Ontario Competitive Trail Riding Association

The April 2017 Minutes from the April Board Meeting are now posted.  Please remember this information is for members only (not the general public) so you must sign in to view them.  If you have issues signing in please contact our Webmaster, David Morgan for assistance.

Please note, Committee Reports will now be prepared at year-end only for presentation at the AGM.  If any Committee Chairs wish to have something shared with the membership please contact the Board.  Any members who are interested in volunteering on a Committee or wish information regarding a committee should contact the Committee Chair .

An email went out to our mailing list two weeks ago asking for a vote on a Membership Forum as well as assistance on a couple of committees. Response has been limited. Please respond asap. If you did not receive your email, check your spam/junk folder and/or contact Michelle Watling to be added to our list and have the email resent.

Please send your vote to the OCTRA Secretary including your membership # and the last year you renewed. Only current members are eligible to vote.

Please help with communication within OCTRA.

Thank You

After many years in this position, Chrystal Woodhouse, has decided to step down and pass the baton on to someone else. Chrystal hopes to take all the spare time this will free up for her and spend it on horseback.  Of course, Chrystal is staying on as OCTRA’s Education Chair and has big plans in this area for the coming season.  The Board and all of OCTRA would like to take this time to thank Chrystal for all of her amazing contributions over the past years as well as for her ongoing and future efforts on our behalf.  We all look forward to seeing her smiling face and terrific laugh at ride camp throughout the upcoming season.

Please also give a warm welcome and a big thanks to Judy Durst, current Board member and Pulse Editor, for taking up this new challenge.  The Board and OCTRA Ride Managers will enjoy working with Judy in this and future seasons.

Please remember, nothing happens in OCTRA without a volunteer so thanks to all who have done their part now and in the past.  If you are interested in getting involved at any level, please contact the OCTRA President, Sue Downing.

Thanks again Chrystal and see you on trail.

First Ride Free Promotion

OCTRA is proud to announce a new promotion for the upcoming 2017 season.  This promotion will encourage new people to try out our sport and hopefully become new long time participants and members.  Follow the link above to find out all the pertinent information and be sure to share it with friends and to post at barns, tack shops, etc.

Help OCTRA grow as we approach our 50th Anniversary.

 

OCTRA Endures — 1968 ~ 2018

Savanah Wilson, OCTRA’s Youth Committee Chair, reached out to our Juniors at the end of last season asking them to submit stories on their experiences from the 2016 season.  Two Juniors answered the call and their stories have been posted to the OCTRA web site.  

Both these Junior Riders will receive a gift certificate for Great Leads ‘n Reins courtesy of OCTRA.  If any Juniors are interested in getting involved with this Committee or would like to submit their 2016 story, please contact the Chair at Savanah Wilson.

Ally James

My name is Ally James.  This past season was my first and what an amazing season it was!

I completed my first 25-mile ride in July at Madawaska and I loved every second of it.  I rode in two more 25-mile rides, completing one, and completed my first 50-mile ride at the Lopin’ Larose.  I have met so many wonderful, welcoming and helpful people who have made me fall in love with this endurance family.

I am so incredibly lucky to be mentored by Lynda Townsend and Wendy MacCoubrey and to have the opportunity to ride Furion.  Although sometimes we have arguments about speed, I love riding him and he is an amazing partner.  I am so grateful for all the time and effort that Lynda has put into helping me and the endless knowledge Lynda and Wendy have passed on to me.  Whether it was forgetting my crewing gear or almost running into a tree, there were lots of mishaps, laughs and stories along the way.

For this coming season, I am hoping to complete more 50-mile rides and to continue riding to gain more mileage and experience.  I also hope to achieve on of my goals and eventually try an FEI 1*.  I can’t wait for another season of miles and smiles!

 

Savanah Wilson, OCTRA’s Youth Committee Chair, reached out to our Juniors at the end of last season asking them to submit stories on their experiences from the 2016 season.  Two Juniors answered the call and their stories have been posted to the OCTRA web site.

Both these Junior Riders will receive a gift certificate for Great Leads ‘n Reins courtesy of OCTRA.  If any Juniors are interested in getting involved with this Committee or would like to submit their 2016 story, please contact the Chair at Savanah Wilson.

Charlotte Tremblay

Hello, my name is Charlotte Tremblay and I am 12 years old and this is my write-up about my 2016 riding season. It started out as a disappointment for me because we were obliged to retire my beautiful bay mare Miss T Moonlite, but at the same time it was a great excitement since I got try out my new gelding, Adversity, for the summer thanks to Bob Coleman, Michelle Bignell and Chrystal Woodhouse for having the idea in the first place. This all happened on the May long weekend, so it was a very emotional time for me. 

