Dear Friends,
It was so nice to finally see so many of you in person at the annual planning meeting on April 16! Despite the cold, which made for a brief meeting, we got quite a few dates filled in. I am especially excited for Games Day as every-one always seems to have so much fun. A big thank you to those who stepped up to serve the club. Lynn Burns has agreed to take over as LCRVHC treasurer to finish Lynda’s term and hopefully will stay on at election time. Hannah Gossett has offered to fill Lynn’s at-large position on the board of directors. And Bob Bandzes has agreed to fill a long open at-large position on the BPC board. Bob brings hiking and mountain biking experience to the trail sharing table (and did a fabulous job parking trailers at the hunter pace). We welcome and appreciate you all!
 
Membership renewals—wow—in March 2020 we said “this will be your last newsletter if you have not renewed.” And then the world came to a screeching halt. So . . . we did not drop anyone from the list in 2020 and you continued to get emails, but now it’s 2021. Our awesome member-ship secretary, Alyce, has gone through the list, emailed a final notice reminder to those who have not renewed, and cleaned up the list. A 2021 membership form is included in this newsletter and always available on our website. Please write clearly—especially your email address, since that is how we communicate with you and we hate it when they get bounced back. Thank you to everyone who has renewed. And welcome to new members!

Recent Activities
On March 27 LCRVHC held a member-only ride at Bluff Point. Alyce, Liz, Lynn, and I had a nice time exploring some of the interior trails. Our April 18 member-only ride was at Chatfield Hollow. Kristin, Rebecca, Lynn,  Julie, Alyce, Liz and I enjoyed a lovely ride followed by lunch at the trailers with cupcakes left from the meeting. Judy Bosco, our “official stalker” showed up for some pictures in the park and many of the ponies were happy to pose.

The Capture the Flag ride planned for May 8 at Machimoodus will be resched-uled. There was interest but Mother’s Day just didn’t work for many. Instead, Liz, Nancy, and I enjoyed a beautiful day in the park and the debut of Nancy’s new horse: Nyha. Nyha (Ny-ya) is a Russian word for moon (for the cute crescent moon of white hidden beneath her for-lock) and can also be pronounced Luna. She is a 12-year-old Missouri Foxtrotter mare. In her former life she packed hunters and their game at a hunting camp in Colorado.

We had sent an email about a possible De-spooking Clinic to be held on June 13 but, due to insufficient interest, we will not be offering it this year. Kristin Elliott Leas does have an obstacle course set up at her farm and welcomes trailer-in lessons to teach these concepts. You can contact her at equineinsight@gmail.com.

Please see the Upcoming Events box on the first page and the Calendar on the last page for more activities. We always need ideas for the calendar—this year more than ever! Any ride ideas are extremely welcome. And if you want to share the calendars from other local horse groups we will try not to schedule on conflicting dates.
I hope to see you soon!
Melissa

PS LCRVHC membership is really a bargain at only $15 annually for individual, $25 for family. If you have friends you ride with or know people who are interested in trail riding with small groups or working on local trails, spread the word. And please, I can’t say it often enough, tell us what you want to do as a club!

Read May/June Newsletter

I apologize for this newsletter being short and late. To be honest, I am struggling. A year into this pandemic I still feel like we are doing the best we can just having a trail ride every month. I miss our meetings, potlucks, and parties. February was awful, I didn’t ride for the whole month, we had so much ice. Kevin plowed the ring to try and make it melt faster but then it rained and froze so we had more ice. If anyone has any ideas of a place you would like to ride as a group, please let us know. Meanwhile, we are trying to keep it fairly local and mostly doing what we did last year. We will be having an outdoor meeting in April (see Upcoming Events) to set some calendar dates and catch up on club business now that folks are starting to get vaccinated and the weather is getting better.

One of the major business concerns we need to concentrate on is finding a replacement for long-time LCRVHC treasurer (and my right hand), Lynda Perry. Lynda is retiring May 1 and is already in the process of moving to New Hampshire. Lynda did/does a lot more than just take care of the club’s money. She is also the one responsible for the e-mails you get from the club. She has managed our monthly MO Rides for years (until Liz Kennedy took over in 2020), she has co-managed the hunter pace for many years, she is my sounding board and voice of reason. Chuck Sharples used to call us both Melynda saying were like sisters. I will miss her desperately. So . . . who is up for filling this position and helping out the club?

