Trail Mix. ITRA Board Meets with DNR Officials By Greg Hersberger

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1 INDIANA TRAIL RIDERS ASSOCIATION, INC. Post Office Box 185 Farmland, IN Return Address Requested PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID NOBLESVILLE, IN PERMIT NO. 21 Trail Mix Join or Renew ITRA USE THIS FORM (Please Print) Membership renewal Due by Hoosier Horse Fair Name: Spouse: Address: City: St: Zip: Home Phone: Cell Phone: County: Referring Member: Family Membership $ Association (Club) Membership $ Lifetime Membership $ Trail Guide (postage-1 per member) $ 3.00 (2013 Trail Guide next Trail Guide will be published in 2016) Trail Fund Donation Amount $ Newsletter by US Postal Service Do not send hard copy will access Trail Mix on website Membership renewal due by Hoosier Horse Fair Indiana Trail Riders Mission Statement The purpose of the Indiana Trail Riders Association is to promote trail riding and equine activities in Indiana and the surrounding area. The Indiana Trail Riders are involved on the local, state, and national levels striving to promote and improve trails and campgrounds. We work actively on the legislative and administrative levels as well as sponsoring and organizing workdays on several recreational properties in the hope that the natural beauty we have enjoyed on horseback will be available for future generations as well. Mail completed form with check payable to ITRA at: Indiana Trail Riders Association, Inc. Post office Box 185 Farmland, IN Or use Paypal to renew on our website We re on the Web at: The EDGe ( discussion Group) is a wonderful FREE communication tool for ITRA members with an internet connection. Send a blank to IndianaTrailRiders-subscribe@egroups.com Subscription is free and you can unsubscribe at any time. Advertise in the Trail Mix---Full Page $100.00, Half Page $50.00, Quarter Page $25.00, Bus Card Size Ad. $ September, 2015 September, 2015 ITRA GOLD NUGGET CORPORATE SPONSOR ITRA BRONZE NUGGET CORPORATE SPONSOR ITRA TRAIL LEAD CORPORATE SPONSOR MARK YOUR CALENDERS Brown County Fall Clean-Up Nov. 28, 2015 O Bannon Fall Ride Cancelled The Official Publication of the Indiana Trail Riders Association, Inc. ITRA Board Meets with DNR Officials By Greg Hersberger Dan Bortner, Indiana State Parks DNR Representative, and Jack Seifert, DNR Forestry Representative joined us Saturday, Aug. 16, 2015 at Indiana Covered Bridge Retreat. We spent Saturday morning with Dan Bortner discussing the Indiana State Parks that affect the horsemen. Saturday afternoon we spent with Jack Seifert discussing all thirteen state forests in Indiana. Saturday evening we were joined by some ladies of the RHPC drill team plus our gals that are in RHPC to discuss our clubs interaction and strategies in regard to Hoosier Horse Fair and other like projects that affect us both. Friday evening and Sunday morning we were able to discuss ITRA activities for this fall and everybody was on way their home around noon. 1 Jack Seifert, Indiana DNR Forestry Representative, is in the center with Greg Hersberger, ITRA Chairman, on the left and Bob McPheeters, ITRA President on the right. They are standing on the deck of the meeting house at IN Covered Bridge Retreat.

