November 2, 2008

Meeting Attendance

• Meg Rockman, Sandee Razminas, Betsy Cowan, Candee Carlson, and Jane Monsson

Old Business

• Call to Order
  • Jane Monsson called the meeting to order.
• Approval of Minutes
  • September minutes were approved.
• Treasurers Report
  • $13,399.06
• Calendars
  • So far, we are showing a profit of $1,937.24, after a cost of $1,300.00 and a revenue of $3,060.00.
• Horse Show
  • The 2008 show was a net loss of $2,211.67. There were 192 Walking Horse entries (not horses, but entries) and 86 Saddlebred entries. The exhibitors enjoyed being met at drive-in with their stall assignments, and next year we are going to expand that with gift baskets. Towels were very popular awards. Sponsorships brought in $3,066.00. Next year, we may go back to Jackpot Judging. We had 18 Saddlebred classes not make and seven Walking Horse classes with no entries. Lead Line had no entries this year. We discussed moving the show to a later date to avoid conflicting with Decatur or Arizona, but a later date would conflict with LASHA. We will research this possibility further. The DQP cost was $109.60 plus $156.40 for the hotel. Next year, we will follow Walking Horse trends and have $10.00 DQP fee to offset these expenses. Barn trick-or-treating was discussed as an activity. Bob Beech would be the preferred Walking Horse judge next year, so we will be contacting him ASP. Stalls will be $65.00.
• Banquet
  • The banquet this year will be February 7 , the night before the Big D Auction and Fish Fry. Betsy will research local restaurants to replicate the successful awards ceremony held at the Blue Mesa Grill a few years ago.

New Business

• No New Business

Meeting Adjourned

Next Meeting

• This meeting will be the Christmas Potluck meeting at Sandee Razminas' house.
• December 14, 2008
• 4:00 P.M.

Meeting Attendance

• Sandee Razminas, Candee Carlson, Gail Kirkland, Jane Monsson, Betsy Cowan, Meg Rockman, Sutton Rockman, and Daily Rockman

Old Business

• Call to Order
  • Jane Monsson called the meeting to order.
• Approval of Minutes
  • August minutes were approved.
• Treasurers Report
  • $14,679.58
• Horse Show
  • Meg printed 251 books, gave out approximately 60 at the State Fair Horse Show, mailed 77, and e-mailed 145. The remainders are at Milligans. Our horse show manager has changed. Brent was deployed to Houston for work. The job was offered to Janie Hamilton, but she has a conflict, so Betsy Cowan is being replaced as announcer and stepping into the manager role. Her cell phone number for horse show questions is 972-979-3580. Corrine Stith accepted the position as announcer. The horse show computer program now has our horse show link on the internet, so exhibitors can enter on-line at www.horseshowtime.com. That service is a $30.00 per day fee to the club. Soozie Bul has volunteered to step in part-time to help and learn the office functions before and during the show.
  • Las Colinas has all of the chairs and most of the tables necessary for our event, Betsy will bring the additional three long folding tables with the sign to save the rental expense. Our total projected need is seven tables and ten chairs. Twenty-four yards of select sand/gravel mix has been ordered for the out gate and will be delivered Friday morning. We can pay them at that time by check. Las Colinas' vendor fee is $30.00 for the weekend. Our only vendor this year will be Jane Monsson.
  • The ribbon presenter and gate position salaries were modified to reflect the length of each day and is now based upon the number of sessions worked, at $25.00 per session. Saturday has three sessions and would therefore be worth $75.00, and Sunday has two sessions for a daily total of $50.00. Gail is taking one out gate and ribbon presenter position on Saturday, Alexa Morton has the same positions on Sunday. Betsy and Candee are coordinating to fill the other gate positions.
  • We will be using only Barn A and Barn B again this year, but Betsy will inquire about overflow possibilities. There are 168 stalls in the two barns.
  • It was also noted that we didn't present the "Bubba Trophy" in 2007, and that we needed to locate and bring the trophy back for this year's show.
  • Championship ribbons came in with the rosette colors incorrect. Hodges Badge offered us a 25% discount to keep the existing ribbons, or they could correct them. We voted to accept the discount. We also decided to have the announcer ask participants not wishing to keep their ribbons to donate them back to the horse show.
• Calendar
  • After learning that Koehler Graphics current charge would be $2,300.00 for printing, we decided to go back to Plano Type and Graphics, who quoted us just over $1,200.00. Jane and Sandee are taking in the material September 23, and Jane will proof the quality. We plan to sell the calendars first at NTASHA and then at TASHA for $15.00 and then post on EBay for $9.99 plus $5.00 shipping. Jane has put many hours into preparing the artwork for the calendar, so members present voted to allow her to share her vendor space with the calendar table as a gratuity, as well as to facilitate selling the calendars.