Membership renewals—wow—last March we said “this will be your last newsletter if you have not renewed.” And then the world came to a screeching halt. So . . . we did not drop anyone from the list in 2020 and you have continued to get emails, but now it’s 2021, so please renew and support our club. We mean it this time. You will stop receiving club e-mail in April if you do not renew. A 2021 membership form is included in this newsletter and always available on our website. Our awesome membership secretary, Alyce, says please write clearly—especially your email address, since that is how we communicate with you and we hate it when they get bounced back. Thank you to everyone who has renewed. And welcome to new members!

Recent Activities
I included the January Freeze Your Butt ride in the January/February newsletter. We attempted a Chatfield Hollow ride on January 31 but Liz and I ended up being the only ones. It was so cold even Liz couldn’t take her gloves off to get pictures. Abner Lane and the roads in the park were black ice. Thankfully Homes and Clover were sensible and kept their feet. At one point Homes had had enough and jumped off the road into the woods to bushwhack through the deeper snow with me lying on his neck! We moved the February ride twice and finally went to Hammonassett on March 6. The wind was incredible. It literally brought tears to my eyes. We only managed one pass on the beach. Happy to see Hannah Gossett back in the saddle five months after her broken leg. Judy Bosco braved the wind to get a few pictures.

Please see the Upcoming Events box on the first page and the Calendar on the last page for more activities. We always need ideas for the calendar—this year more than ever! Any ride ideas you would have brought to the Pizza and Planning Meeting are extremely welcome. And if you want to share the calendars from other local horse groups we will try not to schedule on conflicting dates. I really want everyone to be safe but I hope we can resume more normal activities soon. I miss Games Day and our social events so much! Liz is organizing a Capture the Flag on Horseback game. I really miss hugging my friends!

I hope to see you soon!
Melissa

PS LCRVHC membership is really a bargain at only $15 annually for individual, $25 for family. If you have friends you ride with or know people who are interested in trail riding with small groups or working on local trails, spread the word. And please, I can’t say it often enough, tell us what you want to do as a club!

President’s Letter
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year. I hope you are all safe and healthy. In normal times we would be looking forward to our annual holiday party and the pizza and planning party to do our calendar but not this year. At this point we are doing the best we can just having a trail ride every month. If anyone has any ideas of a place you would like to ride as a group, please let us know. Meanwhile, we are trying to keep it fairly local and mostly doing what we did last year.

​Membership renewals—wow—back in March we said “this will be your last newsletter if you have not renewed.” And then the world came to a screeching halt. So . . . we did not drop anyone from the list in 2020 and you have continued to get emails, but now it’s 2021, so please renew and support our club. A 2021 membership form is included in this newsletter and always available on our website. Our awesome membership secretary, Alyce, says please write clearly—especially your email address, since that is how we comminicate with you and we hate it when they get bounced back. Thank you to everyone who has renewed.
​
And welcome to new members!
Recent Activities The annual Sue Davenport Memorial Chili Ride was held November 8 at Chatfield Hollow. Eleven riders in two groups rode out from the cul de sac at North Chestnut Hill, down Abner Lane to Beckwith, through the state forest and back through the park. Our official “stalker”, equine photographer Judy Bosco, met us in the park and took pictures near the covered bridge. After the ride we enjoyed a socially distanced lunch with three kinds of chili, cornbread, side dishes, and desserts. We were joined by several non riding members.

