News from our Directors
President’s Annual Report-2011 - Submitted by Irv Parker
2011 has been another productive year, one in which I believe we’ve advanced our equine related MTRA member interests in a number of ways. It has been busy for all our Directors and Committees. You’ll find their year-end reports in the MTRA newsletter and on the www./mntra.org website.
As per MTRA by-laws, as President, I am required annually to report on the business and condition of the corporation.
Financially, your organization is in good shape as per Treasurer reports for November and projected through December 31. We started the year January 1 with a checking balance of $26,450.20 Our projected year end checking balance is $31,785.41. The difference is not ours per se, since it is committed to unfinished Grant projects. So our membership dues, donations, advertising revenues, and special promotion events supported the layout, printing and mailing of over 550 Newsletters six times. And the same revenue sources allowed for over $16,000 of trail and campsite upgrades in city, county, and regional parks as well as in DNR administered State Parks, State Trails, and State Forests. I am proud to say that we have dedicated members and friends. No better place to say “thank you” to all these folks.
In a move designed to improve our member services and present a more robust communication tool, our January and February meetings led to the engagement of JMT Enterprises as our webmaster. The ‘new’ website is still a work in progress. We are currently in Phase 2 of a proposed 3 phase upgrade. Phase 2 became the driver of a change in the MTRA membership by-law to move memberships from a calendar year basis to an anniversary date basis in order that we can develop a web based relational data base system for membership management. We will act on that bylaw amendment in today’s meeting.
We had booths at the Horse EXPO’s at Baxter and at St. Paul. We visited with hundreds (maybe thousands) of horse folks. We signed up new members, renewed memberships, talked about riding spots, legislation that affects us, and in general fielded as many of your questions as we could. Most of the BOD members worked the booths, along with some of our MTRA member volunteers. Many thanks!
Once again we opened the riding season in early May with an open invitation to our DNR working partners and other interested equine supporters for a joint ride at Zumbro Bottoms Management Unit. We provide the horses and tack for as many of these folks as we can and ride enough of the trails to provide a nice outing and a look at the trail system from our point of view. We hosted a good number of folks in 2011 and had a productive meeting session to share our ideas for trailhead and trail improvements and to learn of the DNR approach to the systems we use. We think this could be a productive activity in other areas of Minnesota, involving local MTRA leaders and our DNR friends and other active regional, county, city, and local administrative personnel.
One of the fun new initiatives was the scheduling of the 5-Star Rides on a Saturday in June, where we had 5 locations across the state hosting MTRA day rides. Our objective was to offer ride leadership and an organized introduction to the joys of trail riding for new riders, and of course, seasoned veterans as well.
We became Advocacy Partners with the Back Country Horsemen of America. In general we have the same aims; to continue to have the ear and the good will of the public lands administrators. We want to keep trails open to horsemen and to open new trails whenever land is acquired by a public entity.
We continue to belong to the Minnesota Horse Council and the Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota and have representation at their functions to promote MTRA interests. We are firmly in support of efforts by several groups to develop a trail system in the Minnesota River Valley, including the Green Corridor group, the Tatanka Bluffs group and others.
In another specially scheduled event, well known horseman and horse trainer Dennis Auslam of Redwood Stables near Morton, Minnesota hosted a fun/work Trail Challenge clinic on behalf of the MTRA. This was a learning experience. Participants brought their horses for schooling and working through trail type obstacles both on the ground and in the saddle. Dennis gave personal attention to each attendee and to their horse or mule. In addition, Dr. Alana Altnow of the Crest Chiropractic clinic in Maplewood provided ‘live’ saddle fitting advice. She also did chiropractic work on owner horses under a personal contract with them. Both did an excellent job and the MTRA was well served once again.
At our spring Roundup Ride at Pillsbury State Forest, it rained and in general the weather was miserable. But dedicated BOD and MTRA members paid special tribute to the 100th anniversary of the State Forest system in Minnesota. Pillsbury State Forest is the first designated in Minnesota. The story was related by Forestry Division officers Paul Lundgren and Al Sharp as to the original gift of 1000 acres donated by the Pillsbury family. The final page of the Pillsbury horse trails story was told by Les Sellnow, long time trailmaker and promoter of the trails there. For this one, read the Becky Feist article in the June/July issue of the NL. I make a point of this because sometimes we need reminding of some of the ways we got here!
We also hosted weekend Roundup Rides at The Bunkhouse in Houston, and at Marvin Breitkreutz’ river ranch near Renville. We had a Skalbekken Park mini ride. We had a multiple day Adventure Ride at Willow Group Camp in Wisconsin’s Kickapoo Valley Reserve near LaFarge, and finishing at the End of the Trail Campground, Wild Cat Mountain State Park near Oregon. Our Trails Committee and the Rides Coordinator provided trails leadership for each ride.
The MTRA had a sizeable contingent of working members at National Trails Day in June at the Zumbro Bottoms Management Unit of the Richard Dorer State Forest.
Our Trails Development and Grants committees, by vote of the Board, allocated $9886 for DNR administered lands and $6112 (including FRTA match) for County, Regional, and City Parks in the 2010 grants for 2011 application. Finalizing grant projects has been relatively slow at the parks this year The Minnesota state government shut-down for most of July (with camping not allowed at DNR administered equine facilities) not only limited our camping and riding, but sharply reduced the time park managers could address the grant projects. These will be treated as carryover projects where necessary.
We supported these activities and funded projects with revenues from your advertising, your donations, and your participation in our raffles and silent auction. The raffles and the silent auction bring our MTRA riding year to a close at the Fall Roundup. The potluck meal and the horses-in-common visiting language of the group are a fitting setting for us. We place a great deal of value on our advertisers and our raffle contributors and appreciate their role in making a better MTRA.
Among us, we’ve attended dozens of meetings in various parts of Minnesota. These meetings may be for informational purposes on our part, to share the MTRA story. They may be legislative, sister organizations, DNR, area development or chamber of commerce meetings to represent our trail riding memberships via the MTRA Board. Annually we have at least three Board and membership meetings as well as specially called committee meetings from time to time. These activities are at our own expense and are not administrative costs to the MTRA.
We continue to believe in and promote the Horse Trail Pass in Minnesota. We have three members on the Equine Advisory Group, which allocates and monitors Trail Pass money allocations. The Trail Pass monies spent on equine campsites, trailheads and trails across Minnesota from the trail pass are now nearing $500,000 since its inception. Please encourage all users of the parks and trails to get their trail pass.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the need for all trail riders in Minnesota, MTRA members or not, to be prepared to journey to the Tamarack Horse Camp of the St. Croix next spring to assist in cleanup of the massive storm damage that occurred July 2, 2011 to the campsite and the trails.
Thanks again to all who financially and personally support our MTRA efforts on behalf of trail riders in Minnesota. We appreciate you!
Submitted by Irv Parker, President
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