2012 GallEP and other important events

1. Battle of the Breeds preliminaries
   a. Twisted Spur Arena 1/28
   b. Fairgrounds 1/29
   c. Saddle Peak 2/4
   d. MSU Bob Miller 2/5
   
2. Wild West WinterFest 2/18-2/19: Nancy
   
3. Eagle Mount Expo: ?
   
4. Chili Feed 3/6 ?
   
5. Circle L Expo: 3/13-3/14 ?
   
6. MSU Equine April—Jen (every other year)
7. GallEP Annual Public Meeting Tuesday, 3/6
   
8. Back Country Safety Clinic April 17th ?at Circle L—
   
9. Copper Springs Horse Sale—Sat May 5--?
   
10. Board/Member ride Buffalo jump May 6
    
11. Circle L Ranch sorting: Jan – May: Nancy
    
12. Our Safety Clinic 6/24—All
    
13. BCH Poker Ride 7/10?
    
14. Ride Into Town 7/21—sat.
    
15. Parade Sat. Aug 4—All
    
16. BDCT Combined Schooling Show 8/27?
    
17. BDCT Hunter Pace 9/11/11? at Epona
    
18. GallEP Trail Horse Challenge 9/16
    
19. Fall Board/member trail ride Tues. Sept. 25th
    
20. Fall Frolic 10/1 GVS&H?
    
21. Halloween Horse Show 10/29?
    
22. Fall Retreat 11/5
    
23. Christmas Caroling- Tues. 12/4 or 12/11
    
24. GS&HC/BCH Christmas Party 12/17?

December 6, 2011 Christmas Caroling

Get yourself and your horse into the holiday spirit and spread some cheer! Join GallEP for our second annual Christmas caroling event. We will meet at the fairgrounds @ 9 or 10 am (TBD), warm up, decorate our horses, practice our carols (music provided) and then head over to the Senior Center. If wagon drivers want to participate, and the weather permits, we will plan a route through the neighborhood. Our back up date is 12/10. RSVP to Marianne at 920-0888. You and your horse must have parade experience!

July 23, 2011 Ride to the Fair

Eight people joined GallEP this year for the Ride to the Fair. It was a bright beautiful morning and a gorgeous ride, mostly on dedicated trails. We donned our new safety tshirts and began the ride at a spur trail in the Sourdough Ridge subdivision. This led us to the beautiful Painted Hills subdivision trail, Cherry/Holly Loop and Pete’s Hill segment, delivering us to within two blocks of Main street! The views were breathtaking and we had the trails mostly to ourselves. Nancy Creel led us as trail boss, and Sabrina Hannan brought up the rear, making the ride organized and safe. This year’s ride was on Saturday, which we thought might lead to crowded roads and trails. We were delighted and surprised to find less traffic and trail congestion! KTVM met us on Main street and fairgrounds, providing good media exposure. We entered the fairgrounds on Tamarack, made our way to the stalls and enjoyed lunch and a few hours at the fair. Check out our photos, and consider joining us next year!

July 10 2011 GallEP Safety Clinic

On a dry, warm day in July, horses and riders joined GallEP and Spencer Dominick to prepare for urban riding. Whether it is riding roadside or in parades, the unexpected is inevitable in urban conditions. In preparation for upcoming events like “Ride to Town” on Saturday July 23rd, or for someone’s own personal improvement, GallEP offered a free Safety Clinic conducted by local trainer, Spencer Dominick. Spencer worked with a variety of breeds and disciplines at Saturday’s packed clinic. First attendees established groundwork methods to gain control and respect. They then used those tools to drive horses over tarps and mattresses or drag bags of cans. Riders graduated from the ground to saddle to continue exposing their horses to the unexpected. A jogging stroller with balloons was pushed through the ring. Loud horns and machines such as four wheelers were driven throughout while riders followed on horseback. These tactics were designed to desensitize horses to noises and sights they will encounter when amongst crowds and vehicles. Spencer did a fantastic job at working with horse and rider to overcome any obstacles they faced as well as broadening everyone’s knowledge base. Those who attended were very happy with the clinic. It gave riders a chance to gauge how their horses performed in an unpredictable environment. GallEP looks forward to hosting future events that contribute to the Gallatin Valley equine community!

Many thanks to those who attended and to Spencer Dominic for a job well done!

To view more pictures, click here.

let's ride!

2011 Events

Equine Club Summit Tuesday, March 29

Preparation for Urban Riding Safety Clinic Sunday, May 22

Ride to the Fair Saturday, July 23

Sweet Pea Parade Saturday, August 6

Trail Horse Challenge Saturday, August 20
Bohart Ranch

Christmas Caroling Saturday, December 3*
Saturday, December 10 (bad weather/ice date)

*If on 12/3 the roads are icy or weather is not conducive, we will move the event to 12/10

let's ride!