Our Christmas Soup Ride had to be postponed from December 5 due to heavy rain but we were able to hold it on Sunday, the 13th. Only five riders braved the mud to ride but several other members joined us after for—again socially distanced—soup, breads, and desserts on the Rough Draft Farm porch. The soups were all delicious but Nancy’s cream of mushroom was the best I’ve ever tasted. It was a nice warm day and several of our injured members were able to make it for a visit. Beverly Torell and Cathy Clouse were able to compare their recent comparing rotator cuff surgery experiences. And Hannah is healing. See pictures pages 6 and 7 of the newsletter. Rain was predicted for New Year’s Day (even though it didn’t materialize) so we moved the Annual Freeze Your Butt Ride to Sunday the 3rd. The weather was still pretty iffy and several who had RSVPd ended up bailing. Five diehards rode despite the sleet and wind. My cheeks were more frozen than my butt, even Liz didn’t take many pictures. our hands were too cold to take off our gloves! Sarah Grote met Liz to take some “alumni” pictures of her and Clover to highlight their successful adoption story for the Connecticut Draft Horse Rescue. Liz’s husband made lobster salad sandwiches and we had hot chocolate and cookies after the ride. See pictures page 8.

Please see the Upcoming Events box on the first page and the Calendar on the last page for more activities. We always need ideas for the calendar—this year more than ever! Any ride ideas you would have brought to the Pizza and Planning Meeting are extremely welcome. And if you want to share the calendars from other local horse groups we will try not to schedule on conflicting dates. I really want everyone to be safe but I hope we can resume more normal activities soon. I miss Games Day and our social events so much! I really miss hugging my friends!

I hope to see you soon!
Melissa

PS LCRVHC membership is really a bargain at only $15 annually for individual, $25 for family. If you have friends you ride with or know people who are interested in trail riding with small groups or working on local trails, spread the word. And please, I can’t say it often enough, tell us what you want to do as a club!

(Read the full newsletter here)

Dear Friends,

As the pandemic staggers on with no end in sight, I hope you all are faring as well as can be expected. First world problems, I’m bored and a little lonely, I actually miss going to my office and seeing my coworkers and friends, but I know how lucky I am to be able to work from home (finally, after 4 months of furlough), to have my horse on my own property (with access to trails), and my horse friends to meet and trail ride.

Membership renewals—wow—back in March I said “this will be your last newsletter if you have not renewed.” And then the world came to a screeching halt. So. . .we did not drop anyone from the list and you have continued to get emails, but now it’s almost 2021, if you renew now we will count it toward next year. Our awesome membership secretary, Alyce is trying to keep this all straight—please write clearly. A 2021 membership form is included in this newsletter and always available on our website. Thank you to everyone who has renewed. And welcome new members!

Hunter Pace and Other Activities
Most of the fall was spent cleaning trails and preparing for the LCRVHC Annual Fall Festival Hunter Pace. I need to thank all my cohorts and the landowners for their help and support in making this one of our most successful hunter paces in years, despite (or maybe because of) the pandemic. A HUGE thank you to our landowners: Dave Beaudette and Julie Berman, Tom and Gloria Elliott, Kristin Elliott Leas, and Mark Leas. Without your generosity in letting us use your land (and all the hard work that goes into maintaining it year-round and sprucing it up for the event) we could not do it. Deep gratitude to all the members and friends who gave their time weekend after weekend to clean up after Storm Isaias and the unnamed wind storms that seemed to come along almost weekly from then until the week of the pace; and all who helped mark the course and take markers down, pickup food and help with parking, timing, scoring and check-in the day of the pace: Alyce Mallek, Liz Kennedy, Lynn Burns, Nancy Palermo Lee, Dave Beaudette, Julie Berman, Tom and Gloria Elliott, Kristin Elliott Leas, Mark Leas, Beverly Torell, Bob Bandzes, Peggy Lupone, Rebecca Rus-sell, Mary Wozniak, Emily Berman (and her boyfriend Tomas and brother Nat—called in last minute to mow and weed whack when Dave cracked two ribs the week before the pace). I also want to thank the many members who supported the club by riding in the pace: especially my Golden Girls: Christel  Maturo, Ruth Strontzer, and Cathy Clouse (Cathy is a tireless recruiter for LCRVHC). And thanks to Lynda Perry for taking care of the all important behind the scenes details (food, portapotty, ribbons). Please forgive me if I missed anyone--it’s not for lack of appreciation.  I love all you guys and we couldn’t do it without you. See pictures and reports else-where in the newsletter.

