report
Jessica read the minutes from the July 2010 membership meeting; Melanie made a motion to accept the report as read, Leslie seconded and the motion carried all in favor.

Treasure’s Report
Tom reported that the club currently has 1,875.53. Andi made a motion to accept the report as read, Laurianne seconded and the motion carried with all in favor.

Membership Report
We have one new member we are currently at 68 members.

Nomination Committee Report
On behalf of Pete, Jessica asked the board to start thinking about the 2011-2012 term, this is an election year.

Reporter & Photographers Report
Melanie and Laurianne continue to submit photos and articles. The board will revisit the issue of what publication the club will report with at the end of the season.

Correspondence Secretary’s Report
No news to report.

Old Business
The saddle was raffled off at the CGA show at Latella’s on August 22nd. Approximately $285 was made. Jessica encouraged the board members to sell CRHA sweatshirts now that the cooler weather is here! Jessica suggested that horseshoe tournament be held the fist weekend in November Sunday November 7th at Carriage Stone Farm. In order to get this event running fliers need to be created, the format of the tournament needs to be determined and supplies need to be gathered. Jessica and Toby will be working on getting this information together and will email it to the board for input and approval.
Andi submitted an updated draft of the letter to be sent to host facilities requesting their support via membership for 2011 few changes were discussed a final letter will be submitted for the October meeting.

Jessica shared that she discussed the June 20th team roping that was held at C&S with Missy Santos. It was determined that the placings that were submitted were all that they had. The situation was discussed and Laurianne made a motion to track points for the results that were submitted for 6/20/10 Tom seconded the motion, the motion carried with 5 in favor 1 opposed.

Jessica reported that she had been in contact with Doug, our website support person, and he was working on setting up an online voting system and getting the points tracking form added to our forms section.

New Business
Terry Martin will be hosting a pro-am team sorting at the Berlin Fair on October 3rd he requested that points be tracked at this event. Andi made a motion to accept Laurianne seconded the motion and it carried all in favor.

Motion to adjourn was made at 8:25pm by Jessica, seconded by Melanie and carried with all in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Jessica Haggerty
President

The next meeting will be held on October 13th at Tom McCarthy’s home at 7pm.

Board Meeting ~ July 22, 2010

The meeting was called to order at 7:30pm at Carriage Stone Farm.

Officers & Board Members in Attendance

Jessica Haggerty, Toby Neubig, Melanie Stoddard, Terry Martin, Laurianne Goulet, Eric Heggland

Secretary’s Report

Toby read the minutes from the June 2010 board meeting; Laurianne made a motion to accept the report as read, Leslie seconded and the motion carried all in favor. 

Treasure’s Report

Tom was absent from the meeting but submitted a report of $674.53 as the current balance.  Melanie made a motion to accept the report as read, Laurianne seconded and the motion carried with all in favor.

Membership Report

No membership report was submitted

Nominating Committee Report

No news to report.

Reporter & Photographers Report
Melanie reported that the NE Equine Journal is pursuing our club for an affiliation with them instead of the Yankee Pedlar.  They have offered free subscriptions and discounted memberships next year.  The discounted rate was based upon a minimum 100-person membership which our club does not currently have.  The board opted to table the issue until the end of the season.

Correspondence Secretary’s Report
No news to report.

Old Business

The saddle raffle was discussed.  The club needs to sell at least 60 more tickets to cover the cost of the saddle.  The membership will hopefully get involved and help to reach our goal with ticket sales.  Jess is planning to sell tickets at several upcoming events.  Erik volunteered to take the saddle and conduct the raffle on 8/22/10 in Jess’ planned absence.

Jess updated us about the club apparel fundraiser. Most shirts have sold out but there are many sweatshirts still available.

The idea of a Horseshoe Tournament as a fundraiser was discussed.  All agreed that it sounded fun and would most likely draw a lot of interest.  More ideas and plans will be discussed at the next meeting.

Jess has made a new point tracking form for all 4-H and other approved shows. The new form was approved by the board.  Terry made the motion to accept the new form, Laurianne seconded and the motion carried with all in favor.

The updated draft letter to host facilities was tabled until the next meeting.

New Business

C&S has announced new Team Roping dates as 8/15, 9/19 and 10/17.  Laurianne made a motion to accept the dates with Eric seconding and the motion carrying all in favor.

