The Christmas party was discussed. It was well attended, the food was good and everyone had a great time. It was suggested to have it the same place (Otsego Park) next year. It was also suggested to change the date to January to avoid having so much on the first weekend of December, and to a saturday to make it easier for those who work. This will be discussed next month.
We will have our Cowboy  Christmas tack swap same time, same place next year. We will get new signs.
The ranger boxes were well received. Thank you to those who donated and Connie and Jo for putting them together and delivering them.
The club would like to make club apparel this year as it has been a long time since anything was done. An online store was suggested that would allow choice of item, colors etc. We are looking into it. If you have design ideas, please get them to us.
Our first Winter Blues Brunch will be Saturday, Jan 28 at Das Essenhas in Wauseon, 9 am. Breakfast buffet is ~$9. A second WBB in Feb on a Sunday will be planned at the next meeting. Location suggestions are welcome; Charlie's was suggested.
Our 2023 calendar was started: camping for the Derby Party in May, chili cookoff in Aug., and Oaktoberfest end of Sept./beginning of October at Reed Rd. LeRoy is trying to connect with Farmlane for Memorial day weekend.
Kate showed us a personalized halter she made, suggested name badges/stickers. She will be working on a design personalized for our club.
Lisa L. talked to Lisa W. about club arena days at WB. We could rent the arena for exclusive riding with a minimum no. of participants. If you are interested, let us know. More discussion to come.
We donated money from our dessert auction to 5 foodbanks last month, $100 each;
60 Tribute pop's to HHYEC.

30 members attended at Bunkers.

Several club members (9) won prizes in the OHC 50th Anniversary Bingo venture. Members of our club won the 2nd grand prize and the 3rd grand prize and several other very nice prizes. Larry won the 50/50.
Christmas party - meats will be provided, chicken and ham. Please email RSVP and tell us what you are bringing.
OHC is now nonprofit making donations thru the foundation tax deductible. OHC Foundation is also in the Amazon Smiles program where a percentage of your purchases are donated to them at no cost to you. If someone makes a donation to our club, it will be run through the OHC Foundationj then sent back to us. The foundation will take care of the tax concerns.
Cowboy Christmas setup will be Saturday night at the conclusion of the horse show. It will be open by 7 am for vendors on Sunday.
Trail miles, saddle hours, volunteer hours and trail maintenance hours need to be turned in at the Jan 2 meeting.
Tammy and Doug are hosting our Fat Saturday Ride and New Years Day ride.
Bring donations for the ranger boxes to any activity or an officer.
Should we make new shirts next year?
Do we want to do the Winter Blues Brunches?
LeRoy suggested camping at Farmlane the Memorial Day weekend.
Edison Woods was suggested as a good place to camp.
Save your pop tabs for Debbie V., Tribute Feeds pop's for Harry Hughes.

33 membe attended at Bunkers.

Officer elections - current officers ran unopposed.
Pres.- Jack Collins
VP - Kathy Brown
Sec - Tammy Royer
Treas - Jo Neeley

44 members attended at RRR Oaktoberfest

Donations were made to the Fulton Co. Fair saddle horse division for awards.
Christmas party at Otsego Park will be a potluck by popular vote. Tammy will monitor food sign-up to ensure a good variety.
Lisa L. has volunteered to be our volunteer organizer/reporter.
The new restroom at OO was short-lived. It was in a bad spot and has been removed. The park has not responded about our offer to paint.
Report on Edison Woods showcase ride: very good place to camp, need a permit to camp, low and high areas, there were ~40 riders and a dozen campers, tie lines, located 10 miles east of Norwalk, stony, 14 miles of trails.
Kate, Sandy and Kate will sell tickets at the NW Regional showcase ride Saturday night event.
A donation will be made to the Van Buren silent auction (NW Regional ride Sept. 23-25).
A donation was made to Wayne Co. OHC (Mohican) including deposits from our chapter group that camped there during our lottery weekend in August and matching+ funds from FCOHC. The camping was great.
A secondary membership to Holmes Co. OHC will get you access to Mohican (which is hard to get).
Officer nominations - current officers, all accepted.
HHYEC RAT Oct. 2 will have a silent auction and raffle. 156 Tribute pop's donated this month.
OHC bingo card are due Nov. 5. Jack will mail as a group if desired.