On the same day the pace was taking place the BPC was working with Eagle Scout candidate Brendan Daly to construct a multi-use bridge on Westbrook town property on the Quinimay Trail south of Chittenden Hill Road. Tom Elliott had been working with Brendan for nearly a year making the plan and assisting him with the permitting process and getting materials in time of Covid. (Who knew there would be nationwide shortage of pressure treated wood?) Tom helped cut the wood to spec and supervised the actual construction. BPC president Beverly Torell was able to get some photos. See pictures and her report in the BPC section of this newsletter.

On September 21 several LCRVHC and BPC members met with forester Emory Gluck regarding the upcoming logging at Weber Woods. He told us they are expected to start soon and have one year to complete the project. The area they will be working is to the left of the main trail and parking area. The landing will be on route 145. They will also be working off Tower Hill in Clinton. You can see the blue dots on the trees to be harvested. As we get news I will pass it along.

On October 25, Lynda Perry and I attended the Clinton Land Trust’s annual meeting combined with the official dedication of the Weiss–Loveday property between River Road and Spencer Hill Road in Clinton. The short meeting and ceremony was followed by a one hour hike. Of course, I never thought to take pictures.

Please see the Upcoming Events box on the first page and the Calendar on the last page for more activities. We always need ideas for the calendar!

I hope to see you soon!

Melissa

PS LCRVHC membership is really a bargain at only $15 annually for individual, $25 for family. If you have friends you ride with or know people who are interested in trail riding with small groups or working on local trails, spread the word. And please, I can’t say it often enough, tell us what you want to do as a club!

Dear Friends,
I can’t believe it’s already November. We have had a busy and fun fall season so far. We got a few membership renewals at the hunter pace. If you want to renew for 2020 now and beat the rush (LOL) I have included a membership form in this newsletter (download here).

Some Recent Programs and Activities
The Labor Day Brunch Ride from Julie and Dave’s was a success. Gina McManus led a faster group and went down to Messerschmidtts Pond for a horse swim. The slower group did part of the hunter pace route. Unfortunately Dave’s horse, Calvin, twisted his knee when we were about as far from the farm as possible, putting Dave afoot. We still had a really good time, visiting and chatting, followed by a delicious brunch back at the farm. During much of September and October LCRVHC mem-bers were working on the trails in Weber Woods preparing for the fall hunter pace. The hunter pace is LCRVHC’s only fundraiser and pays for boring but important stuff like insurance. Our turnout was down this year, probably partly due to getting rained out the last two years but I think also because there are so many more hunter paces around these days. We ended up with 27 riders and netted $527 which will pay for most of our insurance. We received many compliments on the condition of the trails and the course marking and jumps. I would like to thank my co-manager, Lynda Perry, for everything she does: answering bizarre Facebook questions, ordering ribbons, arranging the porta-potty, dealing with the caterer (lunches are always a moving target), etc.; all the amazing and generous landowners: The Elliott and Leas families and Dave Beaudette and Julie Ber-man (without you letting us use your property adjacent to the state forest there would be no hunter pace); Liz Kennedy for organizing the silent auction (which raised over $250 for the BPC) and helping with the trail work and course marking; all the other trail workers and markers: Alyce Mallek, Lynn Burns, Dave Beaudette, Peggy Lupone, Bob Bandzes, Rebecca Russell, Kristin Elliott Leas, and Hannah Gossett. Special thanks to Hannah for getting out with me the Friday before the pace for last minute cleanup after the storm on Wednesday and Thursday. Thank you to all who helped the day of the pace: Sigrun Morano for timing; Genie Dethloff for answering my desperate plea and coming out of retirement to do the scoring; everyone who helped with set-up and clean-up and registration and organization and parking and safety check and on and on: Alyce, Lynn, Dave, Julie, Liz, Beverly Torell, Barbara White, Bob Bandzes, Kathy Schuyler for getting the lunches. And thank you to Dave and Bob and Rebecca and anyone else helped take down the markers. This was actually the least stressful hunter pace I have worked on due to all the support. I would also like to thank Lakeside Feed for donating prizes for costumes and special awards.