Details of the Triple H event for 10/2 will be announced when the club receives them.

The results of the C&S Roping held on 6/20 were accidentally thrown away. The two pages that were salvaged appear to be incomplete. After a lengthy discussion, the board decided to further investigate what happened and what was recovered before rendering a decision as to counting or disqualifying the event.
Motion to adjourn was made at 8:35pm by Laurianne, seconded by Leslie and carried with all in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Toby Neubig
 Recording Secretary

The next meeting will be held in September 15^th at Andi Hill’s home 7pm.

Teskey’s Saddle Raffle

Congratulations Meg Sautter!!

Tickets ~ $10

May be exchanged for another size seat or type of saddle of equal value from Teskey’s
Drawing will be held on August 22^nd

Board Meeting ~ June 23, 2010

The meeting was called to order at 7:03 PM at Jessica Haggerty’s home

Officers & Board Members in Attendance

Jessica Haggerty,  Melanie Stoddard, Andi Hills, Terry Martin, Laurianne Goulet, Tom McCarthy, Leslie Neikrie

Secretary’s Report

Jessica read the minutes from the April 21, 2010 board meeting; Andi made the correction we approved the June 19^th team penning at the Quarter H farm at the 4/21/2010 meeting.  Laurianne made a motion to accept the report with the correction Tom seconded it and the motion carried all in favor.

Treasure’s Report

Tom reported that the club currently has a balance of $1,208.75

Tom shared that Jessica gave him $420 for the saddle raffle and $595 for CRHA apparel. These figures were not included in the current balance. 

Melanie made a motion to accept the report Leslie seconded it the motion carried with all in favor.

Membership Report

Andi stated that there are no new memberships.  We are currently at 62 members. Terry made a motion to accept, Melanie seconded motion carried.

Reporter & Photographers Report
Melanie reported that she has submitted an article about the Working Cow Horse clinic at Toby Neubig’s, Carriage Stone Farm.  The Peddlar must have higher quality photos submitted, this can be challenging at times.  Most recent article was regarding Liz Christensen and her title of Miss New York State Rodeo Queen. 

Melanie shared that she has been contacted by the Equine Journal regarding their affiliation program.  More information will be researched and we will compare the two magazines and we will consider which will be a better fit for the club for the next calendar year.

Laurianne has taken many photos.  She has attended barrel races, cowboy mounted shooting, and the Memorial Day the team roping at C&S.

Correspondence Secretary’s Report
All thank you notes have been sent out. 
A sympathy card will be sent to Anne Zagryn for the passing of her mother.

Old Business
Jessica shared the totals for the Saddle raffle and CRHA apparel.  She also shared the thought of having a horse shoe tournament.  This tournament would be a nice gathering for members and their friends and help raise money for the club.  Andi will look in to the PBA in Meriden as a possible location.  More research is being done!

Andi shared a draft a letter to present to non-member venues Jessica recommended that we attach a list of the requirements CRHA has for running events to this letter. Andi will revise the letter.  This letter will be for the 2011 season.

We discussed the format of the CRHA point tracking form.  Members must provide an addressed envelop and submit it to the show secretary at the start of the event. Jessica will be editing the forms and they will be posted on line with the boards approval. 

At the April meeting Terry shared his concerns regarding the number of times people enter events.  Tom  suggested that possibly for the 2011 season CRHA track points for the top two placings of the fist 5 or 6 runs. This idea was well received by the board and will be considered when planning for next year.

New Business
Members have recently inquired about having links on the website to advertise Jessica made a motion to allow people to advertise on the CRHA website for $25 for a yearly subscription. Andi seconded it motion carried all in favor.

Jessica shared a draw policy statement on behalf of Pete Fontano. 
CRHA Draw Policy Statement
If not done by computer any member wishing may witness the draw.
Laurianne made a motion to accept the policy as read, Tom seconded it and the motion carried all in favor.

Jessica shared with the board that Shawn Graham from the Painted Pony Rodeo was very pleased with the turnout at the Goshen Stampede.  He enjoyed our group and the friendly competition.  Shawn is extending an invitation to the CRHA members to come and compete in a fair he is doing in upstate NY, The Washington County Fair.

