A M E S S AG E F RO M A E F P R E S I D E N T L E S OA K E S
President's Message
After the winter we experienced all across Alberta and a spring that seemed to never be able to make up its mind whether it should snow, rain or be sunny, it is great to look forward to summer! For those who were able to join us at our AGM in March, thank you for attending. For those who were unable, please visit our website to view our 2013 annual report. A new board was elected at the AGM and I am humbled and proud once again to serve as your President. There were four directors not returning to the board this year and it’s important to recognize them for their contributions; Juliet Franke, Laura Stenhouse, Brian Irving and Elise Petitjean. I look forward to working with our new Board of Directors. While we do have some familiar faces on the Board, I also am thrilled to have five new faces to serve the membership this year. Their enthusiasm and new perspective on how to accomplish projects will be a benefit to both the staff and membership as a whole. The first element of the AEF’s Strategic Plan is to grow the membership base in order to expand the services and benefits that we are able to offer. In order to accomplish this, each Director has been tasked to come up with their own project to substantially grow the membership. In order to evaluate the success of each Director’s project, criteria was established to include a project that is both reportable and measureable to the membership. In the future, both in Alberta Bits and in our E-news, you will receive updates and progress on the projects our Directors have planned. In the meantime, if anyone wants to share their great ideas or better yet help out on any of the AEF committees we would encourage you to either get hold of myself or the Director you would like to work with. As we move through summer, there a few things the AEF will be involved in, starting on June 8th, the day that has been proclaimed National Horse Day. In Alberta, as well as the rest of Canada, there will be many horse related events happening across the land. The Bar U Ranch, a working ranch in the Canada Parks system, is planning a free BBQ that is sure to draw a crowd, as free food seems to be one of the better crowd pleasers available. Be sure to come out and visit. Alberta will once again be sending a team comprised of reiners, jumpers and dressage competitors to participate and compete in the Canadian Interprovincial Equestrian Competition (CIEC) that will be hosted in Blainville, Quebec. Last year’s CIEC was a tremendous success, held
just south of Calgary at John Anderson’s facility, Rocky Mountain Show Jumping, seeing Alberta win the overall Gold Team Championship. It is a great competition from a competitor and spectator’s viewpoint. To be able to watch jumping, dressage and reining at the same venue by just moving to the next ring was a great treat last year. This fall, the AEF will be hosting our 3rd annual fundraising trail ride on September 14th at the Red Lodge Guest Ranch located in Bowden. This fundraiser helps our club member therapeutic riding associations so we hope you will come out and join us this year and contribute to this worthwhile cause. Watch the AEF enews and website for more details to come. As my picture shows, I have a bit more experience in life than many of our younger members but fortunately as an organization the AEF is lucky to have both staff and Directors who have a great understanding and working knowledge of social media. As the AEF continues to grow, social media will become a more effective tool in keeping in touch with each other and I look forward to seeing our organization grow with it in this exciting time. I encourage all of our present members to both ‘like’ and ‘tweet’ as often as possible but more importantly stay in touch. Let us know what you want the AEF to become and what you want your President and the Board of Directors to accomplish in the upcoming year. Have a great summer. AB
A M E S S AG E F RO M E X E C U T I V E D I R E C TO R S O N I A DA N T U As I write, it has been one month since the AEF Annual General Meeting and by the time you receive your magazine, it will have been a year since the great floods of 2013. Every year brings its triumphs and challenges. For those that were unable to attend the AEF annual meeting on March 23, 2014, we want to share the AEF’s triumphs and challenges with you. The AEF would not exist without members and it’s critical to recognize the importance of our communication, accountability and transparency to you. In 2013, the AEF hosted the Canadian Interprovincial Equestrian Championships (CIEC), both a great event and a huge undertaking to create a world-class event at Rocky Mountain Show Jumping, September 13-15. It was an enormous responsibility for 6
A L B E RT A B I T S | S U M M E R 2 0 1 4
AEF staff and volunteers on top of ensuring that regular programs were continued at expected high standards. The CIEC was a well-attended event, with over 250 participants and supporters from across Canada and the obvious enthusiasm of the participants and the audience showed that interprovincial events are not only important to the development of athletes, but also as a showcase. Bal Gosal, Federal Minister of State (Sport) for Canada, presented awards at the closing ceremonies, supporting the value and credibility of this event. The AEF staff raised almost $20,000 in sponsorships and Equine Canada budgeted $23,000. Event sponsors provided CIEC bags, Team Alberta apparel, embroidery, equipment and facility rental assistance.