2022 ATAA Conference, GMM, Seminars and Clinic!
Whew! The 26th Annual ATAA GMM, Seminars and Clinics are all wrapped up.
We had people fly in from MT, CO, FL, and PA.
Thursday, Betsy Wandler and Yorke McGillivray came in a bit early and helped out with some of the final details. My barn crew and family were a huge help – we used this as a deadline to get some of our ‘on the list’ things done. Thanks to April Pierce, Niki Spencer and Larry Brader for all the extra time and effort they put in.
Friday was our real first day: the Meet and Greet was set up at the Hampton Inn Hotel in Woodinville for 7 pm. Laura Spear came up from OR and unfortunately had to drive back that night, as there was a fire burning just a little to close to her home. She did get to ride Gala though.
I had Lewis and Main of Monroe, WA catering all our food and they did not disappoint! Friday was Fresh fruit and berries, Sliced veggies with assorted dipping sauces,Charcuterie display with house pickled vegetables and crostini. Yes, it was as good as it sounds!
We got to meet Jean Sanders, who owns Nazenin (or Pippi), Sephard Shael x Nadiyat Shael, from PA and new Teke person, Amanda Folson from Florida. By then, several others had shown up, including Kevin Matthews, Laurel Brock and her husband Amir, and Donna Haselow. We all munched and chatted until around 9 pm.
Saturday:
Saturday was the General Membership Meeting, Seminars and Awards Dinner. We had 4 of the 7 BOD members there, Betsy Wandler, Cathy Leddy, Yorke McGillivray and Kevin Matthews. Yorke was able to set up video and calls for other members to join in the meeting and seminars and I believe she did make a recording of it all. Our meeting included the World Premiere showing of “Akhal-Tekes at Equitana”, which the ATAA made in conjunction with HorseFlicks films, and the screening of our first finished how-to video; “How to measure your horse for registration”, thanks to Katrina Ardiel and Jon Mays of HorseFlicks.
Voting for the open BOD spots (Tish Saare and Cathy Leddy were going off the board) was completed. We had 4 nominees for the 2 openings: Laura Spear, Sarah Schumann, Margaret Wakefield and Amanda Gonczi. Thank you to all of you for being willing to serve! Votes were counted and Margaret and Amanda are the new ATAA BOD members.
Then, it was lunch: Catered by Lewis and Main, here is the menu:
Roast beef, ham, and swiss baguette with arugula, heirloom tomato, and aioli
Grilled squash pinwheel with sweet pea vinaigrette, spinach, pickled onion, goat cheese
(Vegan pinwheels also available)
German potato salad, stone ground mustard vinaigrette, house pickle, shaved onion, dill, peas
Yes, I suspect you’re sensing a theme. Lewis and Main is my favorite restaurant and for good reason!
Several other local Teke people showed up, including Monica Bretherton, who was our photographer for the rest of the Conference, Marlee Young and Eleana Woods. We also had the Silent Auction items out. We had several donations of items, including items from Sophie’s Equine Design, Katrina and Giles Ardiel, Niki Spencer, the ATAA, and also several art prints.
After lunch, we went straight to the Seminars. Our first speaker was Karen Ososki, who gave an excellent talk on How a Horse Learns. This was fascinating and was a preview for Sunday’s clinics.
After Karen, we had a short break and then Dr. Brandi Holohan DVM gave a talk on “The Hard to Breed Mare”. Once again, it was a very interesting presentation and we had many questions to follow up.
After all this, we had a short break and set up for the Awards Dinner. We had planned to also replay the videos from that morning, but our electronics didn’t feel like cooperating. We had several more locals show up for dinner, including my barn staff, April and Niki, and my friends Gene Mitchell, Wendy Ford and Alice Chapman. The menu:
Saturday Dinner
Shaved cauliflower salad, pickled onion, champagne vinaigrette, castelvetrano olive
Wedge salad, crumbled bacon, gorgonzola, tomato, creamy bacon vinaigrette
Seared steelhead, mustard cream
Seared chicken breast, balsamic mushrooms
Garlic green beans
Whipped potatoes
Seasonal dessert
And yes, it was delicious! Even the vegans were happy. The fish was fantastic and I don’t think there were any leftovers.
Then, the presentation of the ATAA Awards: These are by member nomination and are always something very nice. Betsy Wandler has been doing them for years, and would like some help…
Sunday: Karen Ososki demo and clinics
We had one outside horse come for the clinic and everyone attending was invited to participate with one of Cascade Gold’s horses. Kevin and Yorke both used a CGAT horse, Kevin partnered with Alamet and Yorke with Arzuw. Karen did a demo using Arzuw (Ari) and explaining her work. Then, we had the group clinic, with 5 people-Teke pairs in the arena. Wendy Ford had her NP/Teke gelding Mouse, Yorke had Ari, Alice had Andre, Kevin had Alamet and I had Gala (who happened to be in heat and spent the entire time gazing longingly at Mouse).
After the group session, lunch was served and of course, it was from Lewis and Main! It was a repeat of Saturday’s lunch, with Baguette sandwiches, pinwheels and salads.
We did have 1 auditor come for Sunday’s Karen Ososki seminar and one on Sunday for the demo and clinics. I was a bit disappointed that more people didn’t show up, but oh well, more food for us! My mother-in-law, Carol, came for lunch and part of the afternoon session. At 93, she is spicy and had lots of questions for Karen.
After lunch, it was the individual sessions. We had 4 participants, including Marlee on Dr. Z, a Teke/warmblood cross, Yorke on Ari, Gene Mitchell with Astra and Alice with Andre.
By the end of the last individual session, it was closing in on 5 pm, so we said goodbye to everyone that had to leave and then retired to the front yard lounge area and just chatted for quite some time. We finished up anything left from the weekend’s meals and had an adult beverage or two!
All in all, we had a lovely weekend and came out very narrowly in the black, moneywise, mostly because of my two major donors: Dayville Hay and Grain Supply and Wepaly Gulki. Thank you very much to both of them, they made the entire event painfree (financially!)
And, that’s a wrap!