2 The Indiana Trail Riders *STATEMENT OF PURPOSE ITRA Calendar The purpose of the Indiana Trail Riders Association is to promote trail riding and equine activities in Indiana and the surrounding area. The ITRA is involved on local, state and national levels striving to promote and improve trails and campgrounds. Sept. 18, 19, 20, 2015 Sept. 18, 19, 20, 2015 September 26, 2015 We work actively on the legislative and administrative levels as well we sponsoring and organization workdays on several recreational properties in the hope that the natural beauty we have enjoyed on horseback will be available for future generations as well. The corporate address is Post Office Box 185, Farmland, Indiana President Bob McPheeters North 100 West Anderson, IN Greg Hersberger (Chairman) South 250 West Portland, IN Vice President Arlene Smoot 2532 West 200 South Danville, IN Scotty Eskridge 16 P. O. Box 234 Knox, ITRA OFFICERS Treasurer Jody Weldy County Road 28 Elkhart, IN jmweldy@frontier.com ITRA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Reed Records St Rd 45 Nashville, IN reedrecords@yahoo.com Secretary Duane Davis 9098 W 1000 S Losantville, IN duanedavis044@gmail.com Lawrence Turnquist Parrish St. Cedar Lake, IN lwt41sr@yahoo.com MTR Norman, Indiana ITRA Fall Ride Contact Midwest Trail Ride for camping reservations At or October 31, 2015 Tippecanoe State Park Chili and ham & bean supper. Contact Scotty Eskridge for information. Fort Harrison St. Park Hoosier Outdoor Experience 9 am-6 pm November 28, 2015 Fall Clean Up Brown Co. State Park Contact Bob McPheeters for information bob@lighthousestables.com Public Lands Day Workday and projects to be announced November 28, 2015 Fall Clean up O Bannon State Park Cancelled John Allen South 100 East Clayton., IN carriageboy@hotmail.com Barb Ferguson S. Glenn Lane Salem, IN Itra.barb@gmail.com Chris Riehl Lantern Ridge Rd. Nashville, IN top4653cat@aol.com Gayle Vautaw South 900 East Walton, IN valleyview_k9s@yahoo.com O Bannon State Park Ride has been cancelled! Georgia Ballinger E. Mahalasville Rd. Morgantown, IN cowgirleorgia@hotmail.com Karen Humphreys North 425 East Danville, IN kkh923@aol.com Yvette Rollins E. Rollins Lane Springville, IN hoosierhorsemen@yahoo.com Mary Williams E. 191 st Street Noblesville, IN williamtm@embarqmail.com Nancy Brunnemer North 500 West McCordsville, IN toby2thor1@hotmail.com Rita Lockridge East 300 North Lafayette, In rita@bg-sc.com Larry Sidell East 1200 North Batesville, In Horsesandhammers@aol.com ITRA APPOINTED POSITIONS Membership Chairperson Bonnie Miller 8181 W. 100 S Farmland, IN itramembership@gmail.com ITRA Web Site Administrator Donald Lockridge 7010 East 300 North Lafayette, IN don@bg-sc.com Trail Mix Editor Mary Williams East 191 st Street Noblesville, IN williamtm@embarqmail.com Trail Guide Editor John Allen 9825 South 100 East Clayton, IN carriageboy@hotmail.com This Trail Mix Newsletter is the Official Publication of the Indiana Trail Riders Association. It is published six times a year in odd numbered months. Editorial material, photos, and notices of upcoming events should be submitted to williamtm@embarqmail.comm or mailed to Mary Williams East 191 st Street Noblesville, IN by the 10 th of even months. Round 2 It Ranch LLC N 800 E Ossian, IN (260) round2it@onlyinternet.net vkbuckskin@gmail.com Call for Appointment! Book our Tack Trailer for Your Equine events! Select the Best Horse Health Solutions Nu-Image, Nu-Hoof, Select I&II, Nu-Weight.and the rest of the line. (Dealer Inquiries Welcome & Wanted) Mayatex~ Triple E ~ Toklat Parker Nylon ~ Congress Leather Troxel Helmets ~ Showman Products Wells 5 Star Pads ~ Bar F Leanin T Ranch Halters & Leads Cowboy Magic~ Mare Magic ~ Ultra And oh! So much more!! Discount Copies Teresa Peil & Sara Schmidt 100 Mensa Drive * Noblesville, IN (317) * Fax (317) Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 to 5:30 * Sat 10:00 to 3:00 discountcopies@aol.com 2 1 5

3 MARK YOUR CALENDARS Reserve Your Spot For: ITRA FALL RIDE Sept , 2015 MTR, Norman, IN Tippecanoe State Park Oct. 31, 2015 ITRA Fall Clean-up Nov. 28, 2015 Brown Co. St. Park Midwest Equine Trail Foundation Contact Chris Riehl For Contributions and Grants at Midwest Equine Trail Foundation 4653 Lanam Ridge Rd. Nashville, IN Notes from the Editor Mary Williams This is a note to everyone submitting articles and pictures to me that you need to clearly identify the author and everyone in the picture(s) including their first and last names. When I do not receive clear identification I have had to resort too many times to the of the first person who sends me the information they want published as the author. Too many times the authors assume I recognize the people in the pictures. I understand computer problems happen, some people do not feel comfortable sending in their news by a computer and have someone else help them, and that is why the U. S. Post Office is a good resource. I can only apologize for any mistakes in the past and future as they are totally unintentional, and I appreciate all notifications of my errors. I strive to keep all information as accurate as possible. I do keep copies of all articles and pictures sent to me used in each issue of the Trail Mix for future references as needed In a passing note I sadly need to report Dave Maksymczak passed away August 2, 2015 after a brief battle with cancer. Dave had been instrumental in organizing our annual pitch-in dinners for ITRA s Annual Meeting in March for several years. His daughter, Erin, was a past ITRA Secretary. Dave and Erin had attended many ITRA activities. ITRA was well representative with officers and board members both past and present attending the services. Dave requested instead of flowers to send donations to the Midwest Equine Trail Foundation.

