Messages From the President
October 2008
Hello all,
Oct 18 th , Peachland Riding Club will be hosting a fund raiser Pub night at Riley' Pub. Tickets are for sale and will be available at the High School Rodeo this weekend and at the last Gymkhana rodeo on September 28
.come see Deb Craig, Darlene Pappas , or Brenda Bates and me for ticktes. This fund raiser which will include a silent auction will help raise some funds that will go back towards the upkeep and future of the PRC . We are encouraging all you to come and bring a friend(s). The cost is $15 dollars per person and that includes a meal and one drink. This is an adult only function but to those of you who would like to get to know more of the members in an informal way, this would be great event and don't have to haul a horse home at the end of the night, just yourselves. If you have any questions just call me direct.
We are excited to announce that Peachland Riding Club in conjunction with the Peachland Centennial Committee have been included in Peachland's Centennial Year Schedule of Events and Celebration for it's 100 th birthday. We are posting all of our Gymkhana Rodeo dates early to give everyone in our community and our riding community the opportunity to plan early for this up and coming year. Along with these dates there will be a Barrel Racing Sanctioned Event for July 1 st 2009 and another High School Rodeo; date TBD. To everyone who reads this announcement we invite you to come and participate with us at Peachland Riding Club Gymkhana Rodeo'. We are also excited to share with you that 2009 will be the 40 th anniversary of the Peachland Riding Club. Here are the dates, so mark them down on your calendars; it is going to be a great year!
Happy Trails
Blair Bates
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August 2008
Hello all,
Have some amazing news that we need to share with the rest of you; our very own Bailey Woods of Peachland BC had an amazing finish at the Canadian High School Finals in Williams Lake. Bailey and her horse Tyke, placed 6th overall in break away roping, and 10th overall in barrel racing
this is an amazing accomplishment, congratulations to both Bailey and Tyke for being great competitors, and showing your stuff to the rest of the country. Wow!
Another high note, our second annual Little Britches Rodeo took place on the last weekend of July. We had over 70 riders along with supporting family members at this year's event. We had a great time, with Rod Sterling doing the announcing, hey Rod still running the trailer on 3 tires? Mexican Joe Dias who was our arena director, along with Rodeo Director Sandy Chevallier doing all of the organizing and keeping all of us cowboy' inline, you guys did an amazing job. We also had Cowboy church with about 60 attendees, and a special group of visitors from the Westwood Retirement center coming up to join us for church and watch the kids do their stuff. I want to say a huge thank-you to all of our organizers, sponsors, volunteers, riders, family members and spectators, and stock suppliers. All of you did a great job, thank-you for setting such a great example to the young riders who came to Peachland.
Again thank-you to our members and volunteers for participating at the Gymkhana, this is a great event and with great people enjoying their passion, riding!
In closing, PRC is hosting a High School Rodeo September 20-21st , along with a Cowboy Church Service. We encourage you to come out and join us this weekend. If you have any questions or would like to sponsor this event you can contact Sandy Chevallier at 250-718-2761.
As for the July Gymkhana rodeo, here are the results
.
Senior
Janine Blacklock on Reno High Point
Bea Sureman on Starbuck High Point Reserve
Jenn Miller on Zippy 3 rd
Amanda Capuano on Easter 4 th
Holly Dickinson on Tator 5 th
Sandy Lewis on Bud 6 th
Junior A
Bailey Woods on Tyke High Point
Micaela Gibson on Navarone High Point Reserve
Caleb Bates on Ember 3 rd
Marie Leginus on Dakota 4 th
Krysta Forsyth on Canelle 5 th
Sylvana Huber on Cloie 6 th
Junior B
Jessie Bates on Bella High Point
Shay Sutherland on Little Guy High Point Reserve
Britta Wuestefeld on Shooter 3 rd
Brianna Pastor on Jolena 4 th
Candace Chevallier on Hollywood 5 th
Brandie Morsette on Crimson 6 th
Junior C
Allie Sorenson on Simmy High Point
Kiera Smith on Dawn High Point Reserve
Courtney on KitKat 3 rd
Alicia Pastor on Cheana 4 th
Jacey McQueen on Raven 5 th
Kallie Pierron on Sunny 6 th (tie)
Raven Chevallier on Opie 6 th (tie)
Junior D
Darby Ensign on Cutter High Point
Alana Ensign on Fancy High Point Reserve
Hunter Chevallier on Ace 3 rd
Dori Szulinsky on Flash 4 th (tie)
Joelle Szulinsky on Flash 4 th (tie)
Until next time, Happy Trails.
