Horse Leaders Meeting Agenda & Minutes

CALL to ORDER

MINUTES:

TREASURER:

CORRESPONDANCE:

REPORTS:

• April Project Day
• 2025 Horse Camp
• Agent

OLD BUSINESS:

• Clinics for 2025             
  • Caroline Hudon – Show Prep/Leaders Session
    • June 21 – location/format/cost
  • State Horse updates
  • County Show details
    • Counties to include
    • Volunteers for jobs
• Eagle Mount

NEW BUSINESS:

• Summer practices
• Horse ID
• Assessments
• Any other business to present

Next meeting: 

September 2, 2025

Upcoming Events

• June 1 Horse ID and Assessments due to Extension
• June 7 GFAB Dressage Show
• June 13-14 406 Arena Schooling Show
• June 21 Show Prep Clinic
• July 26 GFAB Hunter Jumper Show
• August 1 County 4-H Horse Show
• August 2 County 4-H WRH Show

Called to Order:

Attendees:

Brook Gerard, Ginger Murphy, Haylea Grimshaw, Katrina Emrich, Laura Steichen,Leann Murphy, Wendy Newman, Jenn Volkmar, Cassie DeShaw, Lisa Jassen, Rachel Grimshaw

 

Ginger called the meeting to order at 5:32 PM

 

Pledges

 

Minutes:

Brook requested a revision to the March 4^th minutes as follows:  New Business – Additional items discussed – revise “Ginger and Lisa will handle registration” to “Ginger and Lisa will build registration in Cognito forms”.Brook made a motion to approve the March minutes with the correction and Katrina seconded.

Treasurer’s Report:

Checking: $11,932.18 / Savings: $25.00 / CD: $10,356.58 / Money Market: $2.56 / Total Assets: $22,316.32

Agent’s Report:

Jennprovided the following updates -

• Rec lab was last weekend in White Sulphur, two members and one chaperone attended
• April 12^th is Project Day& the Communication Contest
• Shooting sports doing a fundraiser
• Camp registration opened today
• Leaders’ council in the middle of planning raffle baskets
• Fair planning met earlier this evening and are currently working on contracts
• Extension duties for Jenn – SCCLA judging in Bozeman, continuation of contracts and COI’s
• The extension office is down to one copier so large printing jobs need to be outsourced

Correspondence:

None

Event Reports:

Brook reported that the March8^thproject day was a success. The kids went through horse kit stations and played Jeopardy.

Old Business:

Education/Project Days and activity planning

• April 12^th – Brands presented by Paul Johnson

Clinics

• June 21^st- Caroline Hudon Clinic with the primary focus on leads and transitions
• No plans for a Working Ranch Horse clinic as neither Curt Pate or Scott Grosskopf are available

State Horse Show

• Lisa informed the group that the State had a meeting the day before. Riley Larson & Kelly Katoney will be co-chairing the event. It will take place at the 406 Arena and the contracts are complete. A subcommittee will be formed. The next meeting will be held on April 28^th

Horse Camp

• All instructors have been secured, Amber Wagnor and Shelia Smart will be coming from out of town, and as per the motion made at the March 4^th meeting, hotel rooms have been booked (Market Place Comfort Inn - $104/night)
• Brook made a motion and Lisa seconded, to pay the instructors a total of$850 as follows:
  • Amber Wagnor $300
  • Sheila Smart $300
  • Kelli Rohloff $150
  • Sue Thompson $50
  • Yellow Rose Healing $25
  • Ruby Hoernlen $25
• Rachel & Haylea will put together check-in bags and will include T-Shirts, name tags, personalized registration, water, and snacks(assume 45)
• Brook will put together a bingo card & Wendy will get a prize
• Linda Cederhome, Meghan Johnson’s mom, is making pillowcases for the kids
• Lisa & Ginger have camp registration ready to go in Cognito, however, Jenn requested that ZSuites be used instead. Jenn stated that she wasn’t comfortable with Cognito because she didn’t have access and wasn’t familiar with the program. Brook volunteered to do training with Jenn and Jody, and Jenn said that she would get back to Brook with a time for the next day. Ginger requested that Jenn get back to the executive board after training and provide a plan.

 

Sponsorship Review

• The group reviewed the list of sponsors, stuffed envelopes, and addressed letters to be mailed

New Business:

County Show items discussed -

• Scheduled for August 1^st& 2^nd
• Class list was reviewed
• Need to decide on which counties to include by next meeting
• Leann & Reagan working on patterns
• Wendy will scribe
• Ginger to reach out to Brooklyn Merja to see if she will also scribe
• Cassie will scribe for WRH
• Judges confirmed except for roping for the WRH
• Brook will announce

 

Wendy mentioned that Jenny Goldy, who lives in Oregon, will be in town Easter weekend and has a Circle Y saddle for sale - 14 inch. Front & Back cinch, breast collar $600

Adjournment:

Wendymade a motion to adjourn the meetingat 7:05 PM and Katrina seconded.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Rachel Grimshaw - Secretary

Call to Order: 

Attendees:

In person: Brook Gerard, Ginger Murphy, Haylea Grimshaw, Katrina Emrich, Laura Steichen, Rachel Grimshaw, Ruby Hoernlen Webex: Jenn Volkmar Phone: Marie Powell

Ginger called the meeting to order at 5:37 PM

Pledges

Minutes:

Brook made a motion to approve the February minutes and Katrina seconded

Treasurer’s Report:

Checking: $11,878.72 / Savings: $25.00 / CD: $10,356.58 / Money Market: $2.56 / Total Assets: $22,262.86

Agent’s Report:

Jenn, currently in Missoula with State 4-H, provided the following updates -

• March project day is Saturday, March 8^th and is an extended project day due to our countywide baby blank service project
• Communication practice will be held directly after the April project day
• Upcoming shooting sports meeting on Thursday, March 6^th
• The next Leaders’ Council meeting is March 11^th
• State Fair is scheduled for July 25^th – August 2At the next fair planning meeting the group will be reviewing program books & entries
• Recently received fee info from Camp Rotary (June 7-11). Junior leaders will be meeting again in two weeks for the second planning night
• Going forward, MSU is requiring that all contracts be sent to them for approval

Correspondence:

A thank you was received from Haylea Grimshaw for the financial support received from the Horse Leaders for the team to attend Nationals in Denver. A thank you was also received from the Montana 4H foundation for the $750 sponsorship that the Horse Leaders donated.

Event Reports:

Ginger reported that the February 8^th project day was a success with ten kids in attendance. Six speakers came and spoke about horse careers beyond 4-H.

 

Old Business:

Project Days:

• March 8^th – Horse Kit Stations & Jeopardy with Brook. The time has been changed from 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM to 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
• April 12^th – Brands presented by Paul Johnson. Brook will reach out to Paul as a reminder

2025 Clinic Ideas:

• Caroline Hudon – Lisa reached out and Caroline is interested in doing a clinic in June. The focus will be show prep and will focus on patterns, positioning, leads, transitions, and showmanship. Ginger will confirm the date, and we will need to figure out the location. Caroline will likely charge a fee; someone will need to follow up.
• Curt Pate or Scott Grosskopf – Lisa to reach out to Teton county before reaching out to Curt and/or Scott

State Horse Updates: Teri Antilley is starting to focus on the horse show, and we should hear more soon.

Enrollment roster follow ups – Ginger reached out to parents on the horse project registrations that needed to be reviewed and all are being resolved.

