Big Sky Fox Trotter Association

Minutes for April 1, 2006 meeting,

12:00 p.m., Jokers Wild Casino, Missoula, MT

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Call to order:  President Ross Damrow called the meeting to order at 12:20 p.m.  Attending the meeting were the following officers and board members: president Ross Damrow, vice-president Bob Womack, secretary Karen Philips, and directors Mary Greene (central region) and Gail Hansen (at large representative).  Members attending were Rebecca Cameron, Ann Damrow, Bobbi Dyrud, Bill Free, Thea Gervais, Mark Goss, Elmer Hansen, Lelia Hansen, Catherine Hanson, Gary Hanson, Joyce Johnson, Annette and Rick Padgett, Neil (Pete) Peterson, Earl Philips, Jan Prill, Ken and Joan Snodgrass, Kristina Tracer, Mariann Wheat, and Jack Womack. Also attending was guest Rosalind Jones who is Rebecca Cameron’s friend.  This was another great turnout (27) and Ross thanked everyone for coming.

Minutes:  Kristina Tracer moved and Thea Gervais seconded that the January 21, 2006 minutes be approved.  Motion passed.

Treasurer’s report: The ending balance as of 3/27/06 is $3,325.29.  This includes dues and some sponsorship money.  The 2005 audit was conducted by Candace Erickson and Joyce Johnson on March 29.  The books were complete and perfect, and Ross thanked Donna Goss for her excellent work as our treasurer and Candace and Joyce for their work in completing the audit.  Annette Padgett moved and Pete Peterson seconded that the treasurer’s report be approved.  Motion passed. 

Committee Reports:

Clinics: Mark Goss, clinics chair, reported that he is still working on a ranch versatility clinic and will let members know when that is ready to go.

Mary Greene reported on the Helena clinic scheduled for May 13.  Mary Auger,  Bill Free, Bob Womack and Jack Womack will conduct this clinic, and both performance and trail skills will be covered.  Contact Mary Greene at 406-443-6133 or mfngreene@gmail.com to sign up.

Contact Mark at 406-961-3119 or mrg1947m@netscape.net if you have clinic ideas.

Youth Committee:  Jack Womack, Youth Chair, asked for help in getting more youth involved in competing at the show.  If you know of any teens, children, or grandchildren who might be interested in the youth club or in showing, contact him at 406-549-4344 or jackwomack@hotmail.com.

Trail Rides: Thea Gervais, trail rides chair, reported that Lost Trail Hot Springs Resort (close to the Idaho border on Hwy. 93) is no longer being considered for a National Trail Ride because the lodge is not being well maintained.  However, the area is a good one for rides, especially near Trail Creek, and Mark Goss mentioned Indian Trees Campground as a possibility because it has lots of parking for trailers. 

This is one possible area for the traditional Fall Gather Ride, scheduled for August 18-20.  Beginning in 2003, we started taking turns with the Big Horn Basin Fox Trotter Association (BHBFTA) to co-host and organize the Fall Gather Ride.  It is our turn this year to organize the ride, because Craig Dansie and the Wyoming group organized it last year.  Thea has contacted BHBFTA to see if their group is still interested in co-hosting the ride with us this year.  The Wyoming group may not be an official affiliate this year so Thea will also contact Utah and PNWFTA (Washington).

Mary Greene, Jerry Christison and Jan & Ray Prill have organized a National Trail Ride in the Bob Marshall Wilderness (Benchmark area) for July 1-2.  The Benchmark area is on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountain Front Range, approximately 30 miles west of Augusta.  They have nice facilities but limit riders to 15 per group so we will split up if necessary, and they require certified weed seed free hay or feed.  Contact Mary at 406-443-6133 or mfngreene@gmail.com to sign up.

The Curt Bates and Laurie DeMarois Memorial Trail Ride (after the show) takes place July 23 and will be in the Lake Como area, located south of Hamilton.

Contact Thea Gervais at 406-642-6546 or mtgervais@hotmail.com if you have questions or other trail ride ideas.

Show:  BSFTA's show is July 21-22, and Jan Prill, assisted by Mary Greene, will be show secretary.

Ross, 2006 show chair, has revised the class schedule eight times (so far!), and still counting.  He has talked with a number of people to get their comments and suggestions.  On March 26 he submitted the list of classes and paid the $25 fee to MFTHBA for national points approval.  Therefore, our show should be listed in the May issue of the Journal.

The basic structure, at this point, is model and performance classes on Friday, with performance championships on Friday night.  There are 32 model and performance classes, compared to 31 last year.  He added a Novice Championship to encourage less experienced riders.  Bill Free questioned having the performance championships Friday night.  One positive point mentioned was having all performance classes on one day.

Versatility and ranch horse classes are scheduled for Saturday, and he has  included youth, amateur and open divisions for the eight classes required for the National Versatility Circuit.  He substituted Western Horsemanship for Equitation because folks he consulted with said they were almost the same class.  Last year we had 50 classes; this year we have 63.  Most of the additional classes come from adding two more divisions for trail, western pleasure, reining, pole bending and barrel racing (adds 10) and adding three divisions for Western Horsemanship. 