C&S Ranch will be hosting Friday night practices on July 9^th, Aug 6^th, and Sept 17^th.  Practice starts at 7pm and will have a one head drawpot to follow.   Jess made a motion to accept these dates Laurianne seconded, motion carried with all in favor. 

Jessica was contacted by Kathy Foppiano from Kalispell Montana.  Her family is working to create a website resource that has information about what is happening in team penning across the country.   The website link is www.teampenningcountry.com  She is still in the start up phase but there may be opportunities for the CRHA to work with this group to help promote Team Penning.

Jessica shared members concerns with the horse of the year awards.  This award should be determined by the horses ability and performance, this is not a popularity contest.  Jessica is going to look into an online voting system and linking members pictures and info about the events they participate in with  their horse.  It would be nice to have the voting completed prior to the awards dinner.

The board discussed sponsoring Liz Christensen for her trip to compete in National contest as Miss New York State Rodeo Queen.  Melanie made a motion to sponsor Liz Christensen in the amount of $100 Laurianne seconded it and the motion carried with all in favor.

Jessica shared a sponsorship request from Debbie Iassogna.  The sponsorship is for the Unico National Scholarship Golf Tournament that is put on by Debbie’s employer.  Her company has sponsored the CRHA yearly for the past several years.  Laurie made a motion to sponsor their event in the amount of $50, Tom seconded the motion and it carried with all in favor. 

A link to Jeffers equine will be added to CRHA website. A percentage of all items purchased through this link is given back to the club!  

Motion to adjourn was made by Jessica, seconded by Andi and carried with all in favor. Meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm

The next meeting will be held Wednesday July 21^st at Toby Neubig’s home.

Respectfully submitted,
Jessica Haggerty
President

Board Meeting ~ April 21, 2010

The meeting was called to order at 7:10 PM at Melanie Stoddard’s home

Officers & Board Members in Attendance

Jessica Haggerty, Toby Neubig, Melanie Stoddard, Andi Hills, Terry Martin, Laurianne Goulet, Eric Heggland

Secretary’s Report

Toby read the minutes from the March 24, 2010 board meeting; Laurianne made a motion to accept the report as read, Eric seconded the motion and the motion carried all in favor. 

Treasure’s Report

Tom was out of the country and unable to submit a report for the meeting

Membership Report

Andi reported that there are currently 62 members.

Nominating Committee Report

No news to report

Reporter & Photographers Report
Melanie reported that she had been informed by Elizabeth from the Yankee Pedlar as to a change in the magazine’s format.  The new format will be a different size, like that of a regular magazine as well as glossy pages.

Melanie has submitted an article and photos about cowboy mounted shooting.  The next article will highlight barrel racing.

Laurianne reported that all “thank you” notes from the banquet had been sent.

Correspondence Secretary’s Report
No news to report.

Old Business

Rider ratings were reviewed and some adjustments were made:  Brent LaVille is now rated as a #1 penner and novice roper.  Mark Rizzo is now rated as a #2 penner and novice roper.  A motion was made by Jess to accept these adjusted ratings and seconded by Melanie.  The motion carried with six members in favor and one abstention.

Jess updated us on a new fundraising venture.  She researched and did artwork for a new CRHA logo to be screen printed by Triple Stitch onto tee shirts, sweatshirts and tank tops. The logo is unique to our club and displays several different events demonstrating the club’s diversity.  The club would allocate $1,300.00 to purchase and screen print the apparel with the opportunity to earn $669 in profit if all items are sold. Jess would like to sell out all items and then offer custom orders.  The goal would be to have the order back in time for the Memorial Day roping.  Eric made a motion with Laurianne seconding to go ahead and process the order.  The motion carried with all in favor.

An adjustment to the proposed logo for the apparel order was discussed.  It was decided to either put a scroll in place of the bottom CRHA or simply leave that area blank.  A motion to modify the proposed logo was made by Andi with a second by Eric.  The motion carried with all in favor.

The saddle for the saddle raffle was discussed. In his report from Ireland, Tom recommended a ranch roper or ranch cutter from Teskey’s Saddlery in Texas. Melanie also mentioned that KO Trading also has its own brand of saddles.  After a lengthy discussion a motion was made to allot $1,300 for the saddle from Teskey’s.  The motion was made by Jess, seconded by Eric and carried with all in favor.