Blair
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July 2008
Hello all,
Well we have had an incredible busy spring. Believe or not we are half way through the Gymkhana season. The results from last week were great though it was the hottest day I think we have had in a long time. It reached 38 degrees on June 29, but our riders did great. I want to give you a short update on up coming events. First of all, the Little Britches Rodeo is in full swing and will be happening at the end of July. We encourage you to come and attend this two day event. Sandy is still looking for volunteers so if you are available to come up, please let Sandy know. For July 1 st Peachland Riding Club participated in the Canada Day parade in Peachland, and I want to say thank you to Courtney, Michaela, Jessie, Alley, Christie and Amanda. These girls did a great job and represented our club very well. I also want to say thank-you too the parents for coming out and supporting this event also.
On a sad note, one of our fellow riders had a tragedy take place on June 29 th , Shai Sutherland was faced with the difficult task of having to say goodbye to her beloved horse Frosty. Frosty unfortunately succumbed to a severe case of colic. Frosty and Shai were a great team. Frosty was a great horse with great talent and the ability to bend like no other horse I have seen yet. Both Frosty and Shai were our Junior C champions for 2007 and it is sad that we will not see this team running together in the future. Shai we share in your sadness in the loss of a great horse who brought you joy. Our prayers and thoughts are with you.
Coming July we will be welcoming a retired couple, the Walsh's to be our new caretakers. They will be starting in July and will be watching over the grounds until fall. When you see them, introduce yourself and welcome them to our community.
Finally, I look forwards to seeing all of you at the next Gymkhana at the end of July.
Take care,
Blair
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May 2008
Hello riders,
Wanted to do a recap of this past month's events and events to come; over the month of May we had many great things happen. First of all, we held our first Gymkhana clinic and it went over really well. We had 10 riders who were instructed by Sandy Chevallier. I was amazed how many of our gymkhana riders came up to learn more about doing the gymkhana events and how well it was received. We have received several comments on how much the riders enjoyed the clinic and all of the information Sandy gave them. I want to say a resounding thank-you to Sandy for leading this clinic. Sandy ' ability to relate to people and her passion to teach is very evident in her clinics. Everyone learns something and comes out a better rider as result of her passion to pass on this knowledge. Thank-you Sandy for such a job well done! This month we have been working on the new announcers shack. Not much of a shack more like a miniature house. Mike Gibson has taken the lead on this, and it is really coming great. We have the trusses on now and hopefully by middle of June it should be roofed and ready for our June Gymkhana. Along with Lyle Pastor and Glen Sorenson these changes are getting done and we are grateful for their leadership.
The may Gymkhana was a success, with many new riders showing up and several of our regulars working towards becoming better riders. I want to say how much it is a pleasure to see the young riders become more confident. One month they are timid and the next month there is confidence being demonstrated in their riding. Wow, this is great, keep going everyone. What a joy to watch the kids grow.
Here are the Gymkhana results for May:
Senior high point Janine Blacklock
Reserve Bea Sureman
Tied w/ Jenn Millar
Junior A High point Kristy Forsyth
Junior B High point Jessie Bates
Reserve Brianna Pastor
3 rd Britta Wuestefeld
Junior C High Point Allie Sorenson
Reserve Courtney Demattos
3 rd Kallie Pierron
This June our Gymkhana is happening June 29th.
Until then,
Blair Bates
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April 2008
Hello all,
This month we had some great things happen. First of all, we a great clean up day with so many members coming out and preparing our grounds, the club house, small repairs, lots of raking, and great cooperation. The following people are to be commended for coming out and helping our club get ready for a great year, they are
Allie , Glen, and Teresa Sorenson, Michelle, Kurtis, Alysha, Brianna, and Lyle Pastor, Courtney and Trecho Demattos, Amanda Capuano,Tina Brodziak, Bailey Woods, Jackie and Shay Sutherland, Brandie Morsette, Darlene Pappas, Nicole Ellis, Nicolas Ingram, Alan Peters, Diana, and Candace Chevallier, Michael, and Micaela Gibson, Tryston Ducharme, Caleb, Jessie and Brenda Bates. Wow, what a great group of people, I hope I didn't miss anyone. We also got a great start on our new announcers building, thank-you to Jazel Homes for their donation of materials and plans. We were hoping to get this new building up by summer, but Michael Gibson has gone to town, and the way he is going, along with the extra bodies helping, we should have this ready early May. Thanks to Mike for your leadership on this.
