trail/distance riding
Eastern Regional Trail Ride continued from page 129
Genesis. The high Point 4-h award was won by allee Platanitis riding scooter. The high Point Junior rider was amanda Putney aboard Joey, and annamaria Paul and Jigs claimed the Overall high Point championship. The other division winners were as follows: Women’s Over short ride, annamaria Paul with Jigs; Women’s Over Long ride, Laurie Gagne and holly; Women’s under short ride, cheryl Brown with devine Texas Moon; Women’s under Long ride, Melissa Wise aboard Berrie Brook First in Line; novice rider short and Long combined rides, Brenda Putney and sir Tiger Leo; novice horse short ride, Tim stearns on scout; novice horse Long ride, susan Favaloro aboard harlans storm Jet; Men’s short ride, Jeff Livingstone and cachina; Men’s Long ride, Mike Favaloro with direct doll; 4-h Long and short combined
rides, allee Platanitis on scooter; Junior rider and Pony club Long and short combined rides, amanda Putney on sir Tiger Leo. There were also un-judged riders who were awarded some nice prizes in a lottery type drawing. To be added to erTr’s mailing list and for pictures from the ride, email Larry underwood at eregtrailride@yahoo.com.
Scenes from the 2012 Eastern Regional Trail Ride.
[ equine journal affiliate ]
Bay state Trail riders association President Becky Kalagher Attends DCR Public Meeting Submitted by liSa GriGaitiS
On Thursday, January 10, Becky kalagher attended the public meeting where the department of conservation and recreation (dcr) presented information on draft rules and regulations governing the operation of state parks and recreational facilities. The draft was available ahead of time, so Becky read it through. There were a number of issues, the biggest being that they had classified horses as pets. Becky presented comments at the meeting that under MGL chapter 128, section 1a, chapter 129, section 39e and 330 cMr section 16:04, horses are classified as livestock. If this is straightened out, it will take horses out of the picture for some of the other rules such as: all persons who bring pets onto dcr property shall properly remove and dispose of the pets’ feces. There were a number of items that Becky presented, with another major one being the clarification of the following: horses are allowed in designated areas only. 130 equine Journal | March 2013
Becky asked them to define designated areas. does this include trails, forest ways, and roads? If so, then we strenuously object. dcr has always had a policy of its statement, “open unless posted closed.” That would mean every trail, forest way, and road would have to be posted open to horseback riding. Becky mentioned that there were 60 to 65 people that attended the meeting and that most of them were horse owners. she was very happy to see so much support from the horse community at this meeting. The process will now involve the commissioner reviewing all the information that was presented at this meeting. If he deems it appropriate, he will change some of the rules under 302 cMr 12.00. Then, that set of draft rules and regulations will be presented to the public. They will be available online, and there will be a series of public hearings. I’m hoping the month of March brings us good riding weather so we will be
able to enjoy riding our horses and start conditioning them for the coming riding season. after a long winter’s nap for many of our horses, they will need lots of conditioning for our second annual ride, roll, run relay on april 28. This three-phase relay will take place in douglas state Forest in douglas, Ma. each team will include a horseback rider, runner, and bike rider. There will be a separate division, called the Triple crown, for participants that wish to do all three phases themselves. each phase of the event will have its own course to complete. contact bstra@charter.net for more details. On april 13, we will be holding our first trail workday of the season at West hill dam in uxbridge, Ma. contact Becky at bstra@charter.net if you are available to help. Our annual spring ride will be held in douglas state Forest in douglas, Ma, on april 14. For more information on this ride, contact bstra@charter.net for details. We will be making some very nice changes to our website, so please stay tuned for our new look, which will also provide you with links to other websites and with options of paying via PayPal. a huge thanks goes to Wendy amaral for all her time and effort in improving our site. happy Trails.