The CGA and their scheduled events were discussed.  If our club tracks their points, the question was raised as to which specific events to count for points. The board made the decision to point two placings for all riders in the cloverleaf and pole bending.  In the pee-wee division, flags and dash will be pointed as those riders are not eligible for cloverleaf and pole bending.  The motion to point CGA events in this manner was made by Jess, seconded by Andi and carried with all in favor.

Robert Johnson of Quarry Town Stables sent a formal notification that they will be closing their doors in early July 2010.  All scheduled events have been cancelled.

Andi recommended that in the future all host facilities purchase a membership to our club. Andi will draft a letter to present to non-member venues.

New Business

The team penning draw policy was tabled until the next meeting.

A flyer for an upcoming Working Cow Clinic at Heritage Farm was submitted.  Tom Neel will be the clinician.

For 4-H shows, a card should be submitted to the show secretary with an addressed envelope so that the cards can be mailed back with the placings/results.  Andi informed us that the Middlesex/New Haven County 4-H show will be held on 6/9/10 at the Haddam Neck Fairgrounds.  It was decided that the trail, pole bending and barrel classes will be pointed. A motion to accept that event was made by Eric and seconded by Laurianne. The motion carried with all in favor.

Toby brought up the recent advertisement in Steed Read by a new team penning venue in Sterling, CT.  Andi reported that this venue, Quarter H Farm, has actually been around some time and that she recently spoke to the host of the facility who is willing to submit results from their events. Andi will get more info from them regarding ratings, classes, etc.  Upon further discussion, a decision was made to point the “Triple H Event” at Quarter H Farm provided they meet all of our club’s criteria. The motion was made by Jess, seconded by Andi and carried with all in favor.

The CT Horse Guard Open Pleasure Trail Ride was brought up with a discussion about whether to point this event for the Versatility Division. It was decided to award 1 point for participation in the event.  The motion was made by Andi and seconded by Eric.  The motion carried with 5 members in favor and two opposed.  A motion was then made to point the judged pleasure portion of the event.  This motion was made by Jess, seconded by Laurianne and carried with all in favor.

Melanie brought up some complaints that she’s received by members that are not receiving their Yankee Pedlar magazines.  Andi was already aware of this problem and is working with the Pedlar staff to rectify it. 

Andi reported that she had gone ahead and conducted a survey by mail to 70 former CRHA members.  Several of the responses were discussed with varying opinions of interpretation. While Andi’s effort was appreciated, Jess requested that any future polls of this nature should be brought to the board prior to being distributed.

The High Point Youth Award was discussed.  Because of the limited youth membership, we will revisit the topic at the season’s end.  After a discussion about what ages to include in this award, it was decided that riders 18 and under will be eligible.  A motion was made by Jess, seconded by Eric and carried with all in favor.

Concerning the current Drawpot format, Terry brought up multiple member complaints about current point placings. Riders that are entering the drawpot multiple, sometimes dozens of times, are discouraging and intimidating riders who are not entered as many times.  The board agreed that more discussion is needed about this.

It was reported that a member raised a question to a board member regarding naming a specific horse for the versatility classes prior to the beginning of that class.  A competitor cannot enter a class with two horses and be pointed on the better score/time.  The horse must be named prior to the class.
Motion to adjourn was made by Eric, seconded by Laurianne and carried with all in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Toby Neubig
Recording Secretary

The next meeting will be held Tuesday, 6/8/10 at Toby Neubig’s home.

Officers & Board Members in Attendance
Jessica Haggerty, Erik Heggland, Tom McCarthy, Melanie Stoddard, Terry Martin Sr.

Secretary’s Report
Jessica reviewed the minutes from the January 20, 2009 members meeting; Erik made a motion to accept the report as read Terry seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Treasure’s Report
Tom reported that the club has a current balance of $2,590.12.

