Manitoba Trail Riding Club
AGM Meeting Minutes
Date: November 7, 2020
Location: Zoom
Meeting called to order at 10:00 a.m.
Attendance: Iris Oleksuk, Angela Roberts, Kelli Hayhurst, Terry McKee, Linda Gillies, Mary Anne Kirk, Brenda Tolpa, Judy Olson, Carla Melquist, Carrie Wilson, Linda Cruden, Tauni Jensen, Kari Hasselriis, Emil Kucera, Kara Popplestone, Susan Heald (non member),
Additions to agenda: 1. Mileage Awards, 2. Trailer Inventory Motion to accept Brenda, seconded by Judy – carried
Approval of Agenda: Motion to accept Kari H., seconded by Angela – carried
Previous AGM Meeting minutes approved. Motion to accept Brenda, seconded by Angela – carried
Board Member Reports
The reports were distributed for membership to read prior to the meeting. The attendees declined to have them read out loud at the AGM, with the exception of the Treasurer’s Report because of a distribution (computer) problem. The detailed reports are included as appendices.
MHC and Covid Rep – There was discussion regarding the fact that Judy took on both roles this year but it really is two positions. Further discussion was tabled. For now, Judy will stay on but we will revisit this at our next meeting.
Nomination and Election of Officers
Mary Anne Kirk and Brenda Topla will continue the second year of their term.
Nominated Nominator 2nd Nominator Accepted
Kari Hasselriis Angela Roberts Terry McKee Yes
Terry McKee Carrie Wilson Angela Roberts Yes
Carla Melquist Linda Gillies Mary Anne Yes Terry moved to cease nominations, seconded by Judy O. – carried
New Board for 2021:
President Kari Hasselriis
Vice President Brenda Tolpa
Secretary Terry McKee
Treasurer Mary Anne Kirk
Board Member at Large Carla Melquist
MHC & Covid Rep (Non-elected position) Judy Olson
Framed photos (taken by Darice) of Angela with Grace and Iris with Evee were presented virtually to thank Iris and Angela for their years of service with MTRC.
| Item: | Discussion: | Action | ||
| New Business | Review Bylaws and suggested changes: After discussion it was decided to change the wording of the bylaw under #9 Duties of Directors to read: “The Board of Directors cannot authorize non-routine expenditures over 50% of the total cash assets at the time of a transaction without authority from a general meeting of the membership” | Moved by Carrie W., seconded by Brenda. Carried | ||
| Vote on Storage Trailer: MTRC will pay DRM $2,082.55 to cover half of the storage trailer cost. | Moved by Iris, seconded by Emil. Carried | |||
| Review of Membership and Ride Fees: It was decided that membership and ride fees shall remain as last year. Membership fees are $25 for single and $40 for family memberships. Ride fees are attached. The form dates on the form will be corrected for 2021. | Moved by Terry, seconded by Iris. Carried | |||
| Awards: Year End and Mileage Awards were announced. See attached lists for names. Ribbons for top five riders in each ride were not awarded because of Covid. Rookie of the Year Award and Volunteer Awards discussion tabled. Patches coming but delayed as previous company has gone out of business. Iris is looking for a new company to make the patches. | Iris | |||
| Vet Recruitment: Susan has agreed to continue recruiting vets for the 2021 season | Susan | |||
| Coggins Requirement: There was discussion about the confusion surrounding MHC’s requirement for Coggins testing and the need for clarification. Judy will check with MHC and we will table discussion until there is clarification. | Judy | |||
| Zoho: Brenda has agreed to continue with Zoho and Carrie W. will be available for support | Brenda Carrie W. | |||
| Website: Angela will look after the website | Angela | |||
| Rule Book and Ride Managers’ Book Update: Discussion tabled. Angela has started work on this already | ||||
| Pamphlet: Kelli has agreed to look after the pamphlet | Kelli | |||
| B. Rides for 2021 | Location Date Ride Manager Trail Marker Belair May 29, Kari H./Steve G, Donna G/Iris Birds Hill Park June 26, Shannon Shannon Grosse Isle July 24 Linda G./Mary G. Linda G. Spruce Woods Aug. 28 Iris/Angela/ Iris/Angela Linda C/Carol G MEC Sept. TBA TBA Darice | |||
| The MTRC event page will post events. Ride managers please pass info on to Carrie or Angela and they will make sure it is posted on Facebook or our events page | Carrie Angela | |||
| C. Inventory | Janine is taking over the equipment trailer and ride inventory. An inventory spread sheet has been forwarded to Janine and will be updated. There was discussion regarding the need to have an up to date listing of the inventory. A list should go in the minutes of the AGM every year. Discussion tabled. To be continued at the next meeting. | Janine | ||
| D. Next Meeting | Kari will send an email to the Board to determine the next meeting date and then forward the information to the membership | Kari |
Motion to adjourn: moved by Angela, seconded by Carla M. – carried Meeting adjourned: Time 11:23 a.m.
