September 2006

 AHAM Affiliation News
Arabian Horse Association of Massachusetts

AHAM has had 3 great rides so far this year and plans are in the works  for our fall ride in October.
     Our first ride was at Camp Marshall in Spencer, MA on June 17th. Nancy Russell managed the ride and Shirley and Neil Standring marked a beautiful 10 and 15 mile loop. We had 31 riders who enjoyed sunny skies, beautiful scenery, and outstanding views. The trails consisted mainly of winding wooded paths and pine needle cart roads. All riders returned to  enjoy lunch provided by Nancy consisting of sandwiches, chips, cookies,  fruit, soft drinks and of course carrots for the horses. The camp Marshall grounds are beautiful with plenty of parking and sanitary  facilities provided. Many thanks to Nancy Russell and the Standrings for making this ride such a success.

     AHAM also holds both of their fun shows at this facility in Spencer in June and September. The fun shows are run and managed by Sandy Crowe and Sue Pratt.

     Our 2 day ride was held at Felton Field in Barre, MA on August 5th and 6th. We had 22 riders Saturday and 21 on Sunday to enjoy a 13 or 20 mile  loop. The ride was somewhat different than in years past offering winding  wooded paths, many cart trails, and some railroad bed. Rich Gamester  provided a delicious and plentiful lunch of hamburgers with an array of  salads and desserts on Saturday and sandwiches, chips and salads on  Sunday. Thank you Rich for such fabulous food.

Click here for scenes from our Barre, MA trail ride.

     14 riders camped out Saturday night complete with campfire and starlit sky. A HUGH, HUGH thank you goes to Colleen Melanson who helped Anne  Quill and myself figure out the trail routes, mark and unmark the trails  with us, put together the campfire, provide the short loop water stops both days and helped so much with planning and implementation. This ride could not have been possible without her. It also would not have been  possible without my dear friend Anne Quill who did so much to help with  planning, preparation, marking and unmarking trails, providing the long loop water stops both days and all her support. Many thanks also to Jane Lynds and Shirley and Neil Standring for helping us with marking and unmarking the trail.
I feel very lucky that we have such a great facility as Felton Field to  hold our rides. There is plenty of room to camp out with horses and to park if you go just for one day. There are sanitary facilities there as well. The area is surrounded with beautiful trails.

      Our next and last trail ride will be on October 22nd in Douglas State Forest run by Nancy Russell.

 For information about all our events and our club please go to  www.massarab.org. We welcome all breeds of horses to our events (shows & trail rides) and have year-end awards for both Arabians and non- Arabians.

Marty Guild