HACA Past Events

Plum Creek CDE
April 26-27, 2008
Agarita Ranch , Lockhart, Texas
Go to the link above and see some sample photos of the CDE!

HACA General and Board Meeting and Swap Drive
April 12, 2008
Minutes
Location: Mike and Jerry McLennan's Pecan Farm

Sunrise Ridge Driving Trial
April 5, 2008
Paradise, Texas. What a beautiful day! After a rainy Friday, Saturday turned out perfect. Cool dry weather was just what was ordered. Pictures attached. Make sure to call and order your photos!

Work Day at Plum Creek
March 21, 2008
Agarita Ranch, Lockhart, Texas

Folks,
It's Beautiful at Plum Creek
Lew & Sandy Smith, Tammy Rose, Cat Cook and I helped Chuck and crew with clearing the hazards on Good Friday. Keith was caught in Michigan with helping solve some problem with machinery.........

Thankfully, the massive clearing that was done last year and absence of monsoons this year, made it easy work and mostly cosmetic trimming. The whole place looks like a park. Just lovely. Nice grass covering over all areas, trees shading most of the trails, and the ground nice and dry.

Plum Creek CDE is April 26-27, just one month away and this is a reminder to send in your entries. The secretary, Sharon Gorry is out of state and will be traveling to Texas right before the show........so you last minuters,,,,,,,,go ahead and send in your entry forms and make Sharon's life a little easier. Also, to let you know, there are 8 RV type hook ups. If you want one, it's first come, first served, so get yours reserved as soon as possible.

So far there are several folks from out of state that have entered,,,,,,we hear it has something to do with Nancy's cooking and the friendly atmosphere .

Got to the Plum Creek Web @ www.pccss.org <http://www.pccss.org/> and you will find all the information you need on the event , local hotels, directions, etc.

We still need volunteers, so contact us if you or anyone you know will be able to volunteer. If you have any questions, let me know and i will point you in the right direction for help.

terry

General Meeting/Board Meeting
February 17, 2008 at the McLennan's Pecan Mill Farm
Minutes

General Meeting/Board Meeting
January 20, 2007at the Broker/Witte Farm
Minutes
Several turnouts came and enjoyed a brisk morning driving around the roads near the Broker/Witte Farm. There was lots of good food and exceptional ribs were prepared by Karin. Yummy! Tom O'Carroll gave an informative talk on "Safety at Events" with lots of good input from the hay gallery.

Fun Drive at Jones Forest January 13. 2007
I wanted to give you all a short report on the recreational drive this past Sunday at Jones Forest. Stella Gordon deserves much thanks for her perfect organization! She arrived early, and was "on duty" for several hours waiting for folks to arrive, handing out maps, giving parking instructions, and generally being a perfect "hostess."

The day was glorious! It was my first time to visit Jones Forest, and I was greatly impressed with the facility. The 'trails' were more like roads - wonderfully groomed, and wide enough to easily accommodate carriages.

We had 9 turnouts, and several members came and rode their horses rather than drive. To give you an idea of the length and choices of trails, we were all out on the trails at the same time, yet I only met another driver one time!

There were quite a few people there (outside of HACA) riding their horses, and they all seemed fascinated with carriage driving. Had I had the foresight to put a sign on the back of our carriage that said "Ask me about Houston Area Carriage Association" we could have picked up a few more converts!

Thank you, Stella, for doing a wonderful job selecting this site and doing all the prep work to make this recreational drive a joy. It was most appreciated by all.

Marlene Collins

HACA Informal Pleasure Day
June 9 , 2007 at 8 am
Anyone with info and pictures of this event, please share!

Wharton Parade Celebrating Restoration of Old Train Depot
May 20, 2006
contributed by Nancy & Dennis Ginn
A special thanks to Stewart Morris and everyone involved in the restoration of the beautiful city of Wharton, TX for inviting us to participate in their parade. Several members of H.A.C.A. (the Houston Area Carriage Association) showed up with their horses and carriages to celebrate the restoration of the old train depot. Many were dressed in the style of the early 1900s. Several of the carriages were
either restored vehicles from that era or were reproductions of older vehicles. Several Wharton residents were around both during the depots early days in 1914 and today for the parade as well. Four of them rode along with Stewart Morris on a beautiful Wagonette built by Kunhle Carriage of Germany, pulled by a pair of Dutch Warmbloods. One of the gentlemen that I spoke to, will celebrate his 101st birthday on the 8th of June. Sandy and Lew Smith came along with one of their Fresions, Apolo pulling a reproduction of a classic Spyder Phaeton. Terry Arnold rode along as their groom. Terry was also a real champ for helping to organize the carriage portion of the event. Catherine Cook came from Brenham with her 20 yr old Arabian, Banjo who pulled a Sears & Roebuck wagon from the early 1900s. Her vehicle was originally equipped with 2 seats that were removable. This allowed you to carry 4 people or 1 - 2 folks with their supplies or goods. It was a very early SUV. Dennis and Nancy Ginn also came from Brenham with an antique Trap built by the French Carriage Co. of Boston, Mass around 1910. Their Pinto, National Show Horse BWF Tootsie pulled it carrying the two of them plus their friends, Scott Dillard and Mary Beth Mosley of Houston. Tootsie is the Pinto Horse Association of America - Open Combined Driving Horse of the Year for 2005. Tom and Jan Smith came out with a pair of their horses pulling a Bird in Hand reproduction vehicle and Beth Fisher brought her gelding Darius and her modern Marathon vehicle. It was a beautiful day and all 6 of the turnouts looked wonderful. Thanks to everyone that made this possible.
Visit www.greentreestables.com for some great photos of the event!