Minnesota Horse Council

Flood Watch -- 2010

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:38:46 EST

Hello everyone,

My name is Marian Robinson. I am a director on the Minnesota Horse Council and chair of the MHC Disaster Response Team.

Several weeks ago I was asked to be a volunteer on a large animal evacuation plan for Scott County. There are several people on the planning committee: Chris Weldon is the Emergency Manager in charge of the committee.

I have been gathering resource information and it is obvious that critical part is going to be the hay.

There are severe flood forecasts for Mn., ND, SD, IA, Wi and other states. Our usual sources for hay, mostly in ND, are almost out of hay. We may end up having to buy hay from Canada, but if the flooding is too hard to get around the drivers won't be able to even get to Canada. With a potential shortage of hay looming, it will be important to get in touch with as many saddle clubs and horse people in general to suggest: Get your hay to high ground! If you have hay in lower areas PLEASE get everything to high ground...if you lose your hay to sudden flooding you are going to have a hard time finding more.

The Mn. Horse Council Team will do their best to help out whereever we can.

Do you folks have a plan to evacuate your horses if needed? Please don't wait until the last minute to get one together.

I have already contacted quite a few saddle clubs, most of them in Mn. who have websites and emails, and some in Wisconsin.

Please forward this information to any saddle clubs you know.

You can email me at mariana_1820@yahoo.com if you have any questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Marian Robinson

Mn. Horse Council Response Team

2010 Grants Awarded

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:44:58 EST

PRESS RELEASE
For Release after Jan 16, 2010

Minnesota Horse Council Awards $ 47,100 in Grants

The Minnesota Horse Council uses the revenue from the Minnesota Horse Expo to offer "seed money grants" for new projects & capital improvements by Minnesota equine groups.

At the Annual Meeting held January 16, 2010 in Brooklyn Park, MN, the Minnesota Horse Council announced that $47,100 in grants had been awarded to the following projects:

Fairgrounds Facilities sub-total $18,977

1. Polk County 4-H McIntosh $5,000
The County Fair was reopening an entrance, and the road would go through the current horse arena location. This grant will help fund relocating the outdoor horse show arena, and expanding to an appropriate size.

2. Dakota County 4-H Apple Valley $4,122 match
This grounds is frequently used for horse shows, but is lacking an adequate and safe warm-up arena. This grant will fund construction of a new warm-up arena at the fairgrounds.

3. Todd County 4-H Browerville $3,880
Their county fairgrounds horse barn is suffering deterioration from years of frequent use. This grant will fund repairs to the stalls, and improving the footing in the stalls. Also included is funding for lights for the outdoor show arena, so that it can be safely used past sundown.

4. Traverse County 4-H Wheaton $3,500
In recent years, they have rebuilt and improved the outdoor show arena, but it is still lacking a workable announcer's stand. This grant will build one, including a secure storage space. It also includes buying a timer and PA system for the arena.

5. Rock County 4-H Luverne $2,475
The fairgrounds horse barn has become too small for the growing 4-H horse exhibitors. The fair board has offered to build a new addition to the horse barn, but has no money for stalls in it. This grant will buy stall panels for the barn--portable stalls that can be removed in winter so the barn can be rented out for storage.

Misc. Other facilities: sub-total $9,400

6. North Country Horsemen Saddle Club Karlstad $5,000
This saddle club show grounds lacks an announcer's stand. This grant provides materials to build one, with a storage space underneath. Materials only, the club members will do the construction work.

7. Red River Valley Arena Crookston $3,500 match
This regional show facility was once heavily used for horse shows in northwestern Minnesota, but has sat empty & unused for several years. This grant will help reopen the facility by purchasing fence panels for the arena. Matching grant, we will match the funds they raise locally up to this amount.

8. Bit & Spurs Saddle Club Buffalo $ 900
This saddle club has been steadily renovating & improving their show grounds for several years. One of the last remaining needs is a new PA system. Our grant will help purchase this. System only, installation & wiring will be done by club members.

Disabled Riding: sub-total $8,500

9. Changing Gaits Brook Park $3,000 match
This group works with 3 county human services departments to bring therapeutic riding events to people at convenient locations. This grant to help buy a trailer, saddle, tack, helmets, and pay mileage for their disabled riding program to travel to various locations so clients don't have to come to them. Matching grant, we will match the funds they raise locally up to this amount.