New Business

• No New Business

Meeting Adjourned

Next Meeting

• A motion was presented and passed to change monthly meeting times to the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7:30 to accommodate our work schedules.
• October 21, 2008
• Milligan Stables
• Plano Road
• 7:30 P.M.

Meeting Attendance

• Meg Rockman, Sutton Rockman, Daley Rockman, Brent Cowen, Betsy Cowan, Jane Monsson, and Candee Carlson

Old Business

• Call to Order
  • Brent Cowan called the meeting to order.
• Approval of Minutes
  • July minutes were approved.
• Treasurers Report
  • No treasurers report.
• Horse Show
  • Judges have changed. Mary Marcum-Orr had forgotten another obligation, recommended Wallace Williamson. Carol Wakefield need to judge State Fair, so she is recommending Kathy Zeiss. Each judge is $250.00 per day plus expenses. The proposed photographer is Wild Mane Photography. She has a $200.00 per day minimum, but at $25.00 per photo, that is only 8 photos. There is not on-site printing and proofs are available for on-line viewing about two weeks after the event. We will not be billed the minimum fee until 40 days after proofs are posted and orders have had a chance to be placed.
  • We are not having mule classes this year, and the pairs class has been deleted in favor of a costume class. We are also adding an 11 and Under Favorite Gait class for the Walking Horses. We approved that the program can contain a note that entries must be scratched at the office prior to the class to avoid a charge and also that health papers and complete entry must be on file to receive a back number. Brent will confirm videography with Horseflix and secure gatekeepers. Jane accepted the position of Paddock Master.
• Calendar
  • Jane has a resource to get 100 calendars printed for $650.00, but we need to check with Gail for our level of commitment to Koehler Graphics. Betsy has discontinued EBay sales of the calendar and will tally results before the next meeting.

New Business

• No New Business

Meeting Adjourned

Next Meeting

• September 22, 2008
• Milligan Stables
• Plano Road
• 6:30 P.M.

Meeting Attendance

• Brent Cowan, Betsy Cowan, Gail Kirkland, Jane Monsson, and Candee Carlson

Old Business

• Call to Order
  • Brent Cowan called the meeting to order.
• Approval of Minutes
  • June minutes were approved.
• Treasurers Report
  • $13,670.07
• Awards Banquet
  • Brent to call Pam Beavers of backstage Flowers and Gifts for thoughts on merging with Big D Auction. Gail also brought up a coupon for gaming services from "Ante Up" if events remain separate.
• Horse Show
  • Carol Wakefield has accepted the position of Walking Horse judge, Mary Marcum-Orr will be the Saddlebred judge. Contracts will be mailed this week. The photographer position is the only one remaining unfilled. Meg is working on a class sheet, so she will need the judge info. We also decided to add a 5-gaited academy class open to all ages, with the qualifier on Saturday evening and Championship on Sunday Afternoon.
• Calendars
  • 2007 cost $2,557.00, income of $3,950.00, profit of $1,392.00
  • 2008 cost $2,130.00, income of $3,770.00, profit of $1,639.00
  • Ad space this year will be $250.00 for a page, with a 10% discount for NTASHA members and a 10% additional charge for a specific month's placement.
  • We won't go back with Plano Type and Graphics. Gail is checking other printers. We will also post the calendars on EBay right after the NTASHA show. Purchase price will be $15.00

New Business

• ASHA Regional Championship
  • ASHA sent us a form to nominate a local horse show to be our Regional Championship. We agreed to enter the Texas State Fair Horse Show as our nominee.

