November 2022
Well I wasn’t sure how this gig would go when I took over as President in 2017 but I must say I’m sure happy with how things turned out. Our membership and ride numbers have grown and, to my delight, we are seeing many more riders stepping up to the next distance! Until so many horses were injured we almost had a herd in the 50!
First of all I want to thank my fellow board members. You have made this fun and we all know I like fun! But also you’ve tolerated (and sometimes encouraged) my inner crazy. I have tried to come at the idea of promoting the club from a different angle than what we have done in the past. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t but we have exposed a lot of new people to our sport which thrills me. I have always been a fan of the more the merrier! It is so important to always be bringing in new people as some of us are getting a touch long in the tooth and passing a vet check is not always a certainty!
I don’t believe these reports should be all wine and roses. Sometimes we do have to comment on the warts as well.
As I was stuck on the sidelines for most of this year I was in camp a lot more. At more than one ride I was disappointed by the amount of complaining, demanding and basically rude riders.
Volunteers aren’t perfect but NOR are the riders.
Ride managers have their responsibilities, trail markers have their responsibilities and SO do the riders.
If you don’t like the trail the trail marker has chosen then please volunteer to take on the responsibility to trail mark and find a trail that you do like.
It’s very hard to spend copious amount of free time trying to create a ride for people to enjoy only to hear grumbling.
Want people to not want to volunteer? Complaining about everything is pretty much the answer. The riders should not be the only one to enjoy a ride.
The club has to be ALL of us giving some not just a few. All clubs operate on a resource of a thin amount of volunteers. We can’t afford to lose those who do put their hand up. Please remember that and, if you do have a legitimate complaint, it should be addressed to the board. This will make for a much more enjoyable event for all concerned.
It has been an interesting journey on the board. I am happy with how much things have improved year over year. We have become so much more organized. We have duties spread over a group of people instead of one or 2. We have a much larger group of experience trail markers and ride/day managers than we did in 2015 when I came on board. Our numbers have grown each year and we had a ton of interest at our last ride of the year.
It has been my pleasure to serve as president but it is time for me to hand the reins over to someone else. Of course I will stay involved at some capacity but for next year I intend on taking a bit of a hiatus to do a few other bucket list items. Thank you everyone for supporting me and the club. It’s been a fun ride.
All the best to the new board and I look forward to the future!
Darice