New Business:

Horse Camp Planning (May 2-3)

The group put together a draft schedule as follows:

Friday

4:00 PM Trail Ride and Photos (Alyssa Harris, confirmed)

6:00 PM Dinner (Sandy Harshaw, confirmed)

6:30 – 7:30 PM Talk Session by Yellow Rose Healing (Laura confirmed)

8:00 – 10:00 PM Open riding and games

Saturday

7:30 AM Breakfast (Sandy Harshaw, confirmed)

8:00 AM Morning Sessions (Three rotating sessions split up by ability level)

Horsemanship (Amber Wagner confirmed, wants three morning rotations slots and one afternoon session)

Ground Poles (Sheila Smart, confirmed)

Etiquette

11:45 – 12:45 PM Lunch (Sandy Harshaw, confirmed)

1:00 PM Afternoon Sessions (Kids select, not split up by ability level)

• Dressage (Sheila Smart, confirmed)
• Flag (Lisa & Coleman, need to confirm Coleman)
• Intro to English (Wendy & Ginger, confirmed)
• Grooming & Show Prep (Sara Graft, confirmed)
• Desensitizing colts (Coleman, need to confirm)
• Lunge Line (Coleman, need to confirm)
• Dummy roping (Lisa, Regan, & Coleman, need to confirm Coleman)
• Bareback (Susan Thompson, confirmed - wants two afternoon classes split by age)
• Precision maneuvers (Sue Thompson, confirmed)
• Trail (extra cost, need to touch base with Jessica)

4:45 PM End of Day

Additional items discussed:

• John & Penny Uecker – Ginger reached out and is waiting to hear back
• Cheryl Seal, Jessica Fryberger, Marie Powell, Justin Warneke, & Becky Allen are not available
• Grant Smith – Equine Aliments – Laura to reach out for suggestions (med kit – trail ride, horse trailer, home)
• Game Ideas - Simon Says, red light – green light, Omoksee games
• Ruby Hoernlen – could do a session on horse harmony
• Driving – could reach out to Morgan or Kathy
• Brooke to reach out to Pepsi for a sponsorship
• Wendy talked to Eagle Mount – website has a list of needed items
• Need hotel rooms for out-of-town instructors
• Need to review the 406 Arena contract & send it to the State office
• Registration due April 14^th (Cascade County) Other Counties April 21^st
• Sara will do a craft
• Rachel & Haylea will put together the goodie bags
• Ginger & Lisa will handle registration

Katrina made a motion to approve the $150 for the craft and Brook seconded. Katrina made a motion to approve two hotel rooms for one night for Amber Wagnor and Shelia Smart and Laura seconded.

Other New Business:

Sponsorship Review: Send any suggestions on sponsors to Ginger & Lisa. Ruby suggested adding John & Darci Nelson.

County Shows – will discuss next month, please review the class list that was included in this month’s package before the next meeting. Leanne & Regan will work on patterns, judges confirmed, will need to get scribes, and start ordering prizes (Haylea & Ginger).

Adjournment:

Brooke made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:05 PM and Laura seconded.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Rachel Grimshaw - Secretary

Call To Order

Attendees: In person: Cassie DeShaw, Ginger Murphy, Jenn Volkmar, Katrina Emrich, Laura Steichen, Leann Murphy, Lindsey Zgoda, Lisa Jassen, Wendy Newman    Webex: Brook Gerard, Jenn Swanson, Rachel Grimshaw

Called to Order: Ginger called the meeting to order at 5:32 PM.

Pledges

Minutes:

A motion to approve the January minutes was made by Wendy and seconded by Katrina.

Treasurer’s Report:

Checking: $12,299.87 / Savings: $25.00 / CD: $10,356.58 / Money Market: $2.56 / Total Current Assets: $22,684.01.

Agent’s Report:

Jenn provided updates on the following -

• February Project Day – 85 kids signed up
• Annual shooting sports tournament is February 15^th at the Expo Park
• Camp is June 7 – 11; JD sign up open until February 6^th; planning meetings scheduled for next week
• The extension office is looking for volunteers for the communications contest
• Radio Spots are available on KMON
• State Fair is scheduled for July 25^th – August 2^nd
• Cascade County 4H Foundation is currently working on scholarship updates
• Six walkie talkies and a new speaker/mic system are available for check out at the extension office
• Upcoming commissioner & fair planning meetings

Correspondence:

No correspondence but a plaque was received from the NILE for Leann Murphy’s first place win in the individual horse judging competition.

Event Reports:

Leann provided an update on the Western Regional Roundup. The horse judging team placed sixth overall, fourth for team performance, eighth for team reasons, eighth for team halter, and Leann took seventh as an individual.

Katrina reported that the January 11^th project day was a success with approximately twenty kids in attendance. Stick horse and Omoksee games were set up in the gym at the extension office.

Old Business:

Project Days:

• February 8^th – Careers with Horses. Ginger and Leann have six speakers lined up
• March 8^th – Horse Kit Stations with Brook
• April 12^th – Brands presented by Paul Johnson

2025 Clinic Ideas:

• Caroline Hudon – Lisa reached out and Caroline is considering
• Curt Pate or Scott Grosskopf – Lisa to reach out to Teton county before reaching out to Curt and/or Scott
• Focus on Show Prep
• Horsemanship – Lisa suggested Amber Wagner

State Horse Updates: No update

County Horse Show:

• Lisa suggested a joint show with Teton County
• August 1^st Judges – Peggy Lucas and Matt Raines confirmed
• August 2^nd Judges: Peggy Lucas is considering judging for the ranch show. Josh Panter’s daughter joined 4H so we will have to get someone else. Lisa knows someone in Teton county that could be a possibility.

Colt to Maturity: Kandie has been notified and will choose her award.

New Business:

Horse Camp Planning (May 2-3)

• Ginger shared ideas from Leann & Regan
  • Theme ideas: sports, game night, beach, zoo animals, circus, trivia/game, stand up jeopardy to incorporate public speaking. Game Night decided for 2025 theme.
  • Community Project – Donation to Eagle Mount with donations accepted at check-in. Wendy will reach out to Eagle Mount to see what is needed and to see if someone from Eagle Mount would be willing to come and receive the donation on Saturday, May 3^rd.
  • Photo shoot – Ginger will ask Alyssa Harris
  • Session Ideas & suggested leaders:
    • Friday night – trail ride & professional talk - Wendy suggested horse yoga
    • Morning- 3 rotating classes – basic skills, split up by ability level
    • Afternoon – allow kids to select sessions, not split up by ability level
    • Need to have classes without horses for the horseless horse kids
    • Horsemanship – Amber Wagner (Lisa confirmed via 2/5/25 email)
    • Grooming & Show Prep - Sara Graft (Ginger to reach out)
    • Equine Dentistry - John Uecker (Ginger to reach out)
    • Equitation/Arena Etiquette – Penny Uecker (Ginger to reach out)
    • Vaulting – Jessica at 406 (Ginger to reach out)
    • Showmanship – Becky Allen
    • Intro to English – Wendy & Ginger
    • Ground Poles – Leann and/or Tanya Johnson
    • Flag Work – Lisa & Coleman
    • Bareback – Sue Thompson (Ginger to reach out)
    • Dressage – Sheila Smart (Lisa to reach out)
    • Mounted Archery/Shooting – Cheryl Seal (Wendy to reach out)
    • Equine First Aid – Cheryl Seal (Wendy to reach out)
    • Lunge line – Justin Warneke or Coleman (Ginger to reach out)
    • Desensitizing colts - Justin Warneke or Coleman (Ginger to reach out)
    • Roping – Lisa & Coleman
    • Outdoor trail course – Jessica (Ginger to reach out)
    • Anatomy Painting a horse – Brook to reach out to someone she knows
    • Harmony with Horse – Marie Powell (Wendy to reach out)
    • K Tape & Massage – Yellow Rose Healing (Laura to reach out)
  • Other Ideas & suggested leaders:
    • Grooming/fitting contest
    • Saddle Charm Craft – Sara Graft (Ginger to reach out)
    • Mock Horse Show
    • T-Shirt color: teal – Lisa will work with Kelly at Bunk House graphics
  • As a thank you, we usually give gift cards for outside presenters.
  • Food:
    • Sandy Harshaw (Ginger to reach out)
    • Pepsi for drinks (Brook to reach out)
    • Dinner on Friday night and breakfast & lunch on Saturday
    • Food ideas: Pizza & wings, spaghetti, nachos, grilled cheese, popcorn, pigs in a blanket (breakfast), Pepsi
  • We need firm ideas by the March meeting, as we will need to send out registration at the end of March.
  • Suggested we will need helpers for food, organization, check in, etc. Put options on registration.