26 members and guests attended at Bunkers.

 There will be no County Lines articles in Sept.
The Christmas party will be at Otsego Park, Friday Dec. 2. We'll have the hall from 10 am to 10 pm. We are looking into a caterer.
We discussed our donations to the 4-H groups and it was suggested that we go back to alternating between Fulton and Lucas Co. We will donate to Fulton this year.
Our chili cookoff will be Aug. 20 at RRR during a camping weekend. There will be happy hour, chili at ~6 pm, potluck, the champion chair award and other prizes.
Cowboy Christmas is on track to happen this year.
It was asked if we could work on getting a place to water horses in OO, perhaps by adding stone to a water spot.
There is no news on the proposal for a connecting trail between the MSF bridle trails.
It appears that our trip to Mohican will happen. Cheryl has been in touch with the man in charge.
We have opened it up to other OHC chapters. If you want a spot, contact Cheryl.
Upcoming camping opportunities:
Aug 12-14    Mohican club trip, contact Cheryl
Aug 19-21    Camping at RRR club event, chili cookoff Sat.
Sept 1-6      Big Elk Lick trip, other event, contact Carolyn
Sept 16-18   Mohican State ride
Sept 23-25  Van Buren State ride
Sept 30-Oct 2     RRR  Oaktoberfest

Our next meeting is Aug. 1 at Bunkers, 7 pm.

22 members attended at Bunkers

The cattle are in OO, part of a land management research project.
Trina told us about the possibilities for our Christmas party at Sauder's Village. Sandy distibuted a survey and collected and tallied the results. Ist choice is Otsego Park in December, 2nd is Sauder's in January.
There were 50-60 riders and lunchers at the showcase rider at OO. Art S. and Jack served up lunch.
Sandusky Co. is having a showcase ride June 25-26 at Whitestar/Garlo Metro Preserve.
Leroy is hosting camping at RRR July 1-4.
A link to the state trail miles/saddle hours reports has been posted on the website. They are also available on the state website or from Jack.
The trail out of HHYEC is open.
Prizes were awarded for our 50th celebration and we had cake!

27 members attended at Bunkers

Jack is looking for a Christmas committee to plan our party. Sandy Bernthisel and Trina Hauser will work on ideas.
OHC has completed the change to 501c3. Donations are now tax deductable.
The new Oak Openings manager is Mackenzie Huber.
The 5 mounting stands need work.
New signage is coming in OO.
HHYEC is getting a new sign ~$1600. They got an $800 donation from NWOHC. We will pay the balance.
Trail out of HHYEC is still closed.
Our showcase ride will be June 4, National Trails day. Lunch will be 11-1 at the rider center.
There will be a feed/nutrition seminar at J&B on April 6 at 5:30.

33 members and guests attended at Bunkers.

  Pics are needed for the website of 2021 high trail milers (Ron C., Kenny V., Matt B., Marge J., Pam S., Kate R., Connie B., Donna G., Elizabeth C. and high saddle hours Tammy R., Carolyn K., Barb Gunning. If you have one you'd like used, send to Kathy Brown. Otherwise we'll snag one somewhere.
Events added to calendar include:
-camping at Farmlane riding at Waterloo May 20-22 (club event, 10 spots reserved and spoken for, call Farmlane 734.260.9009 for reservations)
-Pleasant Hill Lake Promotional Ride June 17-19 (general interest)
-Confidence Course clinic July 16-17 at WB Ranch (general interest)
-HHYEC Spring Cleanup April 23 and 30 (general interest)~20 people attended the second Winter Blues Brunch at Firepit Grill.
Per Jack, the tree clearing in the Maumee State Forest adjacent to HHYEC should be done by April 1. Jack has spoken to MSF about having a new trail connecting the separated sections of the MSF. We will be walking and mapping out a proposal to submit a request. They are reportedly receptive to the idea. Contact Jack if you'd like to contribute/participate/help.
There is a new manager for Oak Openings - Mackenzie. Mounting stands in the MSF have been fixed up, repaired and painted. We will be doing the 5 in Oak Openings this year. Contact Jack if you are interested in helping.
We are still anxious to get the trees trimmed in the parking area at the Rider Center. Oak trees need to be trimmed in the winter. The park has not addressed this nor will they let us do it.
The new bridge on the Wabash Cannonball Trail near Springbrook is slippery when wet. We are brainstorming for a fix to request. Contact Jack if you have an idea.
Sponsorships approved: NW Ohio Driving Circuit (last month), Beverly Upell Memorial Show, HHYEC new sign.
Jack suggested that we do our showcase ride on National Trails Day June 4 at the rider center, Jeffers Rd. Hotdogs 11-2; use the shelter, picnic tables, Leroy will provide the grill. This is part of the NW region 50th anniversary celebration.
Good Stuff: Jack has a horse stock, high wheel cart and complete stall for sale.
Kenny has a lead on hay.
The HHYEC scholarship applications are available; contact Al Staler.