On Sunday November 3 LCRVHC held our annual Chili Ride at Chatfield Hollow, hosted this year by Emmy Pavelka, we decided to name the ride in memory of our late friend and member Sue Davenport, who organized and hosted this ride (as well as summer picnics and Christmas parties) for so many years. I think there were about 14 riders. We broke into 3 groups—medium pace (walk, trot, small canters); slow (walk, some trot); and pokey (walk only)—for a nice two hour loop. Our friendly equine photographer and stalker, Judy Bosco, showed up at the bridge and some posed for her camera. We finished with delicious chili, sides, and desserts.
All our officers and board members had previously agreed to another term with no new volunteers so we held our annual election to confirm the slate.

Please see the Upcoming Events box on the first page and the Calendar on the last page for more activities. We always need ideas for the calendar!

I hope to see you soon!
Melissa

PS 2019 membership was down a bit. It’s really a bargain at only $15 annually for  individual, $25 for family. If you have friends you ride with or know people who are interested in trail riding with small groups or working on local trails, spread the word. And please, I can’t say it often enough, tell us what you want to do as a club!

Dear Friends,
Spring! Daylight savings time! So happy to gain that hour of daylight after work. It makes all the difference being able to get a ride in after work during the week.

Your membership renewals are now overdue. Help Alyce out and get them in now. You will stop getting email the end of April if you haven’t renewed. Don’t miss any of the fun. A membership form is included in this newsletter and is avail-able on our web site. Download the full Newsletter HERE>

Some Recent Programs and Activities
The annual Winter Holiday party was held on Saturday, February 2 at Kristin and Mark’s. I would say there were at least 25–30 in attendance. The food was terrific, of great variety, and plenty of it. The house looked beautiful and very festive. The raffle was a big success raising $345 toward the replacement of the Alligator Crossing bridge which was washed away by the September 2018 flood. Thank you to Kristin and Mark for hosting the gathering and Kristin for creating the Farm Basket for the raffle. A huge thank you to Liz and Jim Kennedy for their generous donation of lobsters for the raffle and to Judy Bosco for her donation of a photo enlargement. Congratulations to all the raffle winners!

On February 15 the Pizza and Planning Party was bril-liant! I was so happy to have so much participation! See Marlisa’s minutes on pages 5–6. We got a lot done on the calendar. If you look at the calendar on the last page you will see that we have listed events from other local horse organizations as well, in order to try and avoid conflicts and let you all know about options! Gina McManus kindly offered to become a board member at large for LCRVHC replacing Emma Saunders. And Beverly Torell let us know that her plans to relocate to Colorado are off so she is still willing and able to be president of the BPC! I am so grateful to all the board members and officers who help keep these two great sister organizations going! We are always looking for board members for the LCRVHC and the BPC. If you are interested and able to serve the horse community in this way please let us know!

On Sunday, February 17, LCRVHC held a member only ride at Hammonassett. We’ve been riding a lot at Hammonassett this winter. It seems like the only place we can avoid the mud and ice. See pictures on
Please see the Upcoming Events box on the first page and the Calendar on the last page for more activities. We always need ideas for the calendar!
I hope to see you soon!

Melissa

PS In 2018 membership was down a bit. It’s really a bargain. Only $15 annually for individual, $25 for family. If you have friends you ride with or know people who are interested in trail riding with small groups or working on local trails, spread the word. And please, I can’t say it often enough, tell us what you want to do as a club!

Dear Friends,
Almost Thanksgiving already! Sorry I am so late with this newsletter (download here)—time got away from me. The incessant rain has dragged me down. I was so discouraged about having to cancel the hunter pace after doing so much work to get the trails ready. And the trails are in terrible shape —muddy and eroded —I wish we could send some rain to California.

Some Recent Programs and Activities
The September member-only ride scheduled for Bluff Point was moved to Machimoodus when we learned that another group was holding a ride at Bluff Point the same day. The footing at Machimoodus was very good. As usual, I didn’t think to take pictures, being a photographer is not in my blood. Liz took a few pictures at the end.

The September 20 general meeting was held at the fire museum. We had a lovely meet and greet with veterinarian Erin Trawick-Smith. She talked about her background and interests and we shared stories about our equines.

