May Meeting

May Meeting will be held at the Oconee County Library in Watkinsville on May 17th at 7pm Meeting Business and Yoga where you can watch or participate.

April Horse Show Photos on Horse Show Photos page

Kel-Mac 2022 Horse Show
​Information

The 2022 Kel-Mac Saddle Club up coming horse shows are scheduled for the following dates:
May 14th
September 17th
October 8th
For more information about our 2022 shows, just click on the "Events" tab at the top of the page.
2022 Entry Forms are now available to download

Kel-Mac Saddle Club Newsletter Higlights
Kel-Mac Meeting Minutes from April 19th held at the Oconee County Library, 1080 Experiment Station Road in Watkinsville

Happiness is being awarded a pretty ribbon and a stuffed bunny toy! Amelia (mounted) and Piper McCoy (holding the leadline) are pictured participating in the leadline class at the April Kel-Mac Show. Photo courtesy of Katie Williams photography. 
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The Meeting was called to order at 7pm by President Susan McCullar.

Vice President Lisa Williamson introduced Amanda McCoy, our speaker for the evening. Amanda is the founder of Athens Area Horse Community. (AAHC), which started in 2010 as a Facebook page. AAHC currently has over a 1,000 members. The AAHC service area is defines as places "within a 1 hour drive of Athens, Georgia". It encompasses 18 counties and over 5000 square miles. In 2017, the website, www.athensareahorsecommunity.com, came into existence. The homepage includes a dashboard that takes you to various areas of the site, such as:
-Upcoming events, and a monthly calendar
-Merchant directory (farriers, veterinarians, boarding places, feed and hay sources, etc.)
-Resources: facility map, classified ads, volunteer opportunities, help with loose horses, and educational articles and newsletters.
-Community initiatives: one goal is to find ways to bring more horse people to our area. AAHC is working to get Heritage Park opened as a show facility. They are also working toward land conservation so we have places to ride. If you want to get involved in any of these activities, please contact Amanda at:
athensareahorsecommunity@gmail.com 
Volunteers are needed and welcomed!

Business Meeting:
The March minutes were approved as published in the newsletter.
Susan asked for ideas for future speakers.

Trail report

Sharon Wood could not attend, so the trail report was given by Rosemary Vogel. The Fell Hunt camping trip for this weekend was cancelled. There will be a day ride on Saturday, April 23 at Hard Labor Creek State Park, instead.

Upcoming events:

May 20-22:
Willis Knob Camp trip. There is one campsite available. Rosemary Vogel is the coordinator.

May 28: 
Day ride at AH Stephens State Park

June 17-18:
Camp trip at Fort Mountain

Show committee report:

Susie Cottongim reported that our first show was a success. In spite of the cold and wind, everyone had a good time. We did have classes with no, or little participation. If these classes continue to have no entries, they are in jeopardy of being removed. These classes include: mini halter, Jr hunt seat equitation, beg adult WT western pleasure, beg adult WT horsemanship, and open ranch horse. Thanks to all the volunteers for your hard work, and for making our first show of the year a success!

Treasure’s report:

Beg balance        $11253.98
Debits                $1,659.99
Deposits             $4,511.00
Ending balance  $14,404.99

Currently we have $4,825.00 in the scholarship fund.
The due date for scholarship applications is April 30. Applications will be reviewed by the scholarship committee, and the $1000 Barbara Reilly Cumming Memorial Scholarship will be Awarded at the Kel-Mac meeting on May 17.

New Business

We now have a Club email account! Kelmacmadison@gmail.com
Susan introduced Vanessa Allpress, who has come on-board as our IT person. She has been a great help in getting the website www.kelmac.com  organized and up to date.

The May meeting will be held May 17th at the Watkinsville Public Library. Chanda Ross, the owner of Let It Be Yoga studio in Watkinsville, is a certified yoga teacher and a lifelong horseback enthusiast. She will discuss hoe yoga can benefit riders, and will lead a short yoga class to demonstrate some postures and movements that promote strength and suppleness. Folks who plan to participate should wear athletic wear. If possible, bring a yoga mat with you.
 