Enrollment:

• Ginger needs access on Z Suites as a project leader
• 110 horse projects with 62 members (33 western, 11 English,16 colt to maturity/green horse, 23 working ranch horse, 20 horseless horse)
• Horse project registrations that need to be reviewed:
  • Adison Powell - signed up as level 2 colt to maturity – should be higher (Wendy to reach out to Marie)
  • Elle Patterson – signed up for colt to maturity level 4 – in error? (Laura to reach out)
  • Bristol Bush – green horse – she isn’t old enough for this project (Ginger reach out)
  • Hazel Davis – green horse level 1 and ranch horse. Brook knows Hazel and is okay with her signing up for these projects, no assessment needed at this time.

Adjournment:

Wendy made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:09 PM and Katrina seconded.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Rachel Grimshaw - Secretary

Call to Order

Attendees: Brook Gerard, Ginger Murphy, JennVolkmar, Katrina Emrich, Leann Murphy, Lisa Jassen, Rachel Grimshaw

Ginger called the meeting to order at 5:34 PM.

Pledges

Minutes:

Rachel read the minutes from the November 5^th meeting (there wasn’t a meeting held in the month of December). A motion to approve the November minutes was made by Brook and seconded by Katrina.

Treasurer’s Report:

Checking: $12,451.04 / Savings: $25.00 / CD: $10,356.58 / Money Market: $2.56 / Total Current Assets: $22,835.18

Agent’s Report:

Jenn provided updates on the following -

• All committee members must be registered on ZSuites.
• Rec Lab – scheduled forMarch 28-30 in White Sulphur
• January 11^thProject Day – Ginger & Lisa will be out of town. Jenn to send Katrina a list of kids who registered for horse.
• State Ranch Horse Show – September 12-14. Lisa is getting many questions, she needs more information when it is available.
• State Horse Show – September 25-28
• Jenn requested that email addresses of board members be added to the website, the group approved.
• Travel reimbursements – reminder that requests must be submitted no later than two weeks after the event.
• Volunteer Institute – still no info available.

Correspondence:

The following letters were received –

• A letter from Jane Wolery addressed to the Cascade County 4H Foundation, dated October 3, 2024. The message was to thank the Cascade County 4H Foundation for the $500 donation.
• A letter was received from Taylor’s Automax with a $1k donation addressed to the Cascade County 4H Foundation. Will need to discuss how the funds should be utilized. The last time Taylor’s donated the money was split four ways.

Event Reports:

Ginger reported that the November 9^th project day was well received. Justin Warneke had a very informative presentation on bits and reigns.

Ginger & Lisa reported that they attended the Golden Triangle 4-H Volunteer Summit on November 16^th in Shelby. Kari Lewis was the primary organizer. Lisa & Ginger attend three workshops: technology, ZSuites, & Conflict Management. Lisa suggested that we encourage all leaders to attend the Conflict Management workshop next time it is held.

Leann reported that she led the December 14^th project day. There were approximately thirty kids in attendance, with the majority of the kids not in a horse project. Morgan presented on helmet safety and Leann led the kids in decorating 4-H ornaments and frosting sugar cookies. Going forward, it was suggested that project day leaders be informed ahead of time in regard to how many kids will be in attendance and if there are any special needs.

Old Business:

The signers on the Horse Leaders account are Ginger Murphy, Wendy Newman, Brook Gerard, & Katrina Emrich. The signers have all been updated with the bank.

The Cascade County Horse Judging team will travel to Nationals tomorrow, January 8^th. The four girls competing (Elle, Haylea, Leann, & Reagan) will be accompanied by coach Ginger and Laura Steichen. There was approximately $500 in proceeds from the basket raffle and a gentleman in Chicago won (he donated back the gift card). Avery and Adley Emrich helped sell tickets at the American games and were a great help. There should be enough to cover the costs of all travel expenses between the CC 4H Foundation, fundraisers and state money.

Tentative Project Days:

• January 11^th – Stick horse & Omoksee games with Katrina. Ginger & Lisa will be in Denver. The gym has been reserved.
• February 8^th – Careers with Horses. Ginger and Leann working on getting speakers.
• March 8^th–Horse Kit Stations with Brook
• April 12^th – Brands presented by Paul Johnson. Brook has left over brand boards from last time.

2025 Clinic Ideas:

• Lisa suggested Caroline Hudon or Kelli Rohloff with a focus on show prep. Suggested dates of June 21 or June 28. Location ideas include Cheryl Seal’s arena or the Kings arena.
• Brook suggested that there be a clinic the day before for leaders to attend.
• Working Ranch Horse Clinic – Lisa would like to have a higher-level instructor and possibly partner with Teton County. She will bring more structured ideas to the February meeting.

The 406 Arena will be sending a contract for the horse shows soon. Will need to pay attention to the cost on the contract as we will most likely need to negotiate it down.

The donated items were put out during the November project day and are about 90% gone.

Lisa and Regan continue to work on the Welcome to 4-H Horse guide, but it will probably not be complete until next year.

Horse camp is scheduled for May 2-3 at the 406 Arena. Leann and Reagan will work on details and will reach out to other members for input.

The County WRH and County Horse Shows are scheduled for August 1-2 at the 406 Arena. The horse show will be on Friday and the WRH show will be on Saturday.

Lisa is getting lots of questions from other counties regarding the State Horse shows. The contract is complete with the 406 Arena; however, the state selected the dates with out communicating with other members. Lisa sent an email to Teri Antilley requesting more information (need to contact judges and start working on sponsorships).

Kandie Chartier recently completed her Colt to Maturity project and the group reviewed her books. Lisa made a motion that Kandie’s project be considered complete and Brook seconded. Jenn will reach out to Kandie with a letter and award selection information.

New Business:

County Show Judge Options

• Horse Show: Ginger will reach out to Peggy Lewis & Matt Rains
• WRH Show: Lisa will reach out to Toddy Standley & Josh Panter

Lisa mentioned that many parents asked about a silent auction during the State Horse show. In the past, there has been a silent auction organized by the state with each county bringing an item. Since there wasn’t a silent auction in 2024, it was suggested that someone reach out to the state to see if they want to have one in 2025. If they aren’t interested, perhaps it would be something they would allow Cascade County to organize (with Cascade County benefiting).

Adjournment:

Brook made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:10 PM and Katrina seconded.

Respectfully submitted,

Rachel Grimshaw - Secretary

Call to Order

Attendees: Brook Gerard, Ginger Murphy, Jenn Volkmar, Katrina Emrich, Leann Murphy, Lisa Jassen, Rachel Grimshaw, Wendy Newman

Ginger called the meeting to order at 5:33 PM.

Pledges

Minutes:

A motion to approve the October minutes was made by Brook and seconded by Wendy.

Treasurer’s Report:

Checking: $10,145.04 / Savings: $25.00 / CD: $10,356.58

Agent’s Report:

Jenn provided updates on the following -

• Leadership Academy – information will be included with the December newsletter.
• Summer Outbound - deadline is December 1
• Volunteer Institute – will be in February, date not set.
• MT State Shoot – will be in March, date not set.
• Youth State Award - applications due July 6^th
• Rec Lab – will be in May, date not set.
• November Project Day - November 9^th, 65 total members signed up including fourteen for horse.
• Fairgrounds – Jenn will get a master calendar from Susan with Cascade County to share with the Horse Leaders
• Pins – if anyone has any unused or extra 4-H pins Jen would like to repurpose them as there is a backlog on Shop 4-H
• Ignite – March in Washington, DC
• Extension office closures - November 11^th (Veterans’ Day) & November 22^nd (day after Thanksgiving)

Correspondence:

None

Event Reports:

Lisa reported that the Horse Judging Team Benefit Horse Show, held on October 5^th, was a success. Lisa ran the office, Brook announced, Kelli Rohloff, Ginger, & Laura Steichen coached the girls, and Adison, Elle, Haylea, Leann, & Reagan judged the competitors. There were four halter classes, a champion halter class, and all the traditional classes. The team received positive feedback, and the competitors were happy with the judging. Twenty-six people registered and $1,100 was raised which will be used to offset the cost for the girls to attend Nationals.

