Eastern Shore Short Circuit Horse Show Association
General Meeting Minutes
February 10, 2009

Secretary's Report
     a.  Amy Hartman noted the class list in the Rules Book states Junior Pleasure Hack and it should be Junior Pleasure Mount.  She also suggested removing the last few pages of notes and patterns.  There should be a list of divisions and classes in the Rules Book as well as a note High Point Horse and Rider is not awarded at the Shows.  This will help clear up questions for show managers who are ordering ribbons.
    b. Minutes were approved as distributed.  Treasurer's Report
    a. There was a previous balance of $11,076.76.  Disbursements this month totaled $5,297.18.  Deposits totaled $5,643.25.  The current balance is $11,422.83 (gain of $346.07).
     b. The banquet lost around $250.00.  This was probably due to low auction revenue.  Amy & Martha (banquet co-chairs) noted not as many people brought in auction items this year and there wasn't as great of a variety.
     c. The Treasurer's Report was approved as distributed.
     d. A budget was distributed for review.  Services were anticipated to increase and memberships decrease so that is reflected in the submitted budget.  Amy commented raffles were part of the banquet in the past.  However, this year there may be some ideas to hold raffles throughout the year. 
     e.The budget was approved as distributed.  Tammy will begin providing budget updates monthly.
Old Business
     a. Finance Committee Report, Tammy James
                     i. Julie Badger has agreed to be on the Finance Committee.  Hopefully Karen Clark will also agree to serve. During the next month the committee will be discussing fundraising ideas.  Tammy asked members to email their suggestions (equineblessed@verizon.net) prior to the next meeting so they can come up with a lit of ideas to be voted on by the April meeting.
     b.Trail Class Judging
                       i. Discussion regarding the judging of trail classes was held in an attempt to further shorten the day.  The hope was to find a way for someone to judge the class for a couple of hours and allow the riders to come as they please during that time.
                       ii. Laura suggested a 4 point scale for each obstacle with each maneuver in between obstacles counting.  Further discussion regarding how to judge the time in-between obstacles followed.  Mandy suggested announcing the scores.
                       iii. The group decided it wouldn't be fair to participants to have a volunteer judge the class, unless they had experience and weren't from a barn that was showing.  The decision to get a second judge for a few hours will be left up to show management.  The second judge could also judge other classes (i.e. jumping classes).  This would shorten the day, but be more expensive.
New Business
     a. Gallop for a Cure, Kathi Miller
                         i. This year's date is October 17 at Furnace Town.  100% of the proceeds go to MS research.  They have teamed up with the 4H Trailblazers and will be holding a weekend ride on March 7.  It is possible to stay overnight at Maddox campground (with your horses).  The goal is to eventually have these rides in all 50 states.  Visit the website www.gallopforacure.org for more information.   
     b. Show Dates
                         i. It was proposed to try to have consistent show dates for each year, similar to the way the Combined Association holds their calendar.  Several of those shows are set each year.  Amy noted a challenge of that was from year to year we don't always have the same people.  Another question regarding scheduling is what is the optimum number of shows to have each year.  Perhaps we could aim for the same weekends each year, offering them to the people who held shows last year first and then opening it up to other sponsors.
                          ii. Amy reported Jennifer Cording is willing to host the first ESSCHSA show and then hold her first show.  Amy has also been approaching other groups who may be interested in hosting a show.
                          iii. Laura suggested asking show sponsors for a banquet donation during the initial contact or as part of the show packet. These people would not be asked again at the end of the year.
      c. The Banquet
                           i. In the issue of time, discussion regarding the Banquet was postponed until the March meeting. Other
      a. A suggestion was made to put the points on the website after each show.  Christi Medic from Gallop for a Cure offered to help with this.
      b. Dr. Sweeney from Coastal Equine gave a presentation on horse health.
 
 
Next Meeting:  Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Location:  Tammy James' House (directions will follow at a later date)