Appendix
President’s Report – Iris Oleksuk
As most of you know, I will be leaving the MTRC board after many terms. I won’t say that I enjoyed every minute but I enjoyed being on the board much more than I disliked the time spent.
MTRC always had special members on the board. We are friends and work so well together. I learned a lot from all of you.
What I really love about MTRC is how everyone always steps up to sit on committees and help out with whatever needed to be done. I am talking about members not necessarily just the board.
During the past few years, we have substantially increased the membership. We have held great clinics which helped with membership. So thank you especially to Susan, Natalie, Hailie, Janine and others.
Thank-you to Susan for all the work on the grant. Because of you MTRC will have a permanent pen at Spruce Woods.
We have communicated with many horse club members and kept them in the loop through email and facebook. As you know, I like to send out emails consistently advising people of our latest happenings. I feel that (judging from the return emails) this is still a great communication tool.
Now about this past season. There are many people to thank. Linda Gillies … you were the best prize gatherer for our bud spud held last January. I hope you keep that up. You also ran a ride at Grosse Isle when we thought we weren’t going to be able to have a ride. It was our first Covid ride and you did such a great job at it.
You also organized and ran the Sandilands ride so you have gone above and beyond. Yay Linda!
Mary Anne. Thanks for your tabulation skills at the rides and of course for organizing the money and memberships. I still see you at BHP sitting out in the cold and wind finishing up the scores. I have depended on you for so many things over the years so thank you so much.
Angela, you and I have worked together for years and I love bouncing ideas off you. You have run many rides and always come up with new ideas. You have held several positions on the board, organized the rule book and helped with clinics. Thank-you for your friendship and help. I wish you well with your work on our website.
Terry, you are an amazing secretary and I hope you keep on with that position. You also brought upbeat, positive help to the board and I really appreciate all your ideas.
Brenda, you are our newest member to the board and you have jumped in with both feet. Keep up the great Zoho work. We couldn’t wish for a better person to deal with all of the regulations.
Our volunteers at the rides are the best. I can’t name you all but you know who you are…Carol and Judy you helped out so much with the rides ….timing and Covid person.
Also Judy, thanks for attending the MHC meetings.
I really need to leave it here as there are too many people to thank. Just know that I personally appreciate all of you and look forward to a great ride season.
Vice President’s Report – Angela Roberts
2020, what can I say? This has been a year for the books. But aside from the bad things that have happened, I feel that there has been a lot of good. We have learned how to streamline our processes and make our events work despite the odds. Kudos to those whose tireless efforts developed the necessary procedures and policies to deliver a successful ride season. Your efforts are greatly appreciated!
Even with everything that has been happening, we managed to have four rides that saw a fairly good turn out! Of course, whenever the MTRC ride falls on the Sunday, there are always fewer participants but I think we did well anyways! And we even snagged a few new riders!
Although I will not be allowing my name to stand for re-election this year, I want to say that I have had the opportunity to work with a really wonderful group of Board members. I thank you ladies very much for making this time enjoyable. I can’t lie, this last year as the VP has been a lovely change, so thank you Terry for taking over as the Secretary J
Next year, my focus will be to ride. I now have two horses to condition, so it’ll be a very busy winter/spring! I look forward to seeing you all next season. Happy Trails! Angela
Secretary’s Report – Terry McKee
Talk about the little club that could!! To say that 2020 was a year fraught with obstacles would be a monumental understatement. We went from thinking that our ride season would be cancelled to successfully and safely holding four Covid compliant rides – no easy task! None of this would have been possible without the amazing ride managers, trail markers, volunteers, vets and club members who worked tirelessly to organize and man four very well attended events. A huge thank you to everyone who made this possible!
