Ohio Horseman’s Council, Inc. Member of American Horse Council ohconline.com SECRETARY Ranee Vititoe 740/505-2713 secretary@ohconline.com
TREASURER Jo Ellen Reikowski 330/806-3146 treasurer@ohconline.com
PRESIDENT Eric Estill 513/266-9823 president@ohconline.com MEMBERSHIP Catherine Estill 513/319-2517 membership@ohconline.com
VICE PRESIDENT Nancy Strayer 740/694-1007 vicepresident@ohconline.com OHC COUNTY LINES EDITOR Martie Ackerman 713/553-9644 countylineeditor@ohconline.com
Greetings From Your President This time of year, many of us are working on the horse trails. The grass and weeds are growing fast and the trees that fall seem to be attracted to the horse trails. Many of us use chain saws to remove down trees. I’d like to comment on chain saw safety. Too often, I see people using chain saws without safety equipment. Here is a picture of my chainsaw outfit. OSHA’s Chain Saw Safety Quickcard says: “Proper personal protective equipment must be worn when operating the saw, which includes hand, foot, leg, eye, face, hearing and head protection.” I recommend using: • A hard hat or helmet • Hearing protection: Ear plugs or over the ear hearing protection
• Safety glasses, goggles, or a full-face shield (I use both safety glasses and a face shield) • Heavy work gloves, or even better, gloves made with Kevlar fiber • Chain saw chaps • Heavy work boots I realize that all this equipment costs money, but consider the cost of a chain saw injury: ambulance ride, ER visit, lost time during recovery, and in some cases, permanent disability or even loss of life. Proper safety equipment can be found at any store that sells chain saws, home improvement stores like Lowes and Home Depot. Amazon. com carries a full list of safety equipment at reasonable prices. ~Eric Estill, President
County Lines ASHTABULA Hello from Ashtabula County. Did you know we are Ohio’s sharpest county? It has been beautiful up here along Lake Erie. The downside is that our county has the highest number of reportable cases of Covid. I dread putting a mask back on, but I will once again mask and carry on because of my latest health issue. One of my friends was so very cautious and has just tested positive. Our chapter had two more horse shows scheduled. The first was held on June 11 and the next will be on July 9. We will announce the buckle winners in the August Corral. June 4 was National Trail day. We had a chapter ride in the gulf and shared a potluck at the end. Thank you, Jessica Sheets, our event coordinator, for organizing that. We have eight new members. I haven’t gotten names yet, but I will introduce them next month. The members’ names should be in the September issue of the Corral, along with a firm date for our Christmas party. Mike and Jessica Sheets are very proud grandparents of a 58
beautiful little girl. Their first grandchild. Congratulations! Now that we have our June meeting behind us, we have some events planned for this season. But, before I move on to what we have planned, I want to say thank you to Mike McIntyre for taking over the job of mileage. He has all of our names on a spreadsheet, and he has asked each member to email him at river_runner75@hotmail.com on a weekly basis with the miles you have ridden. When the riding season is over, he will compile the mileage and submit the totals. Maintenance mileage is counted as well. Maintenance hours begin when you get your tools together until you arrive back home. You should also keep track of the machine/tool hours. Keep those hours separate and report them to Mike the same way. We have a horse show scheduled on July 24 with a rain date of July 31. It will be happening at the Pierpont Fire Hall arena. In August we plan to go as a group to Tri Co for their annual Ox and Pig Roast. Our regional Ride/Dice ride will be on Oct. 9 in the Ashtabula Gulf. It will once again be ‘Pay to Play’. If you want to roll the
dice, it will be $20 in advance or $25 the day of the ride. If you are going, bring your registration to the July meeting. This is the paid ride. If you work an event, the club pays the fee. Put us on your schedule and join us. June 12 was the ‘Celebration of Life’ memorial ride for Dick Johnston. He passed away on Feb. 4 after a long struggle with Alzheimers. It was held at Hatches Corner Metro Park. ’Til next time, give thanks for all the good things and give your horse a hug. ~Pearl Ann CLARK As I write this month’s Corral the weather report is forecasting sunshine and heat. Maybe the trails will have a chance to dry out. Of course that hasn’t stopped us from riding on days that it hasn’t been storming. I enjoyed my first trail ride at Sycamore State Park with a friend and hope to return soon. The Clark County camp out at Buck Creek was a big success even with the rain on Friday evening. The rain held off for everyone to get some miles accumulated. Chris Price
HORSEMEN’S CORRAL
Kentucky Derby supplied a TV and we were able to watch the Kentucky Derby upset. What a finish! It’s so uplifting to know that anything can still happen if you try hard enough and put in the work. We all enjoyed a potluck which included homemade spaghetti sauce, Kentucky hot browns, fresh fudge and a blazing fire. There were lots of stories told and memories made. One of the big storms blew over a tree that was the biggest I have ever seen blocking a trail. Chris Price chain sawed the tree into pieces to be removed in the future and also created a path so that we could go around for the present time. Thanks for all that hard work Chris! We will schedule a time in the future to move the remainder. June 4 was National Trail Day July 2022