4 ITRA at Work Bob McPheeters Sets ITRA s Annual Fall Ride at MTR Schedule of Events We want to encourage everyone who is a coming to the ride to tell the front office they are a member of ITRA when they arrive at check-in. Numbers are important and we would like to know how many ITRA members have attended this ride. Friday, September 18, :00 p.m. Fundraiser Spaghetti Dinner at Bob McPheeter s Trailer--$6.00 per plate donation with proceeds going to the ITRA Trail Maintenance Fund until the food runs out. 8:00 p.m. Karaoke in the mess hall. Auction tables set up. Saturday, September 19, 2015 Country Store open throughout the day Silent Auction tables will be set up after breakfast and open until dinner. Bidding may begin as soon as tables are set up. Morning through afternoon, ride at will. 4:00-5:30 p.m. Trail Competition on south side of mess hall. 6:00 p.m. pitch-in dinner. Greg Hersberger will make announcements and Tracey and Lyndall Montgomery will cut their wedding cake which will be served at our pitch-in dinner. During dinner silent auction and Trail Competition winners will be announced. After dinner, unclaimed auction items will be offered in a live auction. 9:00 p.m. a live country band donated by Tracey and Lyndall Montgomery. Sunday, September 20, :00 a.m. MTR will have a Country Church Service. 10:00 a.m. Directors and Officers will meet at Greg Hersberger s trailer. We would gladly appreciate anyone who wants to help volunteer their time setting up the silent auction, sit with our Country Store, or help at the Trail Competition. 4 ITRA Fall Ride at MTR Has Saturday Night Band Editor s Note: ITRA does not usually report marriage announcements but in this case our fall ride plans on Saturday night at MTR is affected. My sincere apologies to all concerned in erroneously reporting the bride s name in the July, 2015 Trail Mix. Lyndall Montgomery and Tracey Mullins are pictured.. Perhaps you have heard the news? There will be a wedding celebration and reception during the ITRA ride Sept. 19 at Midwest Trail Ride. Lyndall Montgomery and I, Tracey Mullins, will be getting hitched at the place where our love story began that weekend two years ago. So many ITRA members are like family to us that we want to invite you all to our reception. It will be held after the pitch-in dinner and wrap-up auction on Saturday our contribution to dinner will be a wedding cake! We have also hired a great country dance band for that evening. We hope to see you all there and are excited to share this happy occasion with you! My pard and I were out taking a leisurely ride at an Indiana State Park. It was a beautiful day. We were about two miles out when my pard, who was on the lead horse, leans forward in his saddle to adjust his bridle. Just as he was reaching the ears of his horse his horse jumped sideways out from under him. She almost ran head first into another horse coming at her on the trail in some bushes! She never flicked an ear indicating anything was ahead. The only problem, these three riders heard us coming, stepped off the trail behind some thick bushes and never made a sound to warn us about themselves. We thought the Injuns had got us!! My pard s horse jumped sideways leaving him on the ground as he was already out of his saddle fitlin with his bridle. My horse jumped sideways as he wasn t sure what was going on. As we were both sitting on the ground hanging onto our reins for dear life so as not lose our horses, three girls on horseback walked out of the thicket. The leader came up to me and asked if I needed a bandage as she had a first aid kit with her. All I could sputter was no as I was afraid I would live up to my reputation and say what I really wanted to. A band aide wasn t going to help my backside! It was obvious these girls were real dudes. Maybe first time trail riders. 13 More Trail Tales From Calamity Jane

5 ITRA on the Trail Tales on the Trail From Calamity Jane A while back, I was campin and sittin by the fire with a cup of coffee made with my new contraption, Mr. Coffee. I was thinking about the good ole days of camping, sitting around the fire with good folks and drinking Dick Moore s Cowboy Coffee made in a big old pot with egg shells and the grounds all thrown in and then shoved right in the middle of the campfire. Somehow Dick knew when it was ready and he d carefully pick it up with an old rag to keep from getting burned. He d pour just a little of it out on the fire, and then he d start filling everyone s cup. Boy oh boy was that good coffee. And then I d think about how things have changed so much. Back 30 years ago people would camp and enjoy the outdoors, not be blaring their music so the whole durn campground can hear it. And people would just Cowboy