Meeting Adjourned

Next Meeting

• August 25, 2008
• Milligan Stables
• Plano Road
• 6:30 P.M.

Meeting Attendance

• Gail Kirkland, Sandee Razminas, Brent Cowan, Betsy Cowan, and Candee Carlson

Old Business

• Call to Order
  • Brent Cowan called the meeting to order.
• Approval of Minutes
  • May minutes were approved.
• Treasurers Report
  • Not Reported
• 2008 NTASHA Fall Classic
  • Brent has lists of walking and racking horse judge nominations and will compile those and send them to Margo Urad for input. He also received some racking horse class specification updates and will get those to Meg for implementation. Messages have been left with Linda Lowry, who we would like to have as the Saddlebred judge. Cheryl Manahan may be an alternate candidate. We did confirm that the Las Colinas prices will remain the same in 2008 as they were in 2007. Sandee will purchase ribbons and awards again this year. The ribbons will stay the same and we are looking into monogrammed blue towels for first place and championship awards. Gail would like to freshen up the center ring decor and can do so for a nominal price. This was also approved.
• Computer
  • Meg had asked about buying a warranty for the horse show computer, but after discussion it was decided that the data is only on the computer for the show and backed up by the software. With so few hours of use, the likelihood of malfunction is very low and simply replacing the laptop at such a time would be more price conscious.

New Business

• 2008 Banquet
  • This 2009 banquet for 2008 high points will be the same weekend as the Big D Auction held at Milligan Stables. In light of increased travel costs and other expenses, we voted to look into partnering with that event to present awards at a non-conflicting time during the event. The awards presentation may increase the attendance of the auction, and doing this would save banquet room and food costs, allowing us to contribute to the auction production.
• Computer Backup Person
  • We discussed backing up Meg on the computer and who would do that job is she were unable to in 2009. We discussed a couple of options and think we have a potential replacement who would not need training.

Meeting Adjourned

Next Meeting

• July 21, 2008
• Milligan Stables
• Plano Road
• 6:30 P.M.

A few more things came to mind about the Texas Horse Park project:

• I misspoke about the time-line. It will actually only be two years to completion once the matching funds are raised.
• Donations are Tax Deductible
• If they weren't to reach to goal, your donation will have been recorded and will be refunded.

Again, even a bunch of small donations add up! Please visit the website at www.texashorsepark.com.

Meeting Attendance

• Brent Cowan, Betsy Cowan, Soozie Bul, Candee Carlson, Meg Rockman, Sutton Rockman, and Jenn Holdren

Old Business

• Call to Order
  • Brent Cowan called the meeting to order.
• Approval of Minutes
  • April minutes were approved.
• Treasurers Report
  • $13,495.35
• 2008 NTASHA Fall Classic
  • Darden Gladney and Dodi Speece have show schedule for review and have submitted suggestions for a Walking/Racking horse judge. Brent has left a message for Linda Lowrey about contracting as the Saddlebred judge.