26 members attended at Bunkers.

25-30 members attended the first Winter Blues Brunch at Das Essen Haus in Wauseon.
Some members attended the nutrition seminar at J&B Feed. It was reported to be a good one.
We will be hosting a showcase ride for the NW region as part of the OHC 50th Anniversary celebration. It will ride out of the Jeffers Rd. riders' center; date TBD. Other showcase rides will be at Edison Woods in Berlin Heights (Erie Co.), White Star in Gibsonburg (Sandusky Co.), Van Buren in Van Buren (Hancock Co.) and somewhere in Lima (Allen Co.).
Trails Miles report for 2021:
  2021 Total miles FCOHC 14,156 (up from 12,424 in 2020). 62 riders reported (57 in 2020).
  High Men - Ron C. (1904), Kenny V. (710), Matt B. (501)
  High Women - Marge J.(800), Pam S. (680), Kate R. & Connie B. & Donna G. & Elizabeth C. (480)
  High Hrs - Tammy R.(450), Carolyn K. (319), Barb G. (294).
The club will award apparel prizes to the top man and woman for miles as well as 6 random trail miles reporters: Kathy H., Pam S., Jeanie S., Cheryl Z., Sandy B., LeRoy W.

28 members and guests attended at Bunkers.

Our Cowboy Christmas Tack Swap is scheduled for December 4, 2022 at WB.
The events page on the website has been updated to contain known events for 2022 - FCOHC, state OHC and general interest.
Bonnie would like to retire as chairperson of the Christmas party committee. We need a volunteer.
We will no longer be able to ride out of Royers' as they no longer have room for trailer parking.
Jack stopped and checked out the facilities at Beach Ridge on Rt 64. The bar is not open yet but he noticed there are nice restrooms with showers there. FYI
TRAIL MILES ARE DUE TO JO.
Winter Blues Brunch #1 will be Saturday Jan. 22, 9 a.m. Das Essen Haus in Pettisville/Wauseon. Jones Livestock in Wauseon has an auction the same day.
The NW Regional rep, Al Sidell, has stepped down due to term limits. Our new rep is Sharon Smith who ran unopposed. The mentor is Joan Miller. NW district is Fulton, Wood, Defiance,
Allen, Erie, Sandusky, Hancock counties. We will likely not see much change.
The State Membership meeting in March in Delaware is still on at this point. NW region is hosting this one, and we are in charge of the 50/50 raffle. There will be a silent auction. Volunteers needed, contact Jack.
There will be an OHC booth at Equine Affair. Volunteers likely needed.
Jack has been in contact with several people in Kentucky following the devastating storm. Reportedly, the poultry and cattle communities were hit hard and asking for help. There has been no requests for equine help or horse campgrounds help. We feel there is no appropriate donation to be made at this time. NW Region is holding off at this time as well.
A request was received from the NW Ohio Driving Circuit to be a show sponsor. A donation was proposed and approved.
This year is the 50th anniversary for OHC. There is anniversary apparel on the website and Jack is going to see if there are logo stickers. There will be 5 showcase rides in NW Ohio with one at Oak Openings. Date TBD.
Connie is willing to do another poker run but prefers to NOT have it in conjunction with another activity. A scavenger hunt was also suggested. Something may be done in conjunction with our showcase ride.

23 members attended at Bunkers Bar & Grill.