Up and carry their water buckets to their horses and not run 500 feet of hose so they didn t have to work keeping their horses watered. Folks back then didn t put 50 splitters on one lone faucet so s they could have city water and make it hard for you to fill your water bucket up. And when you d meet folks on the trail they d stop and say Howdy and maybe get over so you could get by. But not today, no siree...these fool people, I won t call them trail riders, don t think twice about runnin up on folks, not even given you fair warning so you could at least try and get out of their way before you got run over. And some even take one of them there big ole boom boxes with them so they can listen to their music while their ridin! Things have sure changed, and in my way of thinkin it s not for the good. We need to get back to being respectful of those camped next to us, and those we share the trails with, and just ride with good ole plain sense that the good Lord gave us. Riding Lessons A poem by Henry Taylor I learned two things From an early riding teacher. He held a nervous filly In one hand and gestured With the other, saying Listen, Keep one leg on one side, The other leg on the other side, And your mind in the middle. He turned and mounted. She took two steps, then left The ground, I thought for good. But she came down hard, Humped her back, Swallowed her neck, And threw her rider as you d Throw a rock. He rose, brushed His pants and caught his breath, And said, See that s the way To do it. When you see They re gonna throw you, get off. 12 5

6 Taking Care of Your Ride Camping Tips From Jody Weldy Be a responsible trail rider and take a halter and two lead ropes with you so you can cross tie your horse when taking a break. This way your horse can t chew on the tree while tied. It s extra money but having two spare tires for your horse trailer means not worrying if you do have a blow out and have to put the spare on and end up traveling with no spare. It s not always easy finding a tire place that carry trailer tires. The next time your farrier puts new shoes on your horse, keep one front and one back and stick it in your trailer. If you happen to lose a shoe and are able to find a farrier he can put one of your old ones so it will be the same kind your horse already has on. Replace your camper interior lights with new LED. They are brighter, last longer and take less energy than the old ones. You don t need to replace the fixture just the lights bulbs. Silent Auction Items Needed By Barb Ferguson Get ready for the Indiana Trail Riders Association Fall ride at Midwest Trail Ride September 18 th, 19 th, 20 th, The silent auction will be set up from Friday evening thru Saturday supper. We need items for this auction. Anything will work; tack, clothes, décor, feed, tools. Clean out your tack room, closets, and horse trailer. Please contact me if you are unable to attend and would like to donate something. I will get it picked up by someone. This auction is usually 8 tables full and lots of items on the floor. Contact: Barb Ferguson itra.barb@gmail.com or call Barb at (812) , or Nancy Brunnemer at toby2thor1@hotmail.com Snapshots from Covered Bridge Retreat DNR and ITRA Meeting: Top picture shows Dan Bortner meeting with ITRA Board. Bottom picture has the traditional campfire with lots of good food and Greg Hersberger, cook. Midwest Trail Ride Once Again Hosts 6 11

7 ITRA at Work Fall ITRA Silent Auction By Nancy Brunnemer On September 19, at the Indiana Trail Riders Fall Ride at Midwest, we will once again be having a silent auction. Many great items have already been donated. We will have a beautiful purse and a couple of knives, one that is hand carved donated by Cowpokes. There will be items like a raincoat, feed buckets, a couple of shirts donated by M and J Firearms in Fortville, an item donated by The Stable Tack Shop in Fortville and Becky Seitsma once again is making a sweatshirt or two. If you would like to clean out your barn and donate any gently used items, just bring them with you to the fall ride. If you would like to donate but are not able to attend the ride, just give me a call and hopefully I can arrange a pickup of the item or items. Bring your cash because our auctions get better every year. All proceeds go to ITRA. This is a small sample of the many wonderful donated items for ITRA s fundraiser. ITRA at Work The Workday that Almost Wasn t By Chris Riehl We scheduled a workday for June 13 at Yellowwood State Forest to re-do the water crossing at Jackson Creek on the YZ Trail. The crossing needed repair due to the creek changing course. We received a grant to rent equipment to do this project from the Brown County Soil & Water Conservation District. Everything was all