The NILE Horse Judging Contest was on October 15^th in Billings and Elle, Haylea, Leann, & Reagan participated. The girls placed first as a team, Leann placed first as an individual, Elle placed second as an individual, and Haylea placed fourth as an individual.         

Leann reported that Rose Malisani held a Halter Breaking Workshop at her home on October 20^th. There were quite a few horse kids in attendance. Rose went over the basics of how to halter break a colt, basic nutrition, and took the kids on a range walk.

Brook reported that Achievement Night was held on October 27^th at the fairgrounds. Shannon Newth was the MC and talked about 4-H week and what makes you, you. Janet Smith catered the spaghetti dinner. Jenn mentioned that the Leadership Council suggested that next year, each committee speaks to how the foundation dollars they received were utilized.

Katrina reported that Horsey Halloween was held on November 2^nd at the Cascade County Fairgrounds. There were great costumes, and eighteen kids participated. Cheryl Seal along with her husband and granddaughters judged the event. The facility was good, and Lisa pointed out that we need to schedule events for half an hour after our rental time commences.

Old Business:

Board nominations for the 2025 year were as follows: President – Ginger Murphy, Secretary – Rachel Grimshaw, Treasurer – Katrina Emrich. Wendy moved to accept the nominations as presented and Lisa seconded. The signers on the Horse Leaders account will be Ginger Murphy, Wendy Newman, Brook Gerard, & Katrina Emrich.

The Cascade County Horse Judging team will travel to Nationals in January. The four girls competing (Elle, Haylea, Leann, & Reagan) will be accompanied by coach Ginger and Laura Steichen. Since there are only four kids, the County will only cover the cost for one coach to attend. Laura will need to pay her own way, unless there are excess funds raised. The team is selling raffle tickets to help offset the cost to attend. Jenn has booked the flights.

Tentative Project Days:

• November 9^th – Bits and Reins presented by Justin Warneke
• December 14^th – Christmas craft and helmet training. Lisa has a wooden 4-H ornament in the works, fifty will be ordered and will cost a couple of dollars each. Lisa will type up a couple of sentences for Jenn to include in the monthly newsletter. Leann volunteered to bake cookies. Ginger will reach out to Rose Malisani to see if she is willing to do the helmet training.
• January 11^th – Stick horse & Omoksee games with Katrina. Ginger & Lisa will be in Denver. Jenn to see if we can use the gym.
• February 8^th – Horses & Your Future with Leann
• March 8^th – Horse Kit Stations with Brook
• April 12^th – Brands presented by Paul Johnson. Brook to reach out to Paul to see if he is willing and available.

Lisa walked through a draft of rule changes as follows:

Page	Section	Revisions in Red
4	Meetings	The Cascade County 4-H Horse Leaders Meetings are on the first Tuesday of January, February, March, April, May, June, September, October, and November at 5:30 p.m. at the MSU Cascade County Extension office. Additional meetings may be called. If meetings beyond the regular monthly meetings are added an invitation with date, time and primary topic of discussion will be sent to all enrolled horse leaders a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the meeting date.
5	Project Horse Table – Colt to Maturity or Green Horse	To qualify members must be 11 by October 1; have completed meet the assessment criteria for horsemanship level 3; and demonstrated to handle the project to enrolled to be safe and sufficient to handle a young horse. Approval may be given by Cascade County 4-H Horse Leader s if there are extenuating circumstances.
6	Cascade County Horse Showing Rules Ownership 1. All Horse Projects	1.     All Horse Projects shown by 4-H members in 4-H classes at the county or state level must be owned by the member or member’s immediate family, or member must have a care lease by the member from June 1st through September of the current 4-H year, at minimum. The member must have access to feed, care for and ride the project horse(s) during the June 1 to September time frame. All project horse(s) must be declared by June 1 to the MSU Cascade County Extension office through electronic submission using the applicable form and indicate which enrolled projects the horse may be used for. Additional or back up horses may be declared for horsemanship and ranch horse projects if they meet the care and ownership requirements. The horse(s) must be in the primary care of the 4-H member from June 1 through mid-September. a.     In case of a severe injury or loss of a horse after June 1st, the member may petition for a horse change. They must explain the situation, present veterinary documentation if applicable and prove use and care of the horse to be added. Petitions will be reviewed by the executive committee and extension agent to determine if substitution will be granted.
6	Cascade County Horse Showing Rules Ownership 2. b.	Green Horse is a young horse less than 5 years old that was not started as a yearling by the 4-H member. A green horse project shall be a horse of primary use by the 4-H member enrolled in the project. The green horse project is intended to mirror the colt to maturity project with recognition that a horse may be started or acquired after the weanling/yearling year but will comply with the same intent of the youth member executing all training and having primary ownership of that horse once it is declared as a green horse project animal.
7	Cascade County Horse Showing Rules Ownership 2.c..	Once the horse becomes a colt to maturity or green horse project animal, it may not receive professional training unless the member is involved in that training. The member may take lessons or ride under instruction of a trainer so long as all riding and training is executed by the 4-H member. This applies from the start of the project (yearling through 5-year-old for colt to maturity projects and from June 1st of the year entering the green horse project through Level 4 of the project with the same horse.)
8	General Rules for All Classes 1.	1. The age of the 4-H member is determined as of October 1st of the current 4-H year. This does not apply to Colt to Maturity Project in which the member may turn 12 within the current 4-H year.
8	General Rules for All Classes – Remove rule #4 and re-number 5-30, accordingly	Late entries for the County and State Fair Horse Shows are accepted by the posted dates with the appropriate late fee due in the Extension office, not postmarked. (See inside cover for dates).

 

 

