Mick and I went to our first OET (Oregon Equestrian Trails) meeting last night. We've been silent members for about 3 years. Two of those years I did the job of mailing out the Trail guide books to new members...but, we had never actually been to a chapter meeting. OET has been in existence for over 30 years. It is dedicated to promoting, preserving, and maintaining horse camps and trails in Oregon. OET members also maintain ongoing communication with various governmental agencies to ensure continued equestrian access on public lands. You would be surprised how many hikers, bikers, etc. don't particularly want to share the trails with our big
poop machines. I don't know how involved with this I am going to get, but I imagine Mick will be helping out with some work parties. One thing I do know is there is strength in numbers, so if you just join it gives the organization strength when negotiating for equine access. If they don't know we're out there they won't give us trails.
One of the stories they related last night was concerning the trails at McIver Park. Last winter those trails were pretty badly damaged and the parks service thought they would be out of commission for a year. OET stepped in and had those trails up and ready to go within 4 months.
They had an equine lawyer there last night to talk about liability issues for horse owners and those who run horse related businesses. Got some good advice on how to protect ourselves from litigation. It was interesting and the people were friendly. At the end of the meetings they have a raffle and I got the Christmas ornament shown above.
I am planning to make it out to the barn to ride tomorrow, so I sure hope this cold east wind stops blowing. I have a clinic to attend on Saturday and I'd like to work on a few things in the next couple of days to prepare. My sister says it's a wind chill factor of 18 below in Cheyenne tonight and tomorrows high is 13...guess I won't complain to much.
I belong to a chapter...but don't really get involved. I joined to go on some rides and camping with my Dear Friend. I did the "big" ride in Waldo Hills for 3 years but skipped this last year cause my Dear Friend was still recovering from her accident. I am here in the PNW right now...the wind is chilling!!!
ReplyDeleteI've never been a member of OET, but I know they do good things. Nothing irks me more than to hear outdoors folks complain about horse poop on the trails. Like deer, elk and other wildlife don't poop i the woods. And who leaves the mountain bike and ATV tracks all over the place? Anyway...great organization that speaks up for horse folks and puts their muscle where their mouths are.
ReplyDelete