New Business

• Presentation on the Texas Horse Park
  • This Park will be amazing! This project goes well beyond that of just a new horse show venue--please pay attention and support this project!
  • The Texas Horse Park is a 500-acre facility adjacent to 6,000 acres of the largest urban hardwood forest in the country with almost 50 miles of public riding trails (this is that dense, woolly area of south Dallas that you can see from I-20, 175, and I-45). It will be easily accessible for horse lovers from Louisiana, Austin, Houston--really, all over. Not only will this be a huge boon to south Dallas, but also to Texas, and potentially the whole country. The city literally went to the planners and said "Look at the Kentucky Horse Park, look even at Aachen, Germany...we want something even better than that! (We are Texas, after all!) there are plans in the works for future equine Olympic games to be in Texas.
  • The Trinity River Project itself is phenomenal, with an Audubon Park already under way, gorgeous river-lake projects, even including major white water rafting areas...and this could be a part, but they need to see that horse people will support this project! The citizens of Dallas have pledged almost $15 Million, but construction won't begin until two years after private donations match that amount. This is something that will be good for putting Texas on the world map of places to go, and on the US map of great places not only to visit, but to invest. Even non-horse people have a stake in this. Equest will relocate their acclaimed therapeutic riding program to the Texas Horse Park, but there are also plans for a wonderful program encouraging at-risk youth to become involved by working to ride. There is a School of Horsemanship, scout and school programs, and an extensive ecological "green" plan.
  • From a horseman's perspective, more of the highlights include:
    • Two Large Covered Arenas
    • One Large Uncovered Arena with Grandstands
    • One Smaller Covered Arena
    • Warm-Up Arenas for Each
    • VIP Seating and Lounge Areas
    • 500 Permanent 12 x 12 Stalls
    • Space for Hundreds of Temporary Stalls
    • Wash Racks with Hot and Cold Water
    • Electric Outlets at Every Stall
    • Lunging Areas near Barns
    • Paddocks for Use During Competitions
    • Cross Country Courses for All Levels
    • Combined Driving Course
    • Competitors Lounge with Offices, Showers, Snack Bar, Vet and Farrier Space
    • Central Show Offices
    • Wireless Internet and On-Site TV Feeds
    • Hook-Ups for 100 RV's and Parking for Big Rigs
    • Horse rescue and Retraining Facility
  • Although I'm not sure that the website begins to do justice to the project, visit the website---post the link on your web sites, tell your friends, and most importantly, don't feel like you have to be wealthy to support the kind of project that can really boost our horse industry, but also to tell our governments that taking care of our natural resources is something we care about, and beneficial to us all.
  • www.texashorsepark.com
  • www.trinityrivercooridor.org

Meeting Adjourned

Next Meeting

• June 16, 2008
• Milligan Stables
• Plano Road
• 6:00 P.M.

Meeting Attendance

• Brent Cowan, Sandee Razminas, Candee Carlson, Jenn Holdren and Gail Kirkland

Old Business

• Call to Order
  • Brent Cowan called the meeting to order.
• Approval of Minutes
  • March minutes were approved.
• Treasurers Report
  • $12,923.11 (This reflects all horse show sponsorships being paid for the year)
• Las Colinas Equestrian Center
  • There were no changes to our prices to rent the Equestrian Center at Las Colinas for 2008.
• Texas Horse Park
  • Betsy is reconfirming with Jaymie Sattiewhite that our May meeting will be held Sunday, May 18, from 3:00 to 5:00 P.M. at the office of the Texas Horse Park. Members may wish to coordinate to car pool from Milligans.
• Show Facilities
  • Brent checked into the Tyler Rose Center, Heart of Texas in Waco, and Nacogdoches City Expo Center. All of the facilities were booked through the end of 2008, but looked great. Downsides to moving the show were discussed and included hotel expenses for staff and exhibitors, loss of participants due to travel, and more. It was agreed that having a show outside of the Metroplex would be a last resort.
• Costume Class
  • Members also agreed with Patty Milligan's Suggestion from last month to reprise the "Costume Class) in addition to keeping the other fun classes.

New Business

• New Involvement
  • We discussed ways to involve junior exhibitors and parents in NTASHA. An idea of having a bake sale fund raiser at another show was mentioned. We would ask parents to bake goods and man a booth with their kids, perhaps at the State Fair and/or NTASHA. Brent agreed to contact the State Fair officials about this possibility.
• NTASHA Fall Classic Horse Show Premium Books
  • Brent agreed to send Premium Books via e-mail to Margo Urad, Darden Gladney, and a racking horse constituent for input on our class list for the NTASHA Fall Classic.

Meeting Adjourned

Next Meeting

• Tentatively scheduled for Sunday, May 18
• Offices of the Texas Horse Park in The Trinity Center
• 1444 Oak Lawn Avenue, #200, Dallas
• 3:00 P.M.