October felt like it rained every weekend. We were forced to cancel our Hunter Pace for the second year in a row due to the wet conditions. Dave’s field where we park the trailers was just saturated. So bummed. Thankfully we have savings to pay for insurance and stuff like that. Hoping for better weather next year. If anyone has any ideas for a fundraising ride or something, please let us know.
The Annual Chili Ride on November 11 was relocated from Chatfield Hollow to Pattaconk due to large piles of stone in the cul de sac at North Chestnut Hill. Five of us enjoyed a 2+ hour ride followed by hot chili, cornbread, and delicious desserts. See pictures by Lisa Reneson, Liz Kennedy, and me[!] on page 3.
In lieu of a Christmas Progressive Ride this year I will be hosting a ride from my farm on Saturday, December 8. We will be doing a loop in Kenilworth Forest fol-lowed by brunch at my house. Non-riders are welcome to join us for the brunch. I will need a head count for shopping and if anyone wants to bring food, if you can let me know I can plan the menu.

For many years LCRVHC has held a ride on New Years Day at Hamonassett Beach, but when CTRA started doing their ride the same day I was concerned that other park users might be overhelmed by the large groups of horses and complain. What would you think about possibly doing our ride on December 29 or 30 instead? Let me know what works for you!

We are looking for a host for the Winter Holiday Party. If you have room for a small crowd and would be willing to host this potluck party the club will provide punch and a spiral ham as well as papergoods. OR—how do you folks feel about maybe having it at a restaurant instead? If you think this is the way to go, we are open to suggestions for restaurants that could accomodate us.

Please see the Upcoming Events box on the first page and the Calendar on the last page for more activities. We still really need ideas for the calendar!
I hope to see you soon.

Melissa

PS In 2018 membership was down a bit. It’s really a bargain. Only $15 annually for individual, $25 for family. If you have friends you ride with or know people who are interested in trail riding with small groups or working on local trails, spread the word. And please, tell us what you want to do as a club!

Dear Friends,
I can’t believe it’s May already! What seemed like a long, cold spring still flew by. Sometimes it took more effort than it should have to get out and ride but I forced myself! LOL
   Don’t forget to look for the May/June issue of Connecticut Horse magazine with an article on Connecticut’s oldest riding clubs. LCRVHC/BPC is featured along with several other clubs. It reminds me what a responsibility we have to this club which has been around since before I was born. It makes me think about the future. If you have young friends who ride with you, bring them along to a ride or work party. The future of LCRVHC depends on it.
    We are always looking for insight from you, our members, as to what you are looking for from your club. Please share your thoughts and ideas. Email lcrvhc.org@gmail.com or come to any meeting or event.

Some Recent Programs and Activities
LCRVHC members Lynda Perry, Howard Tunic k, Cathy Clouse, Ed Levin, and I attended the CHC Volunteer Horse Patrol annual meeting on March 10. Cathy and Ed were doing double duty representing the Cheshire Horse Council. The speaker was animal communicator, Cathy Languerand. She reminded us that we are all, in our way, communicating with our horses and to be open to it. Several of our club members received certificates for service. A delicious pot luck lunch followed. Yum
    On March 17 we had a St. Patrick’s Day ride at Chatfield Hollow. The trails were in rough shape after the winter storms, there was still snow in many areas and lots of branches and trees down, especially in the pine forest. (Read more in the newsletter here...)

Spring! My wooly beasts are starting to shed. I can’t wait for some of the mud to dry up so we can get out on the trails. We have been going to Hammonassett a lot because we can ride on the roads in the campground and on the beach and not deal with the mud. If you take advantage of this, remem-ber to clean up after your horse.
Last Friday night I was interviewed by Sally Feuerberg of Connecticut Horse magazine for an article on the oldest rid-ing clubs in Connecticut to appear in their May/June issue. LCRVHC will be featured along with several other clubs. Thank you to Peg Lupone for supplying images from our archives to share. It reminds me what a responsiblity I feel to this club which has been around since before I was born. It makes me think about the future. If you have young friends who ride with you, bring them along to a ride or work party. The future of LCRVHC depends on it.
We are always looking for insight from you, our members, as to what you are looking for from your club. Please share your thoughts and ideas. Email lcrvhc.org@gmail.com or come to any meeting or event.
Read more. . .