ARKANSAS TRAIL RIDERS ASSOCIATION HAS ANNUAL MEETING
The weather hasn't cooperated with our quest to get out there and
ride much during this reporting period. Most of the scheduled
rides fell north of I-40 which was plagued with snow and ice
accumulation, not to mention cold temperatures not seen in a dozen
years or more.
During the big wet snow the first week of February, Walter Red
called me to check on my treatments and related a hair raising
experience that happened to him. It takes a lot for Walter to have
anything even close to a “hair raising”. As most know, Walter and
his wife moved from the fringes of Little Rock to the shadows of
Wolverton Mountain north of Center Ridge and things happen a
little different up there in the Ozarks. Walter missed his
dinner-time so his wife went out to look for him. She saw Walter's
hat on a snow drift and naturally picked it up to find Walter
under it. What started out as a simple rescue using hands and a
scoop shovel ended up in her having to get the tractor and front
end loader to dig both Walter and Little Pete, whom Walter was
riding at the time, out of the snow drift. Whether anybody
believes Walter's claim or not, the moral about being safe during
inclement weather and the mud season we're sure to have along
about the time anybody reads this needs to be heeded by all trail
riders. Hopefully Suzanne Hicks will read this to her mule Ike
before they bail off into anymore bottomless mud holes at Brock
Creek.
We
had a great Annual ATRA meeting and potluck the 16th of
January at the Hospitality Center at Burns Park. A special thanks
goes to Noah Grady, the Official ATRA Chef and Associate Story
Teller, who cooked up enough barbeque beef, and ham to feed the
masses. Add to that all the side dishes, homemade rolls and
desserts the cowgirls brought to the table. They fed sixty-six
hungry cowboys and cowgirls.
We
had a wagon load of new members show up at the meeting and have
gained some more who didn't get to come. The new members are in
attendance were: Dalena and Dalton Peterman, Heather Larkin,
Rhonda and Bailey Mallison, Sandra and Shelby Moss, Robert Maher,
Barbara and Jerry Strickland, and Traci and Rodney Moore.
On
the business end of things the new roster of officers are as
follows: Board Members are Nate Arthur, Charlie Box, Lee Fonken,
John McNeel, Walter Red III, and Denis Fleming; President Jim
Young; Vice President Tina Taylor; Secretary Dalena Peterman; and
Treasurer Bob Jenner.
James Keene, the Trail Mileage Coordinator for riders and mounts,
did his usual fine job of keeping up with official ATRA trail
miles and having plaques made for presentation to recipients. We
have several in the program who are in between the milestone
mileages but we did recognize Walter Red as the high mileage rider
for the year (163 miles) along with one of his mules, Little Pete,
as the high mileage equine (125 miles) for the year. Reaching
individual milestones for the year were Tina Taylor and her horse
Slick Sensation, and Noah Grady riding Diamond.
One significant change to the Horse and Rider Mileage program that
James is implementing is to furnish riders in the program with a
single form to document all their mileages and turn in before the
end of the year. Details will be posted on the website.
Another change that may affect all members is that if for some
reason a ride is canceled, postponed, or moved the ride host can
get with Denis Fleming to have the new information posted on the
website. Any ride that has been moved to another location may
count in the horse and rider mileage program if it's posted on the
website at least forty-eight hours prior to the ride. The
requirement for posting all ATRA rides in the Roundup (must be in
by the 9th of the month previous to publication to meet
the deadline) is still in effect. The website changes are only in
case a ride has to be relocated for some reason.
Lee Fonkin informed us of some contacts he's made with the Park
Service about getting more tie posts at Woolum but progress is
held up in part until cultural resource surveys are completed. Lee
is shifting his present emphasis to seeing what can be done on
some trails in Sylamore. We're all grateful to Lee and Cindy for
their interest and hard work maintaining trails and generating
interests. Anyone wanting to help in this area is encouraged to
contact Lee or Cindy and everyone is encouraged to show up on
clipper rides and other volunteer maintenance rides and work days.
Another initiative ATRA is supporting is increased participation
in the Arkansas Trail's Council. Several Trail Blazer members who
are also ATRA members attended the January Trail's Council meeting
and reported on the need for equine trail riders to become active
in the Arkansas Trail's Council,
www.arkansastrailscouncil.com
. The next meeting will be April 6 from 10 until
noon at the
Buffalo National River. Other scheduled quarterly meetings are
July 10 and October 7 at Pinnacle Mountain State Park. The
membership agreed to designate Butch and Barbara Penney to speak
on behalf of ATRA at Council meetings. The Penneys are another
couple who pulls well in double harness when it comes to equine
and trails. All ATRA members and other equine trail riders are
encouraged to attend one of the meetings and get involved in the
important work of the Trail's Council.
The new ATRA logo truck and trailer decals look great!! The seven
inch decals were given to members and new members who paid
memberships at the January meeting. This went over so well that
the membership agreed to do this one more time at the mid-year
meeting. Anyone wanting the large decals or additional small ones
should contact Edie Jenner for details.
The ATRA board would also like to remind everyone out there who
might contemplate joining the Arkansas Trail Riders Association
that membership is still a bargain at $15 a year which includes
getting the Horseman's Roundup in the mail. I recently attended a
funeral of a friend who used to ride with his dad and remained a
cowboy at heart as evidenced by his saddle displayed at the end of
his casket. This was despite years of not having a horse to ride
because of other obligations. Many of us follow careers and other
priorities while still defining ourselves as a cowboy or cowgirl.
We would like to encourage you to follow your equine dreams and
instill it in your kids just as someone or some equine did in you.
Joining a group or if that's not possible just reading the
Horseman's Roundup is a good way to keep in touch with who you
REALLY are.
Until next time, RIDE YOUR BEST HORSE (or mule).
