HACA Annual Board Meeting with election of officers
Saturday, August 29
McMurtry Farm in Round Top, Texas
More info and directions to come. All HACA members are encouraged to attend. Anyone wanting to be on the board for HACA, please contact Bonnie and she will put you on the nominations list.

HACA SPONSORS HERITAGE CLASSIC.
HACA is sponsoring the Heritage Classic Horse Show in Athens Texas on July 1-4. For more info see the calendar. Several HACA members are already signed up to drive!

HACA PLEASURE SHOW AT PINE HILL A HUGE SUCCESS.
Second Annual Pine Hill Pleasure Show on Memorial Weekend was too much fun for those who attended! Everyone had a great time. The friendly competition again made it a show not to miss. Pictured above is Jobe enjoying the marathon with his driver Claire Zadow and her 75-year-old Gater-Mom, Nancy. For more pics and comments from competitors and spectators, see the Past Events page.

A SPECIAL HONOR FOR ONE OF HACA'S MEMBERS!
A radio station in Lexington , Kentucky , www.horseradionetwork.com, is spotlighting one athlete from each discipline who is vying for a spot at the WEG in October of 2010.  Mike McLennan was chosen by them as their spotlighted driver. Friday the first interview of this series aired. It is 2010 Radio Show Episode #38. Each week they are interviewing one athlete from another discipline. So every eight weeks the spotlighted driver, Mike McLennan, will be interviewed again, each athlete rotating back into the progression every eight weeks through WEG.
 
The show is an hour, with the first 30 minutes being an interview with Dr. Lyons the founder of Alltech (sponsor of the 2010 WEG).  There is no way to "fast forward" through Dr. Lyons’ interview to just hear the athlete interviews, but Dr. Lyons is keeping us all up to date on what is happening with WEG preparations. 
HorseRadio will have a separate page for each of the athletes they are spotlighting on their website as well. Many of you are members of Fabulous Fred’s Fan club, so when you hear about his blog on the interview, don’t be caught off guard.  You can keep up with his thoughts by going to Mike’s website www.FoundationQuarterHorse.com and read what Fred has to say about his Road to the WEG.

GO TO PAST EVENTS TO READ ALL ABOUT PINE HILL 2009!

LIVE OAK CDE.
by Keith & Linda Yutzy
Another year and the competition season has begun with the Live Oak CDE. The Live Oak CDE is held on the grounds of Live Oak Stud in Ocala, FL. This is one of our favorite competitions. Everything from the dressage arena to the marathon course including the obstacles are manicured to perfection. Linda gets the pleasure of hauling the ponies to and from Ocala while I get fly there, this time I came in from TN. This year we were planning on taking Wendy (a new pony that Linda bought in 2008) but Wendy was not quite ready so we went with the reliable Bella and Giorgio.

Photos and results are on the web site for Live Oak at http://www.cailiveoak.com
 
This year there were a total of seven entries in the Intermediate Pair Pony division, three of which were Dartmoor pony pairs...more

NO APRIL FOOLS!
by Cat Cook
April weather tried to fool us into thinking we might not be able to enjoy a day of driving last Saturday, but those of us who took the chance were greatly rewarded!  I'll admit, the clouds and wind had me concerned, but I kept the faith, loaded up my trusty steed and made the trip to the Morris Ranch in Wharton.  We weren't disappointed!  The slightly overcast skies and breezes kept equines and people alike from getting hot on the hour and a half drive.  The wooded areas were alive with the sounds of life, and the fields were pallets of pastels -- in other words, sights and sounds that melted stress away and replaced it with blessed calm!
Our hosts, Stewart Morris Sr. and Jr., went to great lengths...more

CONGRATULATIONS TO ONE OF OUR OWN!
by Jerry McLennan

Mike McLennan in his first time out driving FEI Advanced 4-in-hand is now standing in 2nd place after the marathon today.  Chester Webber is standing in 1st place.  Go Mike Go.  He is competing at the Sunshine State Show in Florida
 

A BIG THANK YOU TO BONNIE AND LEE MCMURTRY, ...FRIENDS, FAMILY AND NEIGHBORS!
 
Bonnie and Lee McMurtry hosted a great day of driving, eating, and visiting yesterday at their family compond in Round Top, Texas.  First off, the meal: ...The McMurtry chicken {yum} was main course, with unbelieveably good and plentiful sides and goodies from drivers.  
 
Then on to the plotting, figuring and planning the course. There were 3 individual courses to run with clues and prizes on each course. The courses could be taken in any order, and the winners were decided by the amount of points {prizes} accumlated.  Additionally, beer cans picked up off the roads {good way to clear the roads!!!} and 2 stations for trivial pursuit could add extra points to your score.
 
The hunt took an hour and there were as many courses as there were drivers.  Minis to drafts and singles and pairs.  All with smiles on faces.  {Remember the old newspaper saying "And a good time was had by all" ?}  The weather was just perfect, mid 70's with a breeze.  And at the end, winners were announced and given BIG/colorful ribbons.. and all the prizes on the drives, from corn nuts to plastic animals.  {Sorry, can't remember all the winners, we will post that on the web site along with photos soon}. We all left saying we need to do more of these drives with having fun as the main objective. 
 
Bonnie and Lee, et al,  worked hard for a couple of weeks, putting all of this together, clearing trails, smoothing paths, gathering and placing the goodies, making up the clues, etc., and we really appreciate not only their work, but their warm hospitality and giving us a place to gather and play. They could have the BEST front porch in the area.

Speaking of the McMurtrys. A Winning Combination!

Al Bulgawicz is quoted in Driving Digest article. The article is attached here and discusses VSEs in the driving community.

Tejas Carriage Association. Happy New Year to the Texas carriage driving community! We wanted everyone to be informed about the Tejas Carriage Association and their 2009 calendar, particularly the new "Beginner to Winner" seminars on Feb. 21. The very capable clinician and ADS "R" official  for almost all the driven disciplines, Dana Bright will join us and will do a "Drive By the Side" to highlight how a judge views and scores your dressage test.
 
Keith Yutzy,(Navigator Know How),  Paul Graves,(Carriage Maintenance), and several others will share their insights on carriage driving related topics, with some emphasis on "What You Don't Know CAN Hurt You".

For a special treat Rosa and Chuck Finsley will take us on a virtual tour with them on the Bavarian coach ride they enjoyed in September 08.
Carriage equipment vendors will be there as well and please note that Dana Bright  will be available for lessons on Feb 20 and 22.   

Check out our website,  http://www.tejascarriageassociation.com   you'll see there  are several events planned for the year. The Brinkers will be here in May for clinics and to officiate at our Driven Dressage Schooling Show, ...and for those who have asked, you'll note there will be a Pleasure Show at Cedar Creek on Saturday September 19.  This year it will  be a one day ADS approved  show with very likely a casual "Continuous Day of Driving"to follow on Sunday the 20th.Of course there will be a party in between!
   
Look for more schooling opportunities to pop up and an assortment of pleasure drives through the year. The Tejas Carrige Association is a casual, friendly group who's emphasis is on education , safety ,good horsemanship and the constant desire to improve their carriage driving skills and their relationship with their equine partners. If those are your interests please join us.   

Click below on the KPH times for
marathon
Section A and
Section E

8kph
9kph
10kph
11kph
12kph
13kph
14kph
15kph