Meeting Attendance

• Candee Carlson, Brent Cowan, Betsy Cowan, Jenn Holdren, Meg Rockman, Gail Kirkland, and Ashley Kirkland

Old Business

• Call to Order
  • Brent Cowan called the meeting to order.
• Approval of Minutes
  • February minutes were approved.
• Treasurers Report
  • $13,166.72
• Membership
  • Reminder to those present to send in memberships for the year. Secretary reports mailing 77 renewal reminders.
• High Point Awards
  • High Point awards were delivered to San Antonio for the out-of-town members.
• Calendars
  • Betsy reported on calendar sales, as the calendars not sold locally are now marketed on E-Bay. The average profit on each calendar is $6.00 and we have been selling just over 1 per week.
• Texas Horse Park
  • Betsy also reported that the Texas Horse Park has not returned two e-mails and two phone calls where we were attempting to set up a meeting with them as guest speaker. We will continue to try to arrange this meeting.
• Big D Charity Horse Show Junior Exhibitor Luncheon
  • Brent confirmed with Big D that NTASHA will not sponsor the junior exhibitor luncheon this year since past luncheons have not been well attended. The junior exhibitors seem to prefer to eat at local restaurants with their families. Due to the rising costs of our own show, we will just go forward with the traditional show sponsorship rather than redirecting the luncheon budget.

New Business

• Equine Affair
  • "Equine Affair" is an event during the State Fair held at the Will Rogers stadium. It has live exhibition time, stalls, meet-n-greet time, and 10 x 20 booths. The cost is $335.00 + $95.00 per stall. Meg, Brent, and Betsy volunteered to visit the '08 event and report back on the viability of future promotional events with them.
• Las Colinas Facility Rates
  • There was some word that the Las Colinas facility rates may have increased significantly since last year. We discussed other venues, but decided to contact Michelann at Las Colinas to get details before making alternate plans.
• NTASHA Fall Classic Horse Show
  • Patty Milligan sent word to NTASHA that she would like to see the costume class added back to the program and reiterated her support for the fun classes such as the Ride-A-Buck class and the Water Glass classes.
  • We also noted that it is time to start gathering names of judge candidates for the '08 show. Linda Lavery and Gayle Lampe were suggested, but we will be taking more names and doing further research at the next meeting.
  • It was also decided that we might look into the Heart of Texas facility in Waco and get rates and dates for that and the facility in Tyler as well as any other good facilities for future shows.

Meeting Adjourned

Next Meeting

• April 21, 2008
• Milligan Stables
• Plano Road
• 6:00 P.M.

Meeting Attendance

• Brent Cowan, Betsy Cowan, Jane Monsson, Candee Carlson, Jenn Holdren, Sandee Razminas, and Michael Buchanan

Old Business

• Call to Order
  • Brent Cowan called the meeting to order.
• Approval of Minutes
  • January minutes were approved.
• Treasurers Report
  • $13,330.63
• Clinic
  • Cost approximately $115.00. Lightly attended, but successful. Suggested Q&A after speakers for future seminars.
• Renewal
  • Have done notices via e-mail, still need to do mail-outs.
• Awards
  • Need someone to take remaining awards to SASHA. Denise Baker's Name was mentioned as a possibility.
• Big D Auction
  • NTASHA donated a T-Shirt and calendar.
• Calendars
  • Betsy to post on E-Bay. Run for seven-day lengths of time. Do research for calendar sales prices before posting. The calendar cost was $2,100.00, ads sold accounted for $3,200.00, so we actually made $1,100.00 before selling any.

New Business

• Board of Directors
  • This is a two-year-term commencing with February of even-numbered years. The previous board included Candee Carlson, Betty Shupp, Meg Rockman, Janie Hamilton, and Teri Rader. Sandee moved and Gail seconded the 2008-2009 Board Members as follows: Jenn Holdren, Candee Carlson, Meg Rockman, Gail Kirkland, and Janie Hamilton.
• Show Sponsorships
  • In 2007 our contributions to other shows were $300.00 to the six different organizations. In 2008, our contributions will be as follows:
    • Big D--$200.00
    • State Fair--$200.00
    • Pin Oak--$200.00
    • TASHA--$100.00
    • SASHA--$100.00
    • Rockwall--$100.00
• Big D Youth Luncheon
  • We have been approached again this year to sponsor the youth luncheon at Big D. We discussed the previous luncheons and decided not to go forward with this activity, as most junior exhibitors prefer to eat lunch with their families at the local restaurants.
• Texas Horse Park
  • We decided to try to have the Horse Park speaker come to our April 21 meeting if possible.
• Promotions
  • We discussed the possibility of participating in a local parade. We will check into the Plano Independence Day parade, as well as gathering details on the Frisco and Allen parades.
• 2008 Horse Show
  • This year's dates are October 11 and 12. The dates have been reserve with Las Colinas, but we have not yet completed a contrat or tendered our deposit. It is time to check into hotels and speak with rotating contract employees. We also need to get the Racking Horse Association by-laws so that we correctly list classes. We've also decided that we need two or more stables' opinions on the class line-up.
• 2009 Calendars
  • We decided to print 100 copies of the 2009 calendar and charge $15.00 retail.