Thank you Susan Heald for all of the time and effort you put into successfully applying to MHC on behalf of MTRC and DRM, for two corrals at the Spruce Woods Equestrian Campgrounds. Thank you Darice Whyte, our intrepid photographer who braves all kinds of weather to make sure everyone has a gorgeous picture of themselves enjoying an MTRC ride. Also thank you Elizabeth Bima for managing our equipment and making sure it was ride ready the last couple of years. Thank you Janine Thomson for taking over this task and hopefully, the new equipment trailer helps simplify that job. I’d also like to extend a very special thank you to Angela Roberts and Iris Oleksuk who are stepping down from the board this year. Thank you for the many years you’ve spent serving on the MTRC board, ride managing, trail marking and doing whatever was needed to make sure MTRC ran smoothly and successfully. Although you’ll no longer be on the board, the very good news is that you’ll continue as active MTRC members and be competing in rides.
I look forward to the day when we can again enjoy potlucks after a ride, sit around a campfire to rehash the events of the day and just enjoy spending time together with “horsey folk”. In the mean time stay safe, healthy and enjoy your ponies!
Member at Large Report – Brenda Tolpa
Took over the Zoho form management for MTRC rides from Carrie. Carrie setup DRM and MTRC on the website, which allowed all rides in 2020 to be registered on line. All ride reports are provided to the Ride Manager from the registration information. I am willing to continue to manage this in 2021. I participated in most of the MTRC meetings and the Sandilands Ride. Looking forward to an exciting ride season in 2021.
Manitoba Horse Council Liason Report – Judy Olson
MHC AGM, April 16, 2020: Due to COVID restrictions the meeting was held by Zoom. If anyone would like to review the minutes, please contact Judy Olson. Highlights of the meeting include: MHC membership decreased with a shift to competitive. Lost revenue coupled with facility closure due to COVID results in a projected shortfall of $28,392. Reserves funds were considered adequate and sourcing of government support programs was ongoing. In the financial report it was identified that $13920.26 sits in a Medication Account, originally intended for drug testing, etc. It was suggested that if clubs have an event which could be funded by the Medication Account to call the MHC office. There are now 69 registered and certified coaches, with the plan or ongoing clinics and workshops. An effort is being made to assist past coaches to get into the new system. Safe Sport policies implemented. Multidisciplinary Team Challenge plans tentative only. All plans for the Equestrian Facility will be maintenance and repair only. 20 various clubs provided their 2019 report, and commented on the impact of COVID to their club. New MHC nominations to the Board were voted on, and annual awards were announced, and available in the minutes. II. Safe Sport Initiative MTRC: The initiative was introduced at the last MTRC AGM and members were encouraged to comply or a $5 levy would be imposed with $3 to MHC for the coaching budget and $2 back to the club. Completion of the required courses was incorporated into ride registration or the levy was applied. III. COVID-19: The Provincial Health Officer is the last resort for decision making related to COVID with MHC (via Sport Manitoba) becoming the conduit for the equestrian community. The MHC office was closed to the public but available by phone. Highlights of the MTRC response includes: Following an initial return to play plan where schooling shows and clinics were allowed, a Return to Competition Document was approved in early July. This document touched very briefly on specifics for each discipline. Individual Clubs were responsible for developing their own policy and plan. Guidelines were provided in a Risk Assessment and Mitigation tool (MB gov). Carrie Schellenberg-Wilson developed a collaborative policy for both MTRC and DRM as well as an on-line registration system, incorporating a participant waiver. Pre-registration was mandatory. MHC provided signage and masks for events and the policy was implemented effectively. A COVID officer was appointed; daily attestations and waivers were completed on participants volunteers and attendees. Daily attestations were held for 3 weeks and waivers will be held for 3 years. Multidisciplinary Team Challenge hosted by MHC was cancelled. Submitted by Judy Olson
2020 MTRC Awards
Junior Training Champion Elsie Garn – Ginger
Kate Wilson – Fonix fra Kozmeniuk Engraved brushes from Ride Every Stride Inc.
Junior Training Reserve Erin Garn – Ginger
Helen Lunn – ATB Tiny Bell Engraved brushes from Ride Every Stride
Junior Open Champion Ethen Garn – AK Ziyeed Engraved brushes from Ride Every Stride
Junior Open Reserve NA
Rookie of the Year NA
Training Champion Carla Melquist – Connor Leather journal with hand painted portrait of Connor by Alyshae Leather
Training Reserve Annette Fleming – Just Rusty Embroidered halter
Novice Champion Terry McKee – TW Agassiz Embroidered Fleece cooler
Novice Reserve Linda Gillies – Jades Dr. Pepper Embroidered halter
Open Champion Dianne Borger – Beau Tia Maria
Rain Sheet
Open Reserve Darice Whyte – Prairie Winds Golden Serenade Equine Embroidered halter