September 2010

We hope everyone was able to dodge the hail and thunderstorms and enjoy the summer with your horses! Please read below about some exciting developments for the Equine-enthusiast community.

News
URGENT: The Conservation and Parks Coordinator is holding an open house discussion about the Axtell-Anceny mud-bogging problem. If you ride on that road, please contact Marianne (gallepmt@yahoo.com) about attending the meeting to be held Tuesday, September 21, 2010 in the Gallatin County Courthouse Community Room, from 6pm to 8pm. Any solutions that are potential new County Policies regarding rural recreation will be part of the new County Park and Trail Plan (see below).

Other News

1. The Draft County Park and Trail Plan is on-line and open for public comment @ www.gallatin.mt.gov. Look under “What’s Happening” and then click on “Parks and Trails Master Plan Draft.” This is a truly monumental plan for the County, and we’d (a GallEP member chaired the committee) really like the equestrian community’s input. Please send your comments to Mike Harris @ mike.harris@gallatin.mt.gov, and bcc gallepmt@yahoo.com. The public comment period is almost over, and we haven’t heard from the horsey community. In GallEP’s view, more could be done to preserve rural recreation. Please read the Policies under Title II and give us your opinion. County Routes/Facilities priorities do include an Equestrian Park and a signed horse route around Bozeman.
   
2. At the last TCC meeting (Transportation Coordinating Committee) the project manager for the last Greater Bozeman Area Transportation Plan came up to a GallEP representative and communicated that all his transportation planning projects since Bozeman’s must now include consideration of Equestrian and Horse-Drawn vehicle needs!!! YAY! This is thanks to the Resolution we got passed in the last legislative session…So another thank you to all of you that came to meetings, etc.: you have help effect positive change for all Montana!
   
3. The Mayor of the City of Bozeman (at the same TCC meeting) indicated that they would put on the City Agenda an item to endorse the County Park and Trail plan and at the same time allow GallEP to present inclusion of GallEP’s Addendum to include equestrian considerations in the PROST plan—finally!
   
4. The survey has been a failure!! Apparently no one wants an equestrian park!! Please take it yourself, forward it to all your horsey friends, post on other club’s websites, bring hard copies to your club meetings, and share any other ideas you might have about how to motivate people to take it!! You can access the short survey (less than 5 minutes to complete) at the following link: http://gallepsurvey2010.questionpro.com/ The survey has been modified slightly since the April annual meeting, so those that took it previously, please take it again. It is also accessible on our website www.gallepmt.org.
   
   It is extremely important that we generate a high survey participation rate. This would demonstrate to the County that equestrians still exist and have needs in this Valley! For people that do not have email, they can mail a hard copy to 5588 Patterson Rd. Bozeman, MT 59718.
   
5. A new trail will soon be announced at Trail Creek. GVLT is looking for GallEP’s input on education, safety, and bringing together the biking and horse-back riding communities to effect safe sharing of this fantastic new trail. If you have ideas, please share with GallEP!

Events
Twenty-three riders came out for GallEP’s first Trail Horse Challenge on August 28th. They tried six fun and challenging obstacles over eight miles. Jean MacInnes of Bohart did a wonderful job of hosting. Our judges did a great job on the obstacles. The judges were Jim Brown, Sandy Kypfer, Michelle Baumgartner, Alan Jackson and Jen Mohler. They came from a variety of disciplines and handled their jobs admirably. The volunteers that came up specially to help were Nancy Brooks Hartz (food), Laura McDevitt and Rachel Fessenden (sign in), and Pamela Hainsworth (judge assistant). Also young Evan was a big help with starting us over the jumps.

We had a rider get injured at the first obstacle, but the good news is that her leg was not broken (18 stitches) and her horse was unhurt. Two EMTs were on hand to help stabilize the situation and we were grateful for their calm presence.

Otherwise everyone made it around the course despite thunder, lightning and weird obstacles.. All the riders were impressive in that they came out to try something new.

Chuck Gremp of grempphotography.com took photos. All riders should check for ones that they would like to purchase.

Here's a link to the few photos that I took: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mNUYTaHQfo

That’s all the news for now. We’re wishing you and your horses a fabulous Fall!
let's ride!

August 2010

Trail Horse Challenge

Saturday, August 28th 2010
Sign up from 8:30 - 9:30
Ride at 1o:00
Bohart Ranch up Bridger Canyon Road

8 Miles of trail and 6 judged obstacles. Ride the beautiful trails of Bohart Ranch while being judged by friendly folks on 6 trail obstacles. Both the horse and rider will be evaluated with prizes awarded to the top three teams.