Page	Section	Revisions in Red
8	General Rules for All Classes – rule #11 (now rule #10 due to deletion of rule #4)	Stallions aged 2 or older are not allowed in any horse shows and/or clinics. Stallions are allowed only in yearling showmanship.
8	General Rules for All Classes – rule #21 (now rule #20 due to deletion of rule #4)	Cascade County 4-H will follow the bit guidelines of the Montana State 4-H. This document may be found on the https://www.montana.edu/extension/4h  website.
8	General Rules for All Classes – rule #22 (now rule #21 due to deletion of rule #4)	Unless otherwise specified, Horses aged 5 years and older are encouraged to must be ridden in a shank bit and reined with one hand. Horses aged 3 and 4 years and younger are allowed to be ridden with a snaffle bit or bosal and reined with two hands or may be ridden one handed in a shank bit. Horses aged 2 or Green Horse level 1 are to be shown in a snaffle or bosal and direct reined with 2 hands. Flat chain curb straps or flat leather curb straps ½ inch or wider are required with a curb or shank bit of any kind.
10	Showmanship Classes Equipment	Equipment: All horses will be shown with a properly adjusted halter. Lead shanks with chains may be used. Chains are allowed under the jaw. But the use of the chain over the nose or under the jaw or in any way having contact with the horse will be prohibited. Whips or bridles will not be allowed.
11	Colt to Maturity Yearling Project	Exhibitor must be a minimum of 12 years old during the project year and  must have completed Horsemanship Level 3. Refer to Table 1 for qualifications.
12	Western Horsemanship Classes General Requirements	General Requirements: A horse entered in Western Horsemanship can be shown in only one level per family member. Horses may not be cross-entered in colt-to-maturity or green horse classes. Horses must be shown in a stock saddle. Tie-downs, martingales and mechanical hackamores of any type are prohibited unless otherwise indicated in the class description. Split or Romal reins are permissible, but roping reins are not allowed. Splint boots, bell boots and skid boots are optional. Spurs are optional except in bareback where they are not permitted. Spurs should not be used forward of the cinch. In all classes the judge has the option of requesting one or all contestants to perform individually. Horses under four (4) years of age in Horesmanship and Trail Classes may be ridden with curb bits, snaffles, or bosals. Snaffle bits and bosals must be ridden two handed except opening and closing gates. It is mandatory that horses five (5) and over be ridden in a curb bit, Curb or shank bits must be ridden one handed. Horses aged 5 years and older must be ridden in a shank bit and reined with one hand. Horses aged 3 and 4 years are allowed to be ridden with a snaffle bit or bosal and reined with two hands or may be ridden one handed in a shank bit.  Horses aged 2 or Green Horse level 1 are to be shown in a snaffle or bosal and direct reined with 2 hands. Flat chain curb straps or flat leather curb straps ½ inch or wider are required with a curb or shank bit of any kind. See Montana State Horseshow bit guide at the end of this book for bit requirements.  Horses shall not be shown with artificial appliances that would tend to alter their performance.
24	Heads or Tails Award	A traveling trophy will be presented for participation in the County Performance and Ranch Horse andState Fair Horse Shows to the 4-H Club with highest award average per member enrolled in the horse project. The 4-H Club is selected based upon the following criteria: 1.       Add the ribbon points for all the members in the club based on the following point system: Grand: 5 points Reserve: 4 points Blue: 3 points Red: 2 points White: 1 point 2.       Divide this number by the number of club members enrolled in the horse project. 3.       There must be a minimum of five (5) members per club enrolled ina4-H Horse Project: Levels, Colt to Maturity, Green Horse, Ranch Horse, Driving, Small Equine or Packing.

 

Brook made a motion to accept the changes as outlined and Katrina seconded.

Lisa suggested that a Welcome Guide be drafted to be provided to new members enrolled in a horse project. Lisa & Reagan will work on putting something together that explains the various projects, events, requirements, record books, etc. The Bit Guide and Rule Book should also be included.

We need to decide upon horse show dates and check on availability. Ginger will reach out to the 406 Arena and Wendy will reach out to the King’s Arena. Cheryl Seal has a new facility, and it is available for 4-H use as well. The proposed County Horse Show dates are August 1-2 or July 25 - 26.

Horse camp is tentatively booked for May 2-3 with the 406 Arena (date to be confirmed by Ginger). Leann and Reagan will work on details and will reach out to other members for input.

No decisions have been made for 2025 Clinic’s, but we will discuss as ideas come up.

New Business:

Ginger and Brook recently worked on cleaning out the closet and would like each group leader to come in and take a look. During the next couple of project days, we will put free items out for kids to select from. After that, the remaining items will be donated to Eagle Mount.

Lisa provided a detailed explanation of the fiscal 2025 Budget. Revenues: $9,540.00 / Expenses: $9,720.00 / Net Loss: $180.00. Brook made a motion to approve the 2025 Budget and Katrina seconded.

Kandie Chartier recently completed her Colt to Maturity project, and we need to review her record books and touch base with her on an award. She can select an award of her choice as long as it is around $150.

Adjournment:

Wendy made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:35 PM and Katrina seconded.

Respectfully submitted,

Rachel Grimshaw - Secretary

Call to Order

ATTENDEES: Brook Gerard, Ginger Murphy, Lisa Jassen,  Leann Murphy, Katrina Emrich, Rachel Grimshaw – NO QUORUM PRESENT DISCUSSION ONLY.

Called to order – 5:35 pm

PLEDGES

MINUTES:

Katrina moved to accept minutes with these changes – Stockman Bank CD is a 12 month CD will be renewed Jun 14, 2025. Lisa 2^nd. M/S/C

TREASURER:

Checking - $9,169.47 /  CD Balance – $10,356.58 / MTFCU Savings - $25.00.

                Lisa gave an end of year report . She was comfortable with the -486.53 since our balances are healthy and our goal was/is net zero. We need to follow-up with Jen Swanson from Teton County on the co-op payment with Teton from the county shows. Discussion was to total expenses and based on entry fees of Teton County kids, have them pay a percentage. Lisa recommended we follow up to set the standard, she will handle next time she is in the office for bookkeeping. Brook recommended that the standard for combining events with other counties is published in the horse leaders by-laws.

AGENT REPORT:

New year has been interesting. Small glitches with Z-Suites. Jenn did a radio interview to promote 4-H on KMON with Jason Laird. Green Clover raffle is in process and winners will be drawn next week. Project days start in November on 9^th from 9a – 12p. Jenn would like a member of each leader group to be available to do a meet/greet for new families. Jenn reached out to Expo Park to get a master schedule of building/dates/costs to be able to host events with them.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Thank Yous were read from multiple kids for the WRHF event, multiple kids for State Show, and the MT Foundation for our sponsorship of these events.

REPORTS:

State Show/WRHF – 75 kids at each show. State Horse Show had more entries which is promising. Judge was from Texas Tech. Saturday went to 11pm due to her style of judging. Looking into adjusting schedule. Would like to go back to old schedule and include a 2^nd judge to prevent long days. WRHF moved to 3 days and feedback was mixed. Next year the plan is to do VRH portion on Fri/Sat and 4-H on Sat/Sun. Not a lot of counties have VRH project leaders and some struggle to get all aspects of the WRH project. Two sorting pens was very helpful. Lisa wanted to clarify a $1785.00 expense for extension agents, this should not be an event expense. Bookkeeper shows a loss /we see a net gain if this is adjusted. Judges for WRHF were phenomenal and the event went smooth with the exception of some computer program bookkeeping errors.

Leaders Council – Achievement Night is Oct 27 at the Family Living Center from 4-7pm. Catered spaghetti dinner and ambassadors are finalizing plans.

Foundation – N/A

Horse Judging Team – Did a workshop with Tony Jackson on draft horses and what to expect if judging these animals at the National contest.

MBHA Finals Fundraiser – Mathie family, Katrina and Powell’s were life savers for Sat/Sun. Event went well event with personnel hiccup. Lisa mentioned Thank Yous to those outside of Horse Leaders group. Jenn mentioned having co-op counties help out with this event next year. Leann will design several options of Thank You letters so that we can have some blanks on hand for meetings and be able to send them out as we need to.

OLD BUSINESS:

Officer Elections – Discussed separating secretary and treasurer duties out. Nominations accepted for President – Ginger Murphy, Secretary – Rachel Grimshaw, and Treasurer – Katrina Emrich. 

Rule Changes – see attached summary of proposed changes

There is movement to re-establish a state rule book to give counties standard guidance for horse projects.

Pg 6 – #1 big add is severe injury paragraph.

                #2/3 – general edits. Green Horse being discussed at state level.

Pag 7/8, 10, 11/12

                Replace and/or

                Change minimum to age as of Oct 1^st.

Horse Judging Team Benefit Horse Show – this weekend. NILE contest is in October and Nationals registration opened up.

NEW BUSINESS:

Achievement Night – Being held October 27^th, Family Living Center, 4-7 pm. End of Year Winners have been determined. There was an issue with completed books and a division winner. Clup said it’s done but it wasn’t complete per our standards. This particular club doesn’t offer redo at turn in. Leaders agreed to have kid complete the book and still receive award. Ginger will take care of the issue.

Education Days and Activity Planning

                Horsey Halloween – Saturday November 2^nd from 2-6 pm at Livestock Pavilion. Games will be decided outside of this meeting. Will include a parent meeting so that we can reach out to any new families with contacts and information program wide for 2025.