Deposits
1/21/10 – 265.00 awards difference paid by members
1/25/10 – 183.00
              58.00 – from 50/50 raffle
              125.00- awards difference paid by members
2/7/10 -140.00 awards banquet tickets
2/10/10 – 35.00 awards banquet tickets
2/16/10 – 1,170.00 awards banquet tickets
2/19/10 – 470.00 awards banquet tickets
2/20/10 – 320.00 membership dues
2/25/10 – 2,155.00
                2,105.00 awards banquet tickets
                50.00 membership dues
2/26/10 – 270.00 membership dues
3/22/10 – 35.00 50/50 raffle

Withdrawals
1/20/10 – check #1042 48.00 office supplies
2/8/10 – check #1043 817.50 KO trading balance for awards
2/10/10 – check #1044 289.00 Horse of the year plaques
2/15/10 – check #1045 700.00 Pete Fontano for trophy saddle
2/20/10 – check #1046 3,048.24 awards dinner catering and hall

Erik made a motion to accept the report, Melanie seconded it and the motion carried.

Membership Report
As of 2/21/10 there are 60 members.  Andi will update the membership list as necessary.

Reporter & Photographers Report
Melanie reported that she would love to have members submit photos from a variety of events.  Does not have to be an action shot!  She will also welcome article topics.  Cowboy mounted shooting and barrel events will be the next feature articles.  

Correspondence Secretary’s Report
Leslie has started working on the thank you notes for the banquet.

Old Business
The following suggested ratings were review.  To be eligible for the novice team penning award in the drawpot division you must be a 1 to be eligible for the novice team roping award in the roping drawpot division you must be marked as a novice roper on the chart below.  Erik made a motion to accept the ratings as listed below, Melanie seconded it and the motion carried.

New Business

Jessica proposed a fundraising plan for fundraising for 2010 including a saddle raffle, CRHA apparel, and a cow chip raffle.  Ideally the saddle raffle would be drawn on the day of the cow chip raffle and following the cow chip raffle the host of the cow chip raffle would have an event.  Tom will follow up with possible saddles for the club to raffle off.  We will also pursue setting up a CRHA booth at upcoming events such as the Goshen Stampede and C&S’s Memorial Day roping. 

Erik proposed setting up a new type of membership for 2011.  A Barn Membership, at the end of the year the barn with the highest number of total points would receive an award.  The barn would pay a fee to have their barn’s point tracked for this award.  Members would submit individual or family memberships as the do currently to have their individual points tracked.

Jessica reviewed events that have been submitted by host facilities for CRHA to track points at.  Tom made a motion to accept the dates that are listed below, Erik seconded the motion, and the motion carried.

• Quarry Town  Stables
  Ranch Horse Show 5/30, 5/31, 7/4, 7/5, 8/29
  Trail Day Shows 4/24, 4/25, 6/5, 6/6, 7/31, 8/1, 9/2
• C&S Ranches 3D barrel series
  5/13, 6/10 6/24, 7/1 7/15, 7/29, 8/12, 8/26, 9/9
  Memorial Day Barrels 5/31
• NBHA
  5/15, 5/22, 6/12, 6/26, 7/10, 8/7, 8/14, 8/28, 9/11, 9/18

The Connecticut Gymkhana Association also contacted the CRHA.  They are interested in working with the CRHA to encourage people to participate in ranch horse events.  Jessica offered to touch base with the CGA and see if they would be willing to share the results from their events for the CRHA to track points at.

Adjourned 8:50

Respectfully submitted,

Jessica Haggerty

The next Membership Meeting will be April 21, 2010 at Melanie Stoddard’s home.

Officers & Board Members in Attendance
Jessica Haggerty, Erik Heggland, Tom McCarthy, Melanie Stoddard, Terry Martin, Leslie Neikrie
Members in attendance: 5
Secretary’s Report
Jessica reviewed the minutes from the December 16, 2009 board meeting; Erik made a motion to accept the report as read Tom seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Treasure’s Report
Tom reported that the club has a current balance of $2,402.46.
Deposits

$40 – 50/50 raffle
$190 – membership dues
$200 – donation from County Electric for the DJ
Withdrawals
$817.50 – Deposit for awards – KO trading
$48 – Office supplies

Erik made a motion to accept the report, Melanie seconded it and the motion carried.
Membership Report
Tom reported for Andi. Andi currently has 9 memberships. Jessica had five completed that she will be forwarding to Andi.

