Springfield, Vermont was the place to be on September 23rd through the 26th! The ICHO held its exciting and informative 2004 Annual Convention at Betsy Lirakis’ Top O’ The Hill Farm. The weather was spectacular each day of the convention, allowing us to enjoy the beautiful Vermont foliage while attending the well chosen, informative clinics and participating in animated discussions.
Robin Pooler of Flying Horse Farm in Maine impressed us with spinning demonstrations using Curly hair and other fibers. Robin had a shawl made of Curly hair and a felted vest. She spent some time during the convention to educate us all about fiber qualities and what to look for. In addition to Robin’s articles, Isabelle Checroune came down for a quick visit and wore her Curly hair felted cowboy hat! Lisa Haney- as usual- had a nice assortment of Curly Horse merchandise available to purchase. We had our work cut out keeping some of her items from the curious jaws of Gwen- the bullmastiff puppy. The Registry had calendars and other items for sale under the registry tent.
Our first clinic on Friday morning covered ground work with a young horse and starred Maya Morelli with Raccoon, a flashy three year old green broke Curly gelding. Maya showed us some important points to remember when starting a horse, and emphasized keeping your cool and keeping safe. On Friday afternoon, Kitt Hazleton from Trumball Mountain Tack demonstrated proper English saddle fit to both the person and the horse. She showed us what a broken tree looks like, many different types of high quality saddles, and fit saddles to various horses and riders. Friday evening, Mitch tried his gear on Keri and introduced her to the Comanche style of riding- giving both the attendees and Keri a sneak preview of what was to come on Saturday.
Saturday morning started out with a pancake breakfast and a brief discussion led by Jackie Richardson concerning the difficulties of registering horses with poor quality photo’s. The time spent on incomplete registration papers and those mediocre pictures is frustrating and there were several discussions on how to improve the turn-around with registration paperwork with more efficiency and ease to the registrar- (which remember folks, is a volunteer position!!).
Our Saturday morning clinic, Overcoming Fears Your Fears with Heidi Potter of Vermont was also very well received. Heidi made a big impression on us when we participated in several activities she orchestrated to demonstrate how we communicate with our horses through touch. Heidi also introduced us to Vermonter Sally Swift’s centered riding techniques. Saturday afternoon brought the long-anticipated demonstration of Commanche style riding by Mitch Wilkinson. Mitch rode Curly broodmare Keri Orla, Betsy’s personal favorite riding horse, with a Comanche saddle pad, belly loop and a war bridle! Several of the ICHO members were able to have a go at this innovative Indian riding style. Almost everyone had a turn in the addle- (but not everyone was trusted with the bow and arrow!) - and we were all surprised at how secure and comfortable the saddle was. Sandy Howell of Massachusetts employed her talents as auctioneer from the saddle- and did such a good job she had George and Terry bidding tooth and nail for the saddle. Before it came to fisticuffs- they each agreed to purchasing 2 saddles, one for each of them. Many thanks to Mitch for making the saddles and tack- and thanks to the high bidders!!
A fun ICHO benefit auction and a wild and crazy Saturday night followed an incredibly delicious pig roast on Saturday evening. The talented New England duo of Scott Turner and Lucius Parillo provided excellent tunes, but much of the entertainment was provided by the ICHO members themselves. Who knew so many of us were undiscovered vocal talents? An auction of donated items took place during a break in the music and tom-foolery. Adria Halstead-Johnston brought the “perpetual basket” full of wonderful Vermont made items which was auctioned off. Sandy Hendrikson offered a breeding to her famous Spartacus which went to the high bidder- Sandy Stone. As the band singer dryly commented, “Gee, I’ve never been to a gig before where they auctioned off frozen semen.” After a brisk and talented dance number with Wally Tremboth- Betsy tried to auction him off as a dance partner- but Wally declined.
As well as sharing good food and camaraderie all weekend, we covered a lot of ground on ICHO business. There was much discussion concerning issues related to ICAMS (International Curly Approved Mare and Stud book), and on Sunday we were delighted to welcome a judge from Massachusetts to run a “mock” inspection of a number of Curlies with regard to their individual qualities. The horses were inspected both under saddle and in hand. George and his wife Joan buzzed us with their plane as they were headed back to Virginia during the judging.
All in all, the 2004 ICHO convention was not only extremely informative and interesting, but also a fantastic time! It’s always great to meet all those members who you see as breeders on web sites and on the chat lists--- and cement new friendships – mixing business and pleasure - through get-togethers like this one.
Top O' The Hill Farm |