It is hard to believe that my term as President is half way through, but what a year it has been. We are back on track and living up to our adoption agreement with the San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Department regarding maintaining the Clarkia Trail in Edgewood County Park. We have had two workdays this year and they were very successful. The feedback we have received from the Park Rangers has been very positive. In fact, after our last workday, I received a wonderful “thank you” letter from Ranger Susie Boyd and a “thank you” e-mail from Ranger Rick Trejo. Ranger Susie emphasized that with the downsizing of their manpower due to budget cuts, the Rangers greatly appreciate all of the assistance our Association has done in maintaining the Clarkia Trail this year. They also appreciated all of the members of the equestrian community who volunteered their time and efforts on the work-days in Wunderlich Park, Huddart Park, and the Jack Brook Horse Camp. Ranger Susie also informed me that they have been receiving many exceptional complements from the people who have used the Clarkia Trail since we did our maintenance and repairs to the trail. My thanks to the many volunteers who have helped us this year and to those who have helped in the past. The next Clarkia Trail maintenance will be held in either late September or early October to prepare the trail for the rainy season; so be on the look out for any upcoming flyers regarding this event.

I am so excited to see that our Junior Committee is now up and successfully running. We have a very dedicated group of individuals that with the direction and assistance of the Junior members have planned some very special events. On May 7th, our Junior Color Guard (Callie Pacheco, Britney Olson, Anna Machado and Emma Francis) proudly carried the flags in the Annual Woodside May Day Parade. Two of our Junior members, Marion Cole and Danielle Bushue, also participated in the parade; Marion on horseback and Danielle assisted Sarah and I with the harnessing and hitching of my draft horses to my wagon; she then rode shot-gun alongside me in the parade. On June 18th, twelve Junior members participated in the Junior Team Penning Clinic that was held at Ed Cohen’s Rancho Viejo. The clinic was taught by Richard Braun and his assistants; Fred Lonnberg, Josh Petrick, and Richard’s granddaughter, Sarah Winfield (a junior herself and an exceptional rider). The Junior’s became very accomplished at segregating the herd and rode with great determination. It was enjoyable to watch their inhibitions melt away as the day progressed. By the end of the day they were all better riders and team penners. The Junior Color Guard (Brittany Olson, Anna Machado, Emma Francis and Jenna Likins) also represented the San Mateo County Horsemen’s Association in the Half Moon Bay 4th of July Parade. Sarah and I had planned on also attending this parade in our wagon, but unfortunately while driving over to the coast we experienced a problem with our truck, so we were unable to participate! The Junior Color Guard ended up representing SMCHA by themselves and took first place in the Mounted Group division! Way to go Juniors! Two more events are planned for our Junior membership this year. On August 27th a Gymkhana event will be held at the Driscoll Ranch in San Gregorio (open to kids 18 and under) and an overnight trail ride and play-day is planned for September 24th through the 25th; also to be held at the Driscoll Ranch. This event is open to the entire family, so everyone is encouraged to attend. I would like to take time to especially thank all those who have participated in the planning and running of these events for our Junior membership; these members are the horsemen and horsewomen of our future. 

In order to update our Junior Membership information, I would like to request that anyone who has enrolled in a Family or Junior Membership to provide the following information and e-mail it to smcha@smcha.org or mail it to SMCHA - P.O. Box 620092, Woodside, CA 94062:

1. Junior member’s name(s)
2. Junior member’s age(s)
3. Junior member’s gender – male or female
4. If the Junior member owns a horse or has a horse available for them to use.

This will assist our Junior Committee in knowing how many Junior members the Association has and other pertinent information. 

The Western Schooling and Play-day Show at Webb Ranch on May 22nd was a huge success. Once again we had a large turn out and most of the riders took advantage of the “free” clinic classes that were offered. Lorili Casipit was our returning Judge and she did a marvelous job as usual; this was also duly noted by many of the participants to the Show Committee Chairpersons (Kathie Goddard and Noel Moody) and myself. Kathie and Noel outdid themselves this year and are actively working hard at planning two more SMCHA horse shows in August. The first show is the English Schooling Show on August 7th at Webb Ranch and the second is the 57th Annual Nor-Cal Show to be held at The Woodside Horse Park on August 21st. 

The 35th Annual Western Riding Clinic that began on May 19th is in full swing at the Mounted Patrol Grounds in Woodside. Eight Thursday evening classes have been scheduled, with a final session and dinner planned for July 16th. Karen Rowley Shawback remains our Committee Chair and once again, she is doing an outstanding job at coordinating and running this treasured event. We have approximately 40 participants riding in the clinic. This year things are being run a little differently. In past years the participants have enrolled in either a beginner, intermediate, or advanced class and then the instructor taught the group their lesson plan. This year Karen and the instructors (Jason and Joanne Attard, Joan McLaren, and Leah Grey) decided they would give the students the opportunity to choose what areas they wanted to work on. So each instructor gave Karen a list of what they would be covering in their sessions and if any skill pre-requisites were required, and then those lists were given to the students at the day of registration. Once the student chose which skills either they or their horse needed to work on, then they were matched with the coordinating instructor. The feedback I have been receiving from the participants has been very positive and everyone seems to be enjoying the new format. 

The 11th Annual NCEFT Poker Ride is planned for July 9th and will have already taken place by the time you receive this magazine. It will be interesting to see who wins the Club Challenges (most riders belonging to and most money brought in by a Riding Club or Association) and who will be the top pledge earners this year. SMCHA has always had a great turn out for this event in the past and it is my hopes that SMCHA will be well represented this year. I have ridden in this annual event for the last three years, but there are many riders who have ridden since its inception! This shows you how much fun this fundraising event is and how dedicated our equestrian community is to the National Center for Equestrian Facilitated Therapy. 

Lastly, we are in the early planning stages for a Technical Large Animal Rescue class that will be a joint effort between SMCHA and the San Mateo County’s Sheriffs Mounted Search and Rescue (MSAR). This training will be held over two-days and currently we have scheduled it for December 17th & 18th at NCEFT’s facility. The course will be taught by John and Deb Fox with the Large Animal Rescue Company. John is a Captain and his wife Deb is a Firefighter with the Felton Fire Department and both are members of their Large Animal Rescue Unit. We will have more information on this event in the future.

In closing, take advantage of the long summer days and the warm summer nights; enjoy your rides and be safe.

Al Filice