Nomination Committee
Peter Fontano reported that Debra Iassogna submitted a letter of resignation. Prior to the meeting, the by-laws were reviewed to see how a board vacancy was to be filled. The by-laws read as follows: Section 7 – Vacancies: When a vacancy on the board or any committee exists mid-term, the president shall have the authority to fill the vacancy as needed. Toby Neubig was nominated by Pete for the position of recording secretary.Pete noted that according to Roberts’s rules of order that a nomination typically is made to the board and then the board votes to fill the vacancy.

Melanie made a motion to appoint Toby to be the recording secretary for the remainder of the term, Tom seconded it and the motion carried.

Reporter & Photographers Report
Melanie reported that she is aware of the general interest of having more event results published and will be doing so in the future in the Yankee Pedlar. She also advised that anyone wishing to submit photos for publication should email them digitally to her.

Correspondence Secretary’s Report
No news to report.

Old Business
The Awards committee has been working diligently on the year-end awards. All awards are being purchased through KO Trading of Texas. All artwork for the individual awards has been approved by the committee and the awards are scheduled to be delivered one week before the banquet.

Pete reported that the trophy saddle should be ready in two weeks.

Also discussed were the plaques and divisions that will receive them.

Kim reported that there was a problem with the D.J. that was scheduled for the banquet. She did find a replacement but noted that his fee would be $100 more than the $200 allotted for the original D.J. Toby offered to make a $100 donation for the balance on behalf of Carriage Stone Farm. Kim also requested an itinerary for the evening to submit to the D.J.

Melanie reported that Roberto’s wife will be baking a cake for the banquet but also requested that members bring a dessert.

Donations for the prizes at the raffle table are being accepted. Several items have been donated but more are still needed.

Jess reported that she has asked Laurianne to put together a slideshow and scrapbook for the awards banquet.

The clubs banking situation will be reviewed again at the March board meeting.

Terry brought up the club’s P.O. Box and its complete lack of use. The board decided not to renew it this year.

New Business
Jess highlighted some upcoming fun events including “round robins” at the ropings. A motion was made that the “round robins” be counted as a drawpot event in the roping division. The motion was made by Melanie, seconded by Tom and carried.

Doug & Ashley Greenwood of Bethany contacted the club and would like to organize a western pace event in Bethany sometime in May. Prizes and food will be included in the entry fee with the event originating and ending at the Greenwood’s Farm. Erik recommended forwarding the requirements of CRHA in order for the club to point the event in the versatility division.

Pat Aresco was in attendance and brought up the need for more novice opportunities within the club. Her thoughts were that these types of events, along with the associated points and year-end awards, would attract new members. She mentioned the ideas of clinics, special events and organized trail rides some of which should allow members to participate at no cost. She discussed her interest in organizing a trail ride for the membership. It was explained that, because of insurance restrictions, CRHA cannot sponsor or sanction events. It was recommended that Pat bring the idea up at the awards banquet to determine the membership’s interest.

Pat also inquired about the possibility of the club tracking points for the CT Mounted Shooting Association’s events for the versatility division. The board will review the rules and details for a future decision.

A tack-swap meet was also brought up but, again, is not within the insurance guidelines for the club to host. Members were encouraged to coordinate these types of events individually with assistance from the club in advertising them.

Kim is working out the details of the raffle, table centerpieces and items for auction at the banquet.

Motion to adjourn was made by Melanie, seconded by Kim and carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Toby Neubig

The next Board Meeting will be March 17, 2010 at Erik Heggland’s home.

Meeting was called to order at 7:15 – at Laurianne’s Home

Office & Board Members in attendance: Eric Heggland, Debra Iassogna, Andi Hills, Tom McCarthy, Jessica Haggerty, Melanie Stoddard, and Terry Martin. Leslie Neike, Laurianne’s Goulet

Members in attendance   1

SECRETARIES REPORT

The club reviewed the secretary’s report for 11-17-09 meetings and Erik made a motion to accept, Laurianne Seconded, the motion carried. 

Corrections to the minutes from November are as follows:   Last months meeting was a board meeting  not a membership meeting.  Also, the club checking account balance was $3,289.96. instead of $3,288.00

TREASURE REPORT

Tom stated the new checking account balance for the club was $2,946.96  A check in the amount of $472.00  was written to pay for our insurance for the club . Deposited money from 50/50 raffles Erik  made a motion to accept and  Laurianne Seconded and the motion carried

MEMBERSHIP REPORT

Andi stated that the club had 68 members total.  Also, noted that the club membership is down from last year 46%.