set in place to do this event, equipment rented and picked-up, tools loaded in the truck, fried chicken ordered from IGA, and our trusty work crew ready to go, but we had a bad storm come through the evening of June 12. Jim Allen, the property manager at Yellowwood, called me about 10 p.m. to tell me that there were several trees down on Yellowwood Lake Road between Horse Camp and the worksite and it was closed. I called around to our volunteer group to let them know that they could come in the North end of the forest to the worksite due the road closure. I was hoping everyone would make it. As it turned out, we were able to get the project rolling. We cut out some trees in the creek, used a mini-excavator to angle the bank better, was able to dump some rip-rap into the creek in order to help the creek change its current, and solidified the approach to the creek with geo-textile and 53 stone. We used our little John Deere tractor and was able to borrow the Bobcat from the park office, which was after the road opened back up around 10:30 a.m. I want to extend special thanks to those who volunteered. Tip Ballinger manned the mini-excavator, Georgia Ballinger, Nanci Riehl and Pam Hunt managed placement of the rocks and the angle of the approach, John Allen cleared the trees out of the creek with the help of Kyle Hunt, Dan Mills and I hauled rock back and forth. We did a great job. We had a large scale rainfall after the project was done, and we went back to see how it held up and it looked really good. The ITRA does good work. An excellent job by all. 10 7

8 On The Trail ITRA at Work Vandalia Equestrian Trail By Karen Humphreys Vandalia Trail between Amo and Coatsville, Indiana had a problem with a culvert close to Amo. The flooding rains had washed out lots of the soil from the neighboring field and filled up the culvert and overflowed the trail. Cathy Ferguson and Karen Humphreys opened it up with a garden fork and shovel. Because the culvert was stopped up, it caused a lake like area upstream of the culvert. Once the water started flowing it continued to take the silt and sand further downstream. Sharon Capper and Lynne Voigt also helped clean the stream and culvert area. There are plans to make this culvert larger to allow these huge rains to flow more easily. The trail is now open. The creek had a few large rocks in the path which were rolled back upstream along to the side. Plugged up culvert and Cathy Ferguson. 8 Sharon Capper, Cathy Ferguson and Lynne Voigt cleaning out creek Missing My Cowboy Hat By Mary Williams I went horse camping with a couple of friends for the weekend. We used my truck and trailer and her horses. Since the horses were hers, I abided by her wishes to ride with a helmet. I understand the safety concerns on wearing helmets and since it wasn t my horse, I didn t mind, though the horse was a quiet ride all weekend. The three of us had been out on the trails about an hour when we decided to turn back to camp. A light mist had begun to filter through the tree leaves. After stopping for a short discussion about putting on our slickers tied behind our saddles, we opted to continue to ride back to camp without them. Camp was only about minutes away. The trees had plenty of leaves on them to protect us and the clouds didn t appear to produce much more rain than a light shower. Not five minutes later, it rained hard all the way back to camp! I have been in heavier rains without a slicker while riding down a mountain in Smokey Mountain National Park, so I thought again only my jeans and shirt would get wet this time. When we finally got off our horses, everything was soaked: saddles, pads, horses, all my clothing (including all my undies), boots and socks. Since the helmet had holes in the top for ventilation, my head was drenched. I was wringing water out of my jeans and fleece shirt hours later. My boots were still damp when I unloaded on Sunday. I have never had wet boots and socks while on horseback in all my years of trail riding! As I was standing under the awning watching it continue to rain when we got back to camp that day, I was reminiscing as to why I got so wet with this ride. Then it occurred to me this was the first time I had ever ridden in the rain without my cowboy hat. A hat with a brim had always kept the rain off my neck keeping my back and front dry. It allowed the rain to shed off my shirts leaving only my arms and hands to get wet. A brim also allowed the water to shed off my shirts to only my knees, keeping the lower part of my legs and my boots dry. This also kept my saddle dry with only the saddle horn and cantle getting damp. Who would have thought a brim on a hat would have made such a difference in keeping me, my saddle and horse dry. 9