                Project Day – Nov 9^th (1030-12) – Bits and Reins with Justin Warneke

Adjournment

Katrina moved to adjourn, Brook 2^nd. m/s/c

Respectively submitted,

Brook Gerard – (stand in) Secretary/Treasurer

Call to Order

Present: Rose Malisani, Brook Gerard, Ginger Murphy, Wendy Newman, Charla Merja, Katrina Emrich,
Lisa Jassen, Leann Murphy, Jen Volkmar

Guest: Jenn Swanson (Teton County)

Ginger Murphy called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm.

Minutes:

Motion to approve minutes as presented by Brook Gerard. Lisa Jassen second. Motion carries.

Finances:

Checking/Savings: 10,634.14
Money Market: 2.56
Stockman Bank CD 10,000.00
20,636.70

Lisa Jassen will meet with individuals from each committee to review expenses to ensure everything is
coded correctly. Ginger Murphy will represent horse leaders.

Agent Report:

Jen Volkmar introduced herself as the new Extension Agent for the Horse Committee.
Project Days will be the 2nd Saturday of the month. Please reach out to her. Horse Leaders have
participated November – April and are requesting to participate in Project Days at this time. Rose
Malisani shared historic 4-H Horse Project Enrollments. Thank you to Charla Merja for volunteering with
4-H Horse Leaders.

Correspondence:

None

Event Reports:

2024 MT 4-H Congress – Leann Murphy reported on Horse Judging and Congress. Cascade County
placed first as a team, Reagan placed first as an individual and Leann placed 3rd. All participants placed
in the top 9.

Ranch Horse Practices at Neversweat Ranch – 3 practices, with cattle at 2. Practices were beneficial for
kids, especially for new families. Kids learned a lot at practices and were ready to compete at the show
in July.

Horse Show Practices at Kings Arena – Practices were small, but very beneficial for the kids that
attended. They covered showmanship, bareback, patterns, etc.

Cascade-Teton County Ranch Horse Show – Similar participation to previous years. Co-oping the event
works well. Highlight was the on foot jackpot roping on small calves. Todd Stanley and Josh Panter did a
good job as judges. Jessica did a great job coordinating the awards. Lisa Jassen suggested extending
invitations to other counties to participate. This may impact the show date, due Marias Fair and
Chouteau County Horse Show.

Cascade-Teton County Horse Show – Katrina Emrich reported on the County Show it went well with 35
participants. Jenn Swanson appreciated combining our shows with Teton County. Teton County would
like to continue to collaborate on prizes and the events. There were concerns about rule differences
between counties and rules in regard to possession of horses. It would be beneficial to have a state rule
book again or joint rule book for combined shows.

Omoksee Play Day – Cancelled due to heat. Katrina Emrich suggested tying it to Project Days, Horsy
Halloween, or early summer. Suggested to make pool noodle horses in December for a pool noodle
omoksee in the spring.

Old Business

Stockman Bank CD Update – Moved over and reinvested in a 7 month CD. It will be due in January.

New Business:

Nominations to Executive Board – Nominating committee will bring forth names at the October
meeting. Ginger is willing to serve as President for another term.

•  President – 2 year Term
• Sect/Treas – 2 year term

Upcoming State 4-H Horse Events

• MT WRHF, Sept 13-15 at 406 Arena, 64 kids registered. The event was built based on 80-90 kids.
  The committee is adjusting the event due to the lower number of participants. Lori Walton and
  Victor Salazar are judges for the event. 3 Extension Agents and 2 participants from the state office will be present at the event. Lisa Jassen is looking for assistance labeling stalls on Thursday and the dinner (taco bar) Saturday night. Rose Malisani suggested Cascade County Horse Leaders make a donation to this show.
  Brook Gerard motion to sponsor the WRHF for $500. Katrina Emrich second. Motion carried.
• MT State 4-H Horse Show, Sept 20-22 at 406 Arena – Attendance is up to 64 kids. Need
  assistance labeling stalls, stuffing bags, cleanup of facility prior to events. The state office asked
  if Cascade County was putting the dinner together for the show. Rose Malisani suggested
  reaching out to Janet Smith and Running Free to do the dinner (Friday Night) as fundraiser.
  The state office will be coordinating the events and covering some of the costs (program, judges
  sheets).

MBHA Finals – September 27-29 at ExpoPark, Ginger is organizing volunteers.

Review of 2023-24 Events and Event Finances (October Meeting)

• Project Days
• Clinics
• Shows
• Practices

Achievement Night – October 27, time – TBD, at the Family Living Center. Buckles are ordered.

Horse Judging Team – The team has been doing offsite judging. The team will hold a benefit horse show,
October 5 at 406 Arena giving the team an opportunity to judge. They have a sponsor and will offer
high-point awards. The team will be asking for donations to support travel to Denver in January 2025.

Rule, Policy, and Award Criteria Change Proposals – The changes are due to Jen Volkmar September 25,
2024 to be reviewed at the October meeting. Members must have paid their membership fee and
attend the October meeting in order to vote at the November meeting. If the number of proposals is
small, the vote could be held in October. The counties should meet to develop combined county show
rule books as discussed earlier.

Looking Ahead to 2024-25 (November Planning Meeting)

• Horsey Halloween -
• Horse Camp – Equine Dentistry
• Craft Ideas – pool noodle horse, saddle charms
• Clinic Suggestions – bit clinic – Justin Warneke, halter foal – Rose Malisani (Oct-Nov)
• Grow Horseless Horse program/horses – will promote education days and ride at Brook’s in
  October (2nd and 4th Sundays)
• Education Day – Record Book Day

County Show Reimbursements for Stalls, Camping and Omoksee – Horse leaders need to pay 406 Arena
$100 and refund $60 to families for camping and $935 to 406 Arena and refund $380 to families for
stalling. Due to the heat families left and the Omoksee on Sunday was cancelled. Refund Omoksee
registrations $210 due to cancellation. Total to 406 Arena $915 after subtracting $120 due to not using
the outdoor arena on Sunday. Katrina Emrich motion to approve expenditures. Wendy Newman second.
Motion Carries.

Adjournment

Motion to adjourn by Wendy Newman. 2nd Katrina Emrich. Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully Submitted,
Charla Merja, Secretary/Treasurer

Call to Order

Attending:  Ginger Murphy, Brook Gerard, Wendy Newman, Lisa Jassen, Katrina Emrich

Meeting called to order at 6:04pm

Minutes

Minutes from May meeting approval was made by Wendy and 2^nd by Katrina, motion carried.

Treasurers Report: 

Balance was $13,324.92 for checking, $9,355.87 for the money market.  Total was $22,705.79.  Wendy reported that the money from the money market account was transferred to the checking account in preparation for the CD of $10,000.  Expenses were Horse Camp and Bookkeeper.

Correspondence: 

N/A

Event Reports:

Camp:  Katrina and family reported that her family loved it, no negative comments heard.  Leaders took notes for next year of things we may want to change for next year.

Ranch Horse:  Kids moved cattle and they loved crossing the creeks.  Levi Lee was excellent help for roping.  Would be helpful if another helper for roping since lots of new kids.

Jan Larsen Clinic:  Fantastic clinician, Newman Stables was a good indoor alternative since the weather was not good.  Leaders took notes for next year.  Jan broke the exercises down so it was well received. All levels learned something!

Investment Update:  Wendy reported it has not been a simple process.  Stockman Bank CD by 5/31/23 did not go as planned.  June rates have changed a bit, the new rate is 7 months for 4.5% and the 9 month is 4.75%.  Stockman Bank requested we list the signers on the horse leader’s account and the officers for the horse leaders. 

The checkbook signers are as follows:  Brook Gerard, Murphy, Wendy Newman

Officers are as follows:President, Ginger Murphy, Vice President, Wendy Newman, Treasurer/Secretary is Charla Merja.