The CRHA is looking into why membership is down beside the current economy

REPORTER & PHOTOGRAPHER

Currently working on articles & pictures. We are asking our members to please submit any articles, pictures, or ideas for the Yankee Peddler. 

The NEW CRHA WEBSITE will be up and running shortly!   Website services were donated by Laurianne Goulet

CORRESPONDENCE SECRETARY

Leslie stated that invitations will be mailed out the first of the year for the banquet.  As well as membership forms and host facility invitations to the CRHA dinner.  Kathy Langdo has also donated her time to print tickets for the dinner. 

OLD BUSINESS

Becoming an affiliation of American Ranch Horse Association-tabled for future date.

Riders Ratings Statement was discussed the following statement was approved.

If a CRHA member has a concern regarding a teams rating it is the members’ responsibility to voice their concern to the host facility.  The member may also share their concern with the board.  All concerns must be submitted to the board in writing with in two weeks of the event in question.  The concerns will be document and the board will work with the members in question to help prevent any further concerns.  If the same discrepancy arises again the board reserves the right to not award points to the rider in question and/or the entire team.  To avoid getting involved in this type of situation CRHA members are strongly advised to use the suggested ratings that are posted on www.ctrha.com. 

Awards Dinner update: The banquet will be held at Addona’s on February 20, 2009

Ticket prices are $35.00 for an adult and children will be $15.00

Invitations will be available on line and by mail to the members.

Last day to mail in your response will be FEBRUARY 6, 2010

The CRHA banking arrangements and filing will be reviewed in January by Andi.

Divisions for 2010 were discussed.  Tom made a motion to accept the following proposal and Laurianne seconded it the motion carried.

Connecticut Ranch Horse Association 2010

Divisions for Year End Awards

Division I

Team Penning and Sorting Drawpot Division- points will be tracked for year end awards in team penning and sorting drawpot events that are approved by the board.

Division II

Team Penning and Sorting Jackpot Division – points will be tracked for year end awards in team penning and sorting pro-am jackpot events that are approved by the board.

Division III

Drawpot Roping Division – points will be tracked for year end awards in team roping drawpot events that are approved by the board.

Division IV 

Team Roping Division- points will be tracked for year end awards in a #9 or lower numbered jackpot team roping events that are approved by the board.

Division V

Ranch Versatility- Individual ranch horse events (e.g. ranch trail, working cowhorse, one on one penning, breakaway roping, extreme cowboy race, barrel racing ect.) or other events that meet the criteria based upon board approval (using the American Ranch Horse Association as a guide) 

• If host facilities have multiple divisions (e.g. walk/trot, novice, open, ect.)  CRHA members must select the one division that they would like the CRHA to track points for prior to the registration of the event. 
• If a rider is entering with more than one horse the rider must specify which horse they would like the CRHA to track points on. 

Participant’s top two placings will count for points for each division at each CRHA event

Year end awards will be presented to the top point earners in each division.  In addition to these year end awards the high point novice rider in Division I and Division III will be awarded a buckle.  The cumulative high point earner of all of the divisions will be awarded a saddle. 

A novice rider is a #1 in penning and sorting and a #3 or lower in team roping.

Placing and point equivalents

1^st = 10pts                   6^th = 5pts

2^nd = 9pts                     7^th = 4pts

3^rd = 8pts                     8^th = 3pts

4^th =7pts                      9^th = 2pts

5^th = 6pts                     10^th = 1pt

Andi & Erik will be looking into the 4-H organization to maybe have them submit results from their events for the CRHA to track points.

Melanie  & Beth have spoke with KO Trading and will be asking for samples to review before we ordered from them. 

NEW BUSINESS

C&S ranch is holding an event on January 3, 2009

Membership form for the CRHA will be available on line to sign up for 2010.

It will included the Yankee Peddler and Photo’s

Our next meeting will a membership meeting held at Tom’s home on January 20, 2010

At 7:00 pm

The meeting was adjourned at 9:42 pm

Jessica made a motion and Melanie Seconded motion carried

Please remember to email, or attend a meeting

All opinions and ideas are welcomed and appreciated

Submitted by Debra Iassogna