I started riding Adversity in my lessons at the barn and everything was just fine. We quickly made a strong and lasting connection. Later on, we were invited to pre-ride the trails of the lovely Madawaska Highlands and during this new experience I learned to judge if a trail is safe enough for an O.C.T.R.A. ride. My mom, Nancy Zukewich, and I found the trails were beautiful and were challenging enough to give the horses a good workout this early in the season. 

I had been planning to try a 50 with Adversity at Coates Creek. To prepare for this, my mom and I went to train in the beautiful St Lazare trails with Wendy MacCoubrey and Lynda Townsend.  We completed our first 50 together with the help of our crew, Laura Kelland May. I was really proud of Adversity and impressed with how far we came in such a short time. 

Madawaska was really fun. We completed another 50 together. We were having truck troubles so I arrived at the ride with Laura, our crew, while my mom was getting the truck sorted out and getting horses to the ride. On the first day, I volunteered. I learned to take pulses with a stethoscope from Dr. Stan and Dr. Art. We rode on the second day. But that night, the horses got loose! It was an exciting evening since our horses went running down the road.  Luckily our horses were found at ride camp, but we didn’t find our friends’ horses until the next day. Everyone was worried and it was quite scary. On the third day, the ride manager, Chrystal, was getting tired, so I volunteered to be the ride manager while she had a nap for a few hours. It was quite exciting. 

In the beginning of August, I was invited to spend a week with Wendy MacCoubrey and we called it Endurance Boot camp. Wendy taught me a lot of good on-trail skills and good ground work like how to nicely trot out for the vet. We also went blackberry picking on the trails that we rode on. 

Next ride we did was my mom’s ride, the Merrickville CTR. Near the end of the first loop, Adversity spooked sideways at a log, I came off, cracked my helmet on the ground and got a minor concussion. Everyone took great care of me. Rob and Chrystal took me out for ice cream. After that, my goal was to be all better for Tay Valley which was a month away. 

In the meantime, my mom rode Adversity to keep him fit since I couldn’t. At Tay Valley, Adversity and I completed a 25-mile set speed with my mom and my good friend Ally James. 

We completed another 50 together at Oktoberfest, but the best part was that I got to complete a 6-mile ride n tie with my grandpa the day before, even though he got lost a few times on trail. 

For our last ride of the year, we tried to do a 50 at Larose, but sadly we got pulled at the mile 38 for slight lameness. I’d like to thank Dr. Arthur King for keeping the best interest of my horse in mind and for being honest with me. 

At the end of the summer my family made the decision to purchase Adversity. I’d like to thank the long list of people who have helped me in 2016 to achieve my goals. I also really appreciate all the support of my O.C.T.R.A. family. In the end, I find that 2016 was a big success for my career in endurance riding.

The Board and the entire membership would like to thank both Elaine Steele and Pat Kuffner for their time, energy and contributions during their time on the OCTRA Board of Directors. Elaine is happily staying on as both the Distance Reward Program & Ride Liaison Chairs as well as the CTR Chair. Pat Kuffner is continuing on as a volunteer at rides and hopefully we will see her on trail. Thank you very much to both for their past and ongoing support of our group.

As well, we all thank Doug Price for his many years of service as Ride Manager and OCTRA volunteer extraordinaire, the past six years as OCTRA President. Doug is taking a much deserved rest but I am sure we will see him on trail with his happy smile and a twinkle in his eye.

A big welcome to our “newest” Board of Director members. All are well known to our membership as none of them are strangers to being OCTRA volunteers from Ride Managers to Webmaster. Thank you very much to all for taking their turn at the plate. Sue Downing is our new President and has years of experience to share with us and take us into our 50th year and beyond. Everyone knows and loves the events she and hubby Mike have hosted over the years on the beautiful trails of Dufferin Forest – Aprilfest, Summer Solstice and Oktoberfest. She brings to her position not only her experience but her energy, vision and love of our sport. David Morgan, although fairly new to our Association and our sport, is well known to most as the banjo playing co-partner of Great Leads ‘n Reins along with his wife, Kate and of course Maggie, their adorable pup. David of course successfully took on the challenging role of Webmaster last fall and now is bringing his knowledge to the Board. Nancy Beacon is definitely known to all of us as she is one of our Founding Mothers. She brings with her a vast knowledge of long distance riding and the history of our association, all of which will be extremely valuable as we head towards our 50th celebrations in 2018.

The current Board is rounded out with Lysane Cree, Vice President, Michelle Bignell, Treasurer, Sharon Anderegg, Secretary, and our Directors Rose Danko, Judy Durst and Michelle Watling. Feel free to contact any Board member at any time with questions, suggestions or requests. We are all simply OCTRA members working together to make our Association something we can all be proud of and enjoy together.

And a big thank you to all our volunteers without whom OCTRA simply would not exist.