Also we are hosting a Gymkhana clinic for all new (or existing) members and new riders who want to participate in our Gymkhana' this year. Check out our announcement for details on this site.
Until next month,
Blair Bates
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March 2008
Hello all,
This is a reminder that this month is the first of 6 Gymkhana' for the Peachland Riding Club Sunday April 27 starting at 9pm. We encourage all riders to come early to get setup from 8 to 8:45 and registered on time to ensure we have a 9am start time. We are also encouraging our parents and volunteers to come in western attire, hats, boots and shirts to help support our riders and in keeping with the cowboy way of life.
Our clean up day is coming up Sunday April 13 from 10am to 2pm . Lunch will be provided. We encourage every club member, kids and all to come out and help get the grounds ready for another great year of riding. It does not take long to do when there are many people around to help, hence the saying, more hands means less work.
As for the Little Britches and High School Rodeo', our sponsorship program is running and doing very well, plus we are holding a fund raising campaign which includes three gift certificates from City Furniture, 1st $1500, 2nd $1000, and 3rd place $500. Tickets are available at the Gymkhana rodeos, plus you can contact us at 250-452-6941 for more info on where you can get tickets. We have several members selling them so I can direct you to the right person in your area.
As part of the events for Peachland Riding Club, Cowboy Valley Church runs 2nd, 3rd and 4th Thursday of every month, for further info check out www.cowboyvalleychurch.com .
We are really excited about this year and encourage all club members to invite riders from abroad to come out and enjoy the PRC and the most amazing arena in the valley.
Until next time,
Blair Bates
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January 2008
Welcome to 2008 a year in which there will be many new and exciting events. Firstly let me say thank-you to our past President Darlene Pappas who did an amazing job the past couple of years. We are so appreciative of your efforts, hard work, leadership and overall desire to lead a group of people who share in the same desires. I also want to thank our past committee members for their hard work and leadership. Without these volunteers who put out for all of the riders we would not enjoy organized gymkhana rodeos, a family atmosphere, and a safe environment for the riders to train, compete and enjoy riding in the most amazing arena in the valley. Many thanks to all of you.
I want to convey to all of you something that I think is amazing about our community of riders. The Cowboy in all of us! All of us share in the spirit that comes with being a cowboy. Call it a lifestyle, call it a connection with horses, call it a daily desire to live out your dreams, but it still points to one thing, being a cowboy. In keeping with that Cowboy spirit, we are going to continue in the tradition that is associated with PRC. Peachland Riding Club has provided an environment that makes everyone feel at home, a place that enables you to train your horse and compete at the same time. It is a growing club with many new features such as new covered pens, arena upgrades, and safe ground for you and your horse. We are encouraging all of our volunteers this year to come with cowboy attire hat and all. We ask our kids to wear this in keeping with tradition, and we at PRC want to help set the standard and be good, positive role models for our kids.
2008 will be a great year and there are great things happening. Our gymkhana schedule has been posted and we are excited in doing this amazing event that is a foundation event for our club. We encourage you to come and to invite your fellow riders to join us this year. Along with our Gymkhana' we are hosting not one but two main rodeo events. Last year was the first year Little Britches came to PRC and they are returning again this July and along with this rodeo, PRC is also hosting a High School Rodeo. This is going to be amazing! Our rodeo team headed up by Sandy Chevallier and her team has already got the business of doing these rodeo' well on their way. There is a fund raising campaign going on right now for some excellent gifts, there are many returning and new sponsors already established, there are more arena upgrades and new equipment on its way. Our club is also purchasing new software and timers that will help out all of these events to run smoother and hopefully faster. There is so much more to tell about but not enough room in this letter. You are just going to have to come out and find out for yourself what is going on at PRC.
Finally, as your new president it is my desire to serve this community of cowboys and cowgirls and keep up the tradition of great events for great riders and bring new innovative ways to ensure all of us keep our riding club going strong for all of the future riders to come.
Riders, get your tack ready, shine those boots, dust off those hats, and saddle up, cause our riding season is coming soon.
Until next month,
Blair Bates
P.S. Peachland is hosting two rodeos this year, Little Britches Rodeo in July and a High School rodeo in September. PRC along with the Rodeo committee have a raffle. Prizes TBA, The draw is at the end of May and it will be held at City Furniture at Westside. For more info or to buy tickets call Diana Chevellier, Sandy Chevellier, Kim Smith, Darlene Pappas, and Deb Craig.
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