Meeting Adjourned

Next Meeting

• March 24, 2008 (This is different that what is on the Calendar)
• Milligan Stables
• Plano Road
• 6:00 P.M.

January 21, 2008

Meeting Attendance

• Gail Kirkland, Sandee Razminas, Candee Carlson, Brent Cowan, Betsy Cowan, Jenn Holdren, Jane Monsson, Meg Rockman, and Sutton Rockman

Old Business

• Call to Order
  • Gail Kirkland called the meeting to order.
• Approval of Minutes
  • December minutes were approved.
• Treasurers Report
  • $14,815.65
• Horse Show
  • Discussed the details of the 2008 DQP fees and reviewed industry standards. The 2008 fees to exhibitors will be evaluated and set as we get closer to the 2008 horse show date.
• TASHA Sponsorship
  • We had received a sponsorship ledge from the TASHA organization, but reviewed our receipts and confirmed that the sponsorship had not been received.
• Clinic
  • The clinic has been moved from the barn into Patty's living room, due to a contractual obligation to rent the arena facilities on Sunday afternoons to the Cowboy Church. The actual times will be offset, so there should be no trouble with parking or problem with giving barn tours to interested visitors at the end of our clinic. While visitors are touring the facilities, 20070 awards will be presented to NTASHA High Point winners in attendance.
  • Betsy will confirm with the Goodwins whether Katherine or Tuc would be willing to speak at the clinic, giving the parents' perspective on the benefits of riding lessons and showing horses. We also decided to bring extra calendars, T-Shirts and S&B bracelets to the clinic. Betsy will also create information flyers with barn contact and website information for the event.
• Annual Renewal
  • Betsy has also been authorized to send the annual renewal notices out.

New Business

• Charter Club Membership
  • ASHA kicked out our club membership due to records indicating that we had two officers who had never paid their ASHA membership dues. We were able to pull records from the archives to clear up the matter, but want to reemphasize the importance of keeping current with our individual memberships as officers.
• High Point Awards
  • Gail is picking up the awards for the Texas High Point, NTASHA, and ASHA Pleasure Horses this week. Many will be distributed at TASHA's banquet by Janie and Nancy on February 2. We needed a date/venue to present the local awards. Brent moved to present these awards at the end of the clinic on February 10. Sandee seconded the motion and the vote passed.
• Sponsorship Solicitations
  • Brent presented an idea from Doug Smiley to have in-barn competitions for sponsorship solicitations. We discussed having a 10% horse show bill discount for referrals bringing in more that $250.00 and 20% discount for $500.00 and above (for example,--to be determined) for all exhibitors bringing in sponsorships. Details were tabled to a future meeting. To have your name as a sponsor mentioned by the announcer at the horse show, your sponsorship would have had to been received prior to the show. We also talked about having a sign or banner made with the sponsors' names on it, and giving sponsors the ability to place marketing materials on a table at the show.
• 2008-2009 NTASHA Officer Positions
  • Nominations were taken and attendees voted on the 2008-2009 NTASHA Officer positions. The results are as follows:
    • President--Brent Cowan
    • Vice-President--Jane Monsson
    • Treasurer--Sandee Razminas
    • Secretary--Betsy Cowan

Meeting Adjourned

Next Meeting

• February 18, 2008
• Milligan Stables
• Plano Road
• 6:00 P.M.