Cost is $35 per rider and includes a pulled pork sandwich for lunch. Please RSVP to nmcreel@bresnan.net so that we can have an accurate count for lunch. Only folks that RSVP will be eligible for a free lunch.

For more information go to gallepmt.org or contact Nancy Creel at 522-7748 or nmcreel@bresnan.net.

Click Here To View Flyer

July 2010

Ride To Fair

This year's ride to the Fair was fun and safe......a little hot, but worth the effort and definately successful in terms of getting horses in the public view and furthering our goal of educating the public about the importance of preserving our heritage. Please take time to follow the link and comment on-line so that news providers think people like this sort of coverage!

http://www.kbzk.com/news/horses-take-a-stroll-through-bozeman-to-help-kick-off-county-fair/

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/article_2bb3d57a-9523-11df-b0cc-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story

Many thanks to riders Lain Kay, Sabrina Hanan, Andi Shockley, Nancy Creel and Lucy Amsden. We could use more riders next year, so please consider attending our safety clinic and joining us!

May 2010

Please help us plan a park to serve all our diverse needs. Take our short survey now! It is extremely important that we generate a high survey participation rate. This would demonstrate to the County that equestrians still exist and have needs in this Valley! We encourage you to have it posted on other club’s websites, forward the link to as many horsey people as you can and bring it up at your meetings. For people that do not have email, they can mail a hard copy to 5588 Patterson Rd. Bozeman, MT 59718.

Here is the link or click on the banner above. http://gallepsurvey2010.questionpro.com

This survey format is made possible by the Gallatin County Interconnect committee, comprised of the Open Lands Coordinator, Mike Harris, the County Planning Department, Board of Park Commissioners, County Planning Board, Montana PBS and other citizen volunteers, working together to update and merge the County's Parks and Trails Plans. The County was impressed by the meeting results and has offered to make our survey official. It has been modified slightly, so those that took it previously, please take it again. For those of you that just did the County’s Interconnect User Group Survey, this is different—please take this one too!!

Preparation for Urban Riding Clinic
We are pleased to announce a Preparation for Urban Riding Safety Clinic with Spencer Dominick of Wilsall on Sunday, May 23.  The clinic is sponsored by GallEP, Gallatin Saddle and Harness Club and the Montana Horse Sanctuary.   It will be free and required for anyone who plans to ride with GallEP in the Ride Into Town for the County Fair or the Sweet Pea parade.  The Clinic will run in two sessions from 9-11:30 and 12:30-3 at the County Fairgrounds.  Spencer will help horses and riders gain confidence as they become acquainted with a wide variety of objects likely to be encountered in town.  Snacks and water will be provided.  Our light-weight, long-sleeved waffle-T, or short-sleeved T-shirts will be available for purchase for $20, as well as free bumper stickers.  For more information and to RSVP (by May 19), call 388-5668.

March 2010

January 2010

ATTENTION ALL HORSE ENTHUSIASTS!

Come join fellow riders and drivers at Gallatin Equestrian Partnership's First Annual Meeting and Roundup on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, FROM 6-8 PM AT THE EMERSON CULTURAL CENTER BALLROOM, in Bozeman.

GallEP will kick off its First Annual Meeting with a look at all they have accomplished this past year and how they are galloping into the future as Gallatin Valley's advocate for equestrian recreational opportunities.  Guest speakers will share experiences of how horse recreation is sustained in other urban areas.  Check out their vision for a regional equestrian park and participate in a survey to guide its development.  Enjoy free refreshments and look for good deals on dining and equipment at the silent auction. 

GallEP needs your help preserving and creating local riding and driving opportunities for horses in the Gallatin Valley.  BE A PART OF GALLATIN VALLEY'S HORSE FUTURE!  SEE YOU WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 6-8 pm AT THE EMERSON CULTURAL CENTER BALLROOM!   Call 406-920-0888 or email gallepmt@yahoo.com for more information.

NOW LET’S RIDE!

Free Preparation for urban riding clinic: June 6th (mandatory to join Ride Into Town and Parade)

Ride into Town: July 15

Sweet Pea Parade: AUGUST 8TH
see May update for more info.

The Wild Pink Yonder Charitable Society has invited our membership on an epic wagon train adventure this summer. All the info is at www.WildPinkYonder.com, but the gist of it is this: they will leave Lethbridge, Alberta, on June 20th with 100 horses and their riders/drivers and head to Calgary, then Red Deer, then Edmonton.