Wendy also reported that there have been a few other issues that were found in setting up the CD, the extension office updated the Montana Secretary of State filing from 2021 through 2023.  The filing was done under the Foundation tax id number and not the horse leaders tax id number.  It was confirmed by Lisa that the Horse Leaders have their own tax id number.  Stockman Bank will require that the SOS report for horse leaders and invest the $10,000 in a 9 months CD at 4.75% at Stockman Bank.  Wendy will file a reimbursement with horse leaders after the process is done.  Katrina 2^nd the motion and after a vote the motion carried.

Mike O’Neill is spear heading with Kelan at the westside Stockman Bank branch.  All signers will need to stop by to complete the signature card once everything is complete.

County Horse Show:  the entry form is out and available for sign ups in Cognito.  Lisa will send it out a 2^nd time to clean up email.  Ginger said that it was good to send out multiple times.  Lisa mentioned next year we would be able to add stripe payments.

Volunteers for County Show:

Scribes:  Charla Merja and Brady Drummond

Check in:  Rose Malisani and Charla Merja

High Point:  Wendy Newman

Trail:  Ginger Murphy, Marie Powell, Jay Aspevig, and Jacob Emrich

Awards:  Danielle Berner

Patterns:  Lisa Jassen and Ginger Murphy

Hunter Hack:  Desi Roth and Ginger Murphy

Announcer:  Brook Gerard and Wendy Newman

Other Volunteers Needed: (we will ask clubs/families if they can assist.  Request will be sent out) Prize Selection Table, Gates, Clean Up, Trail, Ribbons

Horseless Horse:  Wendy offered Newman Stables arena for the kids and Brook to be able to ride and practice.  Brook will coordinate hauling and will shoot for Sundays and/or Mondays as practice options.  The date not available is June 11^th and July 23rd and 24^th.

Working Ranch Horse Show:  Matt Otto will provide the cattle for the show.  Asa Jassen and Matt will be on horseback to help.

Lisa, Katrina, Wendy and Brook will all help.  Teton county hasn’t committed to doing the awards yet and in the past that has been their responsibility.  Cascade County does all the other portions of the show.  Katrin gave us the Teton agent to contact, and she is Jen Swanson and Jamie Smith is the admin helper.  Wendy suggested that we ask Teton about their budget and if they have money budgeted and cascade can do the shopping.  In past years we have not met our budget to break even for the ranch horse show.  Lisa suggested we recheck our budget to see if we have any extra for prizes.

Patterns:  Lisa sent a complete pattern set from 2022 State Horse Show.  Committee is asked to review and we will send out a condensed group once they have been approved. 

Volunteer Needs:  Test proctors for knowledge portion and test graders still needed.

New Business:

Ranch Horse Practices at Never Sweat Ranch will be weather dependent. Cattle will be at the first one along with dummy roping inside if weather is not good.  The kids will practice patterns and will set up stations at a practice when the arena is not too wet. 

State Fair: 

Entries are open and the kids are allowed to enter 4 items.  The office will send out an email to educate the families on their options.

Display:  Last year there was a corner for Horse Leaders to do an educational display.  For 2023 we want to encourage kids to bring items they have worked on or learned to make at the education days and camp.  Ideas are knot boards, coasters, ornaments, and posters.  Katrin can email this information to the families too.  Wendy proposed that the these for our 2023 display be “All the horse buzz” and we educate the public on bones, breeds, colors, showing, ranch work, health issues that the kids learn about from their books and their education projects.  Each club leader will gather items from their club and the leaders will make posters or displays at Wendy’s home on July 24 from 6-10pm.

Horse ID Cards:  discussion was help as to if this is an important part of our county program?  As of the meeting only 25 cards had been submitted.  The idea of ID cards came from the State show to verify that the horses used were the actual project horses.  This is no longer used at the state level so should we continue?  This is in the county rule book so it was discussed that to change it would need to be done at the beginning of the next 4H year.  These cards are not important or used for horseless horse project.  After much discussion, we decided to open the date up until July 12, 2023 to allow the kids to complete it and still be able to participate.  Wendy moved to reopen the date for the ID card entry until the county show entry date of July 12.  The leaders can follow up with compliance of kids after this date.  Brook gave a 2^nd, and after a vote the motion carried.

Horseless Horse:  Brook reported that due to the wet spring none of the kids had a chance yet to participate or practice in any riding as her arena was under water.  Wendy proposed that the kids and Brook come to Newman Stables to practice so that they can get prepared for the county show in July.  Brook is going to bring the horses and will notify the kids and their families along with other adult helpers.  The goal is to let the kids have multiple practices so that they can participate and be ready for the show in July.

Adjournment

Wendy moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:32pm.  Katrina 2^nd the motion and the meeting ended.

Respectfully written by Brook Gerard and typed by Wendy Newman

Call to Order

Present: Rose Malisani, Brook Gerard, Ginger Murphy, Wendy Newman, Charla Merja,  Katrina Emrich, Lisa Jassen, Leann Murphy

Guest: Jenn Swanson (Teton County)

Ginger Murphy called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm.

Minutes:  

Motion to approve minutes with one minor change as presented by Brook Gerard. Katrina Emrich second. Motion carries.

Finances:

Checking/Savings:          13,601.12

Money Market:                          2.56

Stockman Bank CD         10,000.00
                                          ___________

                                            23,628.68

Correspondence:

None

Event Reports:

April Project Day -  Driving with Gabby and Katrina – Katrina Emrich reported the kids had fun with Gabby Corscadden. Gabby provided lots of prizes for the kids. There were about 20 kids who participated.

Horse Camp – Ginger Murphy reported camp went well and stayed on schedule. Good feedback on the event. Well attended by outside counties as well. Suggestion -  run 3 valuable sessions in the afternoon, like the morning, rather than multiple sessions to chose from.

Ambassadors – Leaders Appreciation Event. 35 people attended and Matt Rains spoke at the event. Event was appreciated.

Foundation/Council – Brook Gerard reported on the Foundation meeting. Discussions about investments, scholarships and hiring additional extension agents.

Agent Report – Teton County will be joining us at both the county horse and WRH shows. They will be interviewing 1 candidate later this month.

Old Business

Horse Judging Update – Ginger Murphy and Laura Steichen met April 8 with the team to get organized. They are doing some live horse breakdowns and will judge some classes at GFAB shows.

Stockman Bank CD Update – The CD will mature June 15. It was suggested to monitor the online banking to monitor the CD. We have 10 days from June 15 to close, re-open or it rolls into a 12-month flex.

Cascade/Teton County 4-H Horse Shows, Friday, July 19 WRH, Packing, Driving and Saturday, July 20 County Horse Show

• Teton County wants to know how to assist with the County Horse show. They have purchased prizes for the WFH show and Cascade County paid for the judge and arena for previous shows. Teton County spends about $600 on prizes. For their county show they spent about $1000. Based on bylaws, Teton County could award their own high point award separate from Cascade County. Motion to apportion the costs necessary to run on the County Horse show and WRH Show above and beyond entry fees by the number of entries from each county apportioned to each county. Cascade County will cover the prizes for the County Show and Teton County will cover the prizes for the WRH Show by Lisa Jassen. Wendy Newman second. Motion Carried. Teton County estimate 9-11 kids showing at the county show and 11-13 for the WRH show. Registration deadlines will be the same for both shows.
• It has been requested to offer a couple accommodation classes at our County Show. Class list reviewed by the committee.
• Patterns – Leann and Reagan are working on patterns. They are working on 4 packets of patterns to rotate yearly. There is 1 packet ready to be sent out to be evaluated by horse leaders.
• Judges – Ryan Jaeger will judge trail on Saturday and has been confirmed. Peggy Lucas has been contacted to be the judge in the main arena on Saturday. Todd Stanley will judge patterns, cow work and sorting June 19 ($300), he will also judge trail and ranch riding if added to the schedule. We are still looking for a roping judge ($150) for WRH.
• Reviewed fees. 2023 WRH - $65/exhibitor (cattle included), County $35/exhibitor (unlimited classes) and $10/exhibitor facility fee or single class fee of $7.00. Fun Day $10/day (9am – 12 pm). Jenn Swanson suggested breaking out the fees and identifying how the money is being spent.