10. Freedom Farm Waverly $3,000 match
This therapeutic riding program is now including more disabled war veterans who are heavier adults and can't be safely lifted onto horses by volunteers. This grant will help purchase an electric lift to allow them and other to safely mount & dismount their horse.

11. Lee-Mar Ranch Center Granite Falls $2,500 match
For many years, under the ownership of Lee & Martha Mooney, this facility served as the center for horse activities in the area. After their death, the family sold it to a non-profit group, which will continue to use it in the same way, but various capital improvements & renovations are needed. This grant will help purchase materials for those improvements. Materials only, local volunteers will do most of the construction work.

Educational: sub-total $6,723

12. University of Minnesota St. Paul $6,723
Many horse owners in Minnesota are feeding their horses big round bales, and there are various types of feeders for these bales. A preliminary study showed that feeders vary greatly, with some wasting twice as much hay as others. This grant funds a year-long evaluation study of different types of round bale feeders, to see which has the least wasted hay. It also provides for wide publication of the results in horse magazines, newsletters, and a brochure.

Rescue Operations: sub-total $3,500

13. Animal Humane Society (Unwanted Horse Coalition) -Golden Valley $3,500 match
The Unwanted Horse Coalition is a umbrella group for various humane & rescue organizations in the area. In the current economy, people are financially unable to keep their horses, and are turning them over to humane facilities. Many of these groups are finding themselves temporarily overloaded, with more horses than they have space for them. This grant will help purchase 2 sets of a portable shelter & portable panels for fencing a paddock. These will be loaned to member organizations as needed, to construct temporary shelter space for horses. Matching grant, we will match the funds they raise locally up to this amount.

Total Grants $ 47,100

Over the past 18 years, the Minnesota Horse Council has awarded $757,556 in grants to equestrian projects in Minnesota. This is in addition to other charitable donations by the Horse Council, such as the Direct Funding awards, the Tony Gasser educational scholarships, and the Trails Funding program. The majority of the Horse Council budget goes back into the Minnesota horse industry in donations to various projects.

A downloadable copy of this press release is available online at http://www.mnhorsecouncil.org.

MHC Website Usage Facts

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 09:13:57 EST

Join the crowd!

In 2009 our MHC site was busy; it received over 600,000 hits with over 210,000 pages viewed. Each month, an average of about 2,000 unique visitors visited the site to find out about the Minnesota Horse Council. For a detailed chart of usage, see MHC website statistics.

In 2009 we added considerably to our Minnesota Horsemen's Directory listings. We now list 72 lesson programs, 61 boarding stables, 59 trainers, 34 clinics and seminars, 25 associations and clubs, 22 arena rental facilities, and numerous other listings in over 30 categories. In 2009 the Minnesota Horsemen’s Directory site received over one million hits, with over 230,000 pages viewed. Each month an average of over 1,000 unique viewers accessed the site. For a detailed chart of usage, see MNHD website statistics.

MHC Annual Meeting

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:51:33 EST

The Mn Horse Council Annual Meeting is coming up, on Jan 61, 2010, at the Northland Inn in Brooklyn Park. Reception at 5:30, Dinner at 6:30, and Meeting at 7:30. Cost is $30 per person.

See the Reservation Form for more details.

MHC Hosts Annual Meeting

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:33:52 EST

Please join us for a night of excitement as the MHC hosts its annual meeting and dinner on January 16th at the Northland Inn in Brooklyn Park. This is the time of year when the announcements are made regarding grant recipients, scholarship winners, trail funding plans and the new horse person of the year. Enjoy displays of the past year's accomplishments as well as reports from various MHC committees. Reservations are required. Reservation Form

Great Prairie Trail Ride

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:39:43 EDT

Great Prairie Trail Ride

Nov 8, 2009

On Sunday, November 8, 2009 the Minnesota Horse Council in conjunction with Great Prairie Sports will host a trail ride on the land known as the Arden Hills Army Training Site (AHATS) in Arden Hills, Minnesota. This ride will provide the opportunity for all Equestrian enthusiasts and especially those involved in the discipline of Eventing to preview an area that could potentially be utilized as a 6000 meter Eventing Course. We will also view land for a future Horse Park.