Meeting adjourned at 8:20pm
Respectfully submitted,
Valerie Puryear, Secretary

KEL-MAC SADDLE CLUB

For the past 45 years, Kel-Mac Saddle Club has provided quality equestrian activities in an educational and family atmosphere. Whether you are looking for western, hunter/jumper, trail riding, horse shows, equine programs or anything else horse related, you've come to the right club! Kel-Mac is located in Northeast Georgia with meetings being held in Athens, Georgia and the surrounding areas.

Kel-Mac Saddle Club sponsors an open, all-breed horse show series, held in Madison, Georgia, to help novice riders and horses prepare for higher level showing. Classes include hunter/jumper, western, halter/showmanship, beginner and open classes and much more. 

Trail riding is also a popular activity for Kel-Mac members as they participate in trail rides all along the East Coast.

​ELECTION OF 2022 OFFICERS

Elections for the 2022 Officers was held at the November 16th meeting.  Our new slate of officers for 2022 are: (L-R)

Treasurer:  Rosemary Vogel
V.P.: Lisa Williamson
President:  Susan McCullar
Secretary:  Valerie Puryear
Show Chairman:  Susie Cottongim
Trail Boss:  Sharon Wood (not pictured)

Show Chairperson Report, by Susie Cottongim

"Off and Running"

What a nice start to the show year. Okay, it was a little cool. We had a delightful turnout, and enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones. How we enjoyed the lead line and small fry classes! All those sweet faces, and the kids were cute too.

As a reminder to all exhibitors (old and new), please read the rules and class descriptions sheets available online, and at the show. The directives for the dressage classes are also available. A few highlights: to get points toward the year end, you must be a member.  You can join at the end of the day, and the points accrued earlier that day will count. You must show as a member for two shows to be eligible for year end awards.  No refunds are given except in the case of injury to horse or rider.  Keep an open check with the Show folks at the check-in window if you're not sure whether you will go in a class or not. Inform gate workers of a tack change. It is the competitor's job to be on time.  Kel-Mac gate people go out of their way to make sure everyone gets in their class, but it is not their job. There is a two-minute grace time before the gate closes.

Folks are always asking for classes to be added. Fifty-eight classes are enough, but we have some classes that have not had sufficient entries. After the May Show, we will look at the entry numbers and decide whether to cancel a class or not.  Classes with risk of cancellation include:  Jr. Hunter Equitation, Miniature Halter, Beg. S/A WT Western Pleasure and Horsemanship, and Open Ranch Pleasure. So, it's important to support the classes you want to see remain in the line-up. 

It was a beautiful Kel-Mac Show, but it was also bitter sweet.  We missed Barbara Cumming, who was our rock and anchor for so many years.  Her smile, knowledge, and calm got us through many rough times. Our super volunteers stepped in and up to help make the show run really smooth. Thanks are not enough.

Horsemanship, Sportsmanship, and Friendship: I'm looking forward to seeing them on display again at the upcoming shows.
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Images below: scenes from the Kel-Mac Meet and Greet at Heritage Park on April 2, 2022

​Vice President’s Report, by Lisa Williamson

​April 2022 was a busy month for Kel-Mac Saddle Club. The Meet and Greet Event at Heritage Park was well attended by members, and by folks who were interested in learning more about the Saddle Club. I thank all of you who showed up, met and talked with new folks, helped prepare and serve lunch, led trail rides, and helped with the clean up after the fun.

Our first horse show was a great success, despite the chilly weather. To see more wonderful images from the April Show, go to photoskwilliams.com, and scroll to April Kel-Mac tab. Please help support Katie's work so that we can keep her coming back to the shows!

On April 19, our speaker, Amanda McCoy, did a great job introducing what he Athens Area Horse Community website has to offer the horse-owning public. She shared some of her many ideas about how to grow and enrich the horse community in our area. As Valerie pointed out in the minutes, Amanda welcomes volunteers.
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This month, we have our horse show on May 14th. Come out and volunteer to help with the many tasks necessary to run a successful horse show. It's a fun time, doing good things for horses and for people.

Our Kel-Mac Meeting on May 17 will be held at the Watkinsville Public Library. I'm going to request the larger meeting room. Our speaker, Chanda Ross, is the owner of Let It Be Yoga in Watkinsville. She will discuss the benefits of yoga for the horseback rider, and will lead a brief demonstration class. If you would like to participate, dress in nonrestrictive clothing and bring a mat. Chanda is a great teacher, and she might just inspire you make yoga a regular part of your life.

Full Newsletter PDF available under the About tab under Past Newletters