4-H Play Day – Sunday, July 21 at 406 Arena

• Katrina Emrich presented her ideas for Sunday. She suggested choosing 6 games from those presented with 4 levels (lead line, Junior, Intermediate and Senior). Rose suggested awarding ribbons with points to spend in the prize store.

Sponsor Update – Rose Malisani will email out the current sponsor list.

New Business:

Assessment dates noted (June 1-Regular Classes, July 1- WRH and August 10^th C2M). Project horses must be enrolled by June 1.

MBHA Finals – September 27-29. Please put on your calendars.

Adjournment

Motion to adjourn by  Wendy Newman.  2^nd Katrina Emrich. Meeting adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,

Charla Merja, Secretary/Treasurer

Present:

Rose Malisani, Brook Gerard, Ginger Murphy, Wendy Newman, Charla Merja,  Katrina Emrich, Lisa Jassen, Leann Murphy, Sara Graft

Call to Order

Ginger Murphy called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm.

Minutes:

Wendy Newman motion to approve minutes as presented. Katrina Emrich second. Motion carries. 

Treasurer Report

Finances:
Checking/Savings: 11,146.12
Money Market:           2.56
Stockman Bank CD: 10,000.00
Total: 21,148.68

Correspondence:

None

Event Reports:

• March Project – Brook, Marie and Kevin Arnold. It was a fun, engaging event on packing. 
• Ambassador Report – Leann reported on the Leader’s Appreciation on April 28, Paddock Club.  
• Foundation and Leaders Council – 4-H will be moving to the Family Living Center. 
• Agent Report – The office is down to 1 agent. There were 2 applicants for the 4-H position and applicants are still being accepted. The Extension office will close from 12-1 due to low staffing. Leaders Council will host a raffle fundraiser. May project day is cancelled. 

Old Business

Project Day

• April 13 Driving – Katrina and Gabrielle – planning to use the gym or the classroom.

Horse Camp Planning – May 3-4, 406 Arena

• Registration should be open the end of this week with Cognito
• All instructors are confirmed

Cascade County 4-H Horse Shows, July 19 WRH, Packing, Driving and July 20 County Horse Show

• Jan Larson will judge both days ($300/day + travel and hotel)
• Will need a roping judge for July 19 (Jessica Fryberger and Matt Otto have a suggestion)
• Ryan Jaeger for Trail on July 20 ($150)
• Leann and Reagan are going to develop 4 packets of patterns to rotate through for upcoming shows
• Driving & Packing could be a class or a demonstration- Marie Powell and Kevin Arnold would present or evaluate.
• Need to have a conversation with Teton and make sure they are still okay with how things have been done in the past in relation to finances.
• Cattle costs are $45/head/day of cattle, each participant gets the equivalent of 1 cow – We need to make sure the cost stays the same before registration costs are set. 

4-H Play Day – July 21 406 Arena

• Details forthcoming

Practices –  

• Working ranch horse in June on Monday’s at Never Seat Ranch, 6-8 pm June 3, 10, 17, 24
• 4-H Show Learning Days on Monday’s in July at Kings Arena, 6-8 pm – outdoor arena July 1, 8 and 15 ($10/head). Show prep help.

Sponsor Update –

Sponsor letters were sent out and checks are coming in. 

New Business

• Review Roster and Levels – It’s important to review levels and make sure kids are in the correct ones. 
• Horse Judging – Laura Sticken has volunteered to assist. They are still looking for more participants (Hailey, Addison, Leann and Reagan). April 20, horse judging event south of Billings. They will need to complete a travel authorization form prior to travel. 
• Horse Camp Gift Certificates – We have done these in the past. We would need gift certificates for outside helpers. We need a list of all presenters and the amount of the gift certificates. Lisa Jassen motion to allocate up to $800 for horse camp gift certificates for helpers in the amount of up to $100/certificate depending on time spent. Brook Gerard second. Motion Carried. If the instructors are coming from out of town, we should cover their travel costs to volunteer their time. Foundation provides $600 for food and Horse Leaders pays the balance. Motion to allow Sandy Harshaw-Irvin to check out the Horse Leader Debit Card for food purchases by Lisa Jassen. 2nd Katrina Emrich. Motion Carried.  Brook will submit the request to Foundation to transfer funds. 
• CD at Stockman Bank Renewal – The CD will mature June 15. Wendy Newman will gather the necessary information to present at the May meeting. Brook Gerard motion to renew the full amount of the CD at Stockman Bank per the committee’s decision. 2nd Katrina Emrich. Motion Carried. Lisa Jassen requested a statement be provided for the CD quarterly. 
• State 4-H Horse Show – September 19–22, 2024 at 406 Arena. 
• State WRHF/VRF – September 13-15, 2024 at 406 Arena.

Adjournment

Motion to adjourn by Wendy Newman. 2nd  Katrina Emrich Meeting adjourned. 

Respectfully Submitted,
Charla Merja, Secretary/Treasurer

Present:

Rose Malisani, Brook Gerard, Ginger Murphy, Wendy Newman, Charla Merja, Katrina Emrich, Sheryl Smerker, Lisa Jassen, Reagan Jassen, Sara Graft

Call to Order

Ginger Murphy called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm.

Minutes:

Brook Gerard motion to approve minutes as presented. Wendy Katrina Emrich second. Motion carries.

Finances:

Checking/Savings: 11,027.47
Money Market: 2.56
Stockman Bank CD 10,000.00
21,055.03

Correspondence:

None

Event Reports:

February Project Day – Raegan Jassen and Leann Murphy presented on patterns.

Judging and Scribing Clinic – Laura Bakker- Participants learned about horse judging.

Ambassador Report – Raegan provided an update leader appreciation in April.

Foundation and Leaders Council – Update provided

Agent Report – With Alyssa’s departure, Rose is covering Horse and Livestock, Katrin is covering Ambassadors and Shooting Sports. They are advertising for a new Extension Agent.

Old Business

Project Day

• March 9, Packing Marie and Brook have the US Forest Service assisting.
• April 13 Driving – Katrina and Gabrielle

Horse Camp Planning – May 3-4, 406 Arena

• Discussion regarding workshops for the event (intro to jumping, driving, dummy roping, flag work, stick horses & geese, braiding,
• Open to Chouteau, Teton, Meagher, Judith Basin County, Pondera, Liberty, Toole, Glacier
• It was decided they need more on horse related activities – reach out to Adrianna Rohrer, Brooklynn Merja, Hayley Tompers and Hannah Rhodes for availability and ideas – Send a brief description of the session to Rose by March 15.
  
  • Lead Changes/Diagonals - Rohrer/Tompers
  • Trail Riding/Packing – Tompers & Rohloff
  • Starting the Spin (360/180/Pivots) – Graft
  • ???? – Brooklynn
• Sandy Harshaw will do food and derby foods were suggested.
• Planning Meeting – Tuesday, March 19 at Wendy’s house 6:00 pm
• T-shirt -

Cascade County 4-H Horse Shows, July 19 WRH, Packing, Driving and July 20 County Horse Show

• Food will be on their own
• Patterns – Leann and Reagan will present in April
• Judges – Sara and Lisa are working on judges – Ryan Jaeger will judge trail on Saturday
• Trail – 11-4
• Add driving and packing classes on Friday (July 19)

4-H Play Day – July 21 at 406 Arena

Practices –

• WRH - June 3, 10, 17, 24, 6:00 – 8:00 pm at NeverSweat Ranch
• 4-H Show Learning Days – Possibly Kings Arena
• Open Rides – April Agenda

Sponsor Update – Rose will send out sponsor information

New Business:

None

Adjournment

Motion to adjourn by Wendy Newman. Katrina Emrich 2nd. Meeting adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,

Charla Merja, Secretary/Treasurer