Details and registration.

2009 Pioneer Award

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:02:54 EDT

The Minnesota Horse Council announces the 2009 Pioneer Horseman Award. The Award is designed to honor those individuals from the past years whose expertise and contributions made long-lasting positive changes in the equine industry.

The 2009 Recipient is Norm Strohfus of Hastings, MN. Norm grew up on a cattle operation in South Dakota. As the youngest of 5 when it came time to make a career decision, his older siblings had the farm under good management and Norm decided to head to the city and get a college education. As a farm kid, he knew that you started mucking stalls if you wanted to learn about the critters, so he followed his farm training, and after college he began driving route trucks for the Coca-Cola Company learning about customers and their needs. When Norm retired at age 57, he was Vice-President of Operational Development for the Coca-Cola Enterprises. Norm traveled the world facilitating technology transfer and optimizing many operations within Coca-Cola. Obviously, his willingness to start at the bottom and learn the basics paid off well in his career with Coca-Cola.

Norm was involved in showing Quarter Horses for 35 years. He participated in the local show circuit, county fair and in the Quarter Horse show circuit. He bought good horses, showed them and generally sold them locally. Many of his neighbors went on to win on Norm’s good horses.

One of Norm’s last horses was purchased by a young lady from Oklahoma. She went on to win big time in the Palomino Show Circuit. A few months before his death, Norm attended the World Palomino Show in Oklahoma City. He hauled his pleasure horse down even though he was too sick to show, but he received great pleasure in watching the young lady show his former champion and another good friend showed his current champion. He loved good horses. He loved good people but it took real effort to work side by side with Norm. He had a work ethic that was second to none.

He is so well remembered in the Trail Riders Saddle Club, that at their show this past July 4th, they held a Norm Strohfus Tribute Class – judged as a Pleasure horse and Western Horsemanship class. There were not just 17 entries but 17 Yellow Palomino entries! Norm loved his Palomino horses. The Trail Riders Saddle Club raised over $3600 this summer for the Kidney Cancer Association in honor of Norm Strohfus.

There are few people in the American Quarter Horse and American Saddlebred world that weren't acquainted with Norm Strohfus. He was one of the nicest men you could have ever have hoped to know.

For many of us Norm was a fixture on the rail at the Saddlebred shows cheering on his wife, Mary. He was a familiar face behind the lines of his draft horse team, ‘Dixie’ & ‘Dolly’ at the Washington County Fair and other horse events, giving wagon rides and introducing new comers to horses.

Norm could be found at the Washington County Fair each year in early August giving carriage rides to the judges at the beginning of each show for their introduction. He was committed to each exhibitor and barn and made every effort to ensure that everyone had an enjoyable time showing their horses. No request was to small; from surveying ring footing to making sure a garbage can was emptied. His dedication to the MN Horse industry and to people’s individual horse experiences were evident in the projects and causes he campaigned.

Norm left behind a family and many, many friends who cherish the time spent with him. Norm passed away December 2008 after a 3-1/2 year battle with kidney cancer. His wife, Mary Strohfus, still operates Strohfus Stock Farm in Hastings, MN in much the same way Norm would have done it if he were here today.

2009 Pioneer Award

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:50:28 EDT

2009 Pioneer Award Winner is Norm Strohfus

There are few people in the American Quarter Horse and American Saddlebred world that weren't acquainted with Norm Strohfus. He was one of the nicest men you could have ever have hoped to know.

2009ComboPR

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:14:58 EDT

The Minnesota Horse Council announces several funding programs available this year: Grants, Scholarships, Direct Funding, HorsePerson of the Year, and Pioneer Award.

See http://www.mnhorsecouncil.org/council%20offers%20scholarshipsand%20grantsand%20funding%20-%20awards.php for details.

2009ComboPR

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:13:59 EDT

The Minnesota Horse Council announces several funding programs available this year: Grants, Scholarships, Direct Funding, HorsePerson of the Year, and Pioneer Award.

See http://www.mnhorsecouncil.org/council%20offers%20scholarshipsand%20grantsand%20funding%20-%20awards.php for details.