Classes will start at 8:00 a.m. instead of 9.  We have not run all three divisions in versatility competition before so the schedule is an experiment this year.  Ranch horse classes will run with youth, amateur and open divisions combined.  Points and placings will be assigned within those divisions, which is consistent with what is being done at the other two circuit shows in Utah.  Ross and the Utah show chair are discussing the possibility of having prizes and recognition for the regional youth, amateur and open versatility circuit winners.  Mark reported that the saddle requirement is a big issue for affiliates so it will be discussed at the national level.  Ross stated that Suzanne Nebeker is taking care of the circuit saddle for our club.

The sponsorship structure is changed so that we have one sponsor per class at $35 (instead of two at $25 each), memorial trail ride sponsorships are $50, and championships are $75.  Karen Philips reported that the response so far has been very good.  She estimates that the income from sponsors will be about the same as last year. 

Registration fees are $7 per class if paid by July 14 and $10 per class after the deadline, as recommended by Donna Goss, our 2005 show secretary.   Stall fees are $15 per day and RV fees are $10 per day.  A stock fee for competitors in the ranch classes is $30.  Mark Goss agreed to get shavings from Glu-Lam.  He also knows someone who can clean the stalls for a reasonable fee.  Ross has developed a show budget, which we have not done before.

Catherine Hanson has donated a painted drum she created as a show fundraiser.  She sent a photo and video clip to web master Lauren Johansson for the web site (bigskyfta.org).  Gary Hanson and Lauren will set up a Pay Pal account so tickets can be purchased online.  Packets of tickets will be sent to BSFTA members who will be asked to sell them if they can.  Catherine will set up displays of the drum in Bitterroot Valley banks and businesses to promote the raffle.  Ann Damrow will investigate having a table at the Farmers’ Market in Hamilton.

Judges are Mike Ball (performance) and Donnie Doherty (versatility).  Members recommended that we get an outside judge for the cow classes like we did last year.  This judge should require the same rules that the Quarter Horse competitions require.  Members requested that judges have horses and riders do more fox-trotting in versatility classes that require the gait.

Ross is trying very hard to get the registration and other show forms out to the membership ASAP.  That is his highest priority at this time; later on he will tackle job responsibilities.  He is also working on a show chair manual.

Old Business:

Resignations:  Ross discussed the resignations by our treasurer, western director and one at-large director.  The versatility circuit vote was an emotional issue discussed by the board at length before and on the day of the January 21, 2006 annual meeting.  Ross said he was disappointed by the resignations but thanked Donna Goss, Bill Free and Mark Goss for their past work and their current assistance to him and the club.  Ross appointed Jerry Christison as successor to Mark Goss in February for the at-large director position.  He announced the results of the March 2006 special election for treasurer and western director: Treasurer is Marie Clutter and western director is Ole Netteberg.  Ross mentioned that Ole’s wife Shirley has emphysema and Ole has asked for our thoughts and prayers as she fights this disease.  Ross thanked all members who stepped up to run for positions and said we will try our best to move forward and fill the holes that have been left.  The interest by members is there to maintain this organization, and now it is time to move on.

New Business:

Affiliate of the Year Competition:  Annette Padgett, with help from several BSFTA members, assembled and mailed the notebook required to compete for this award.  The notebook arrived safely in Ava and will be returned to the club after judging.  Annette’s house was “taken over” by this project for several weeks, and members thanked her for her hard work and dedication.  Ross presented Annette with a gift of towels embroidered with Big Sky Fox Trotter Association, a horse, and her last name.  Thank you, Cherry Moon, for making these beautiful towels, and Annette for the many things you do for BSFTA.  Pete suggested that we have Cherry make a set of towels like this for our judges.  Members agreed this would be a very nice gift.

Expos: Pete Peterson recommended that we set up a booth at the Winterfest event at Bozeman in February and the NILE show at Billings in October.  Majestic Arena in Kalispell also has horse event in the spring.  It is an outstanding way to promote our organization, but members agreed that having local members near Bozeman and Billings work at the booth would help with travel expenses.

Stallion issue: Annette asked members who want to promote their stallions to send information to her at 406-777-0577 or padgettboys4@msn.com.

Vice-president’s concerns: Bob Womack spoke about the cohesiveness and good work the board has done, and he explained why other board members resigned and why he was resigning.  After lengthy discussion, Bill Free moved and Kristina Tracer seconded that the membership not accept Bob’s resignation.  Motion passed and Bob agreed to continue serving as vice-president. 

Next meeting: Ross thanked everyone for their participation and patience during the meeting.  The next meeting's date and location will be arranged later and sent to members.  For more information, contact Ross at 406-961-4321 or rossdamrow@montana.com.  

Meeting was adjourned at 2:53

Karen Philips, Secretary