Thank you for your interest in the AAHC newsletter. Athens Area Horse Community is your trusted advisor for all things horse in Athens.
Your Athens NEIGHborhood:
Do you know someone who is thinking about moving to the area? AAHC is dedicated to growing the local horse community – so if you know someone who is thinking about a move – connect us! Send them our website – send them the link to this website. Or connect us in an email – athensareahorsecommunity@gmail.com. Or reach out to us on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok.
Here at AAHC we say that we will chat with anyone for 15 minutes! That means YOU and horse people who are thinking about moving here- AAHC is a resource for you! Look around our website for resources or reach out and let us know your questions!
Event – Hiding in Plain Sight – August 10th – 5pm
If you go to one unmounted educational event this year, let it be this one. Rebecca is a world renowned instructor in Large Animal Technical Emergency Rescue and here in Athens, we are lucky to have her in our neighborhood.
She will be covering the dangerous hazards hiding in our barns. This is an important topic and Rebecca covers it with humor and grace. Don’t miss this event, and be sure to purchase the dinner option for an additional $5.
Purchase your ticket today! and join us at UGA Livestock arena on August 10th.
Learn more about Rebecca and TLAER here.
Additional Upcoming Events
Lincoln County Extension – Grass Master’s 7 week course starting Aug 18th. Did you know feed and forage expenses in Georgia are typically 60-70% of the cost of owning livestock? Join us on Thursday nights this fall at the Lincoln County Agriculture Center for a course led by the UGA Forages Team. This program will teach you everything you need to know about forage varieties, soil health and fertility, pasture management, hay production, winter grazing, and more! Pre-registration is required.
Warwick Schiller – International trainer and clinician known for his Attuned Horsemanship Program is at UGA Livestock Arena this weekend – Aug 6th/7th. The clinic is full but auditor tickets are still available at $40 (climate controlled stadium seating).
AAHJA shows Aug 6th(White Anchor) and 13th(Arbor Hill).
Kel-mac Saddle Club – Day rides Aug 6th (Sandy Creek) and 20th(One of their famous RIVER RIDES in Monticello!) Monthly meeting is the 16th and it is a Ranch Riding Demo.
AYDC Dressage and CT Aug 20th.
BOPS Jumper Show Aug 27th
Big Cheese Aug 27th is CANCELLED.
Missing Youth
Tragically, Kaylee Jones is still missing. The 16 YO avid horse kid who loves mounted games went missing on 6/14/22 from Carrollton, GA and has not gotten her daily meds since that date.
If you have any tip, no matter how small, please reach out to Investigator Courtney Short with Carroll County Sheriff’s Office at 770-830-5916 or email at cshort@carrollsheriff.com.
Locals Compete in Ireland
Locals Danica Heeter, Maren Hanson, Nick Tesler, and Courtney Cook just returned from Ireland competing in IMGA (International Mounted Games Association) World Pairs at Green Glens Arena. They qualified for the competition in Tryon earlier this year and rode on borrowed ponies.
Our local 4-H programs are rocking the horse competitions. Last year Oglethorpe County won state Horse Quiz Bowl and sent a team to the national competition and this year Oconee County were state champs in Hippology and Madison County won GA Horse Quiz Bowl competition. The national competition is this coming January in Colorado. 4-H is a great government funded after-school program that serves 4th grade through high school and college. Participation also qualifies students for college scholarships. The equine program offerings include horse quiz bowl, horse judging, and hippology. Parents, you can get in touch with your local 4-H County Coordinator HERE and ask how your child can get involved.
Know a local who has a state, national, or international accomplishment? We’d love to help you celebrate the achievements of your students, trainers, and friends. Contact Us.
AAHC cares about the issues you are facing. We are also local horse owners and we care about the things you care about. If you have an idea for an article topic or any horse-y question, please do not hesitate to reach out.
athensareahorsecommunity@gmail.com
Riding on the Road
Riding your horse on the road can be fun, scenic, and a good way to get out of the arena. In this article, find tips and things to remember when riding or preparing to ride on the road. Also included will be laws and rules people in motorized vehicles must and should follow to help horses and their owners have a good road riding experience. Use common sense when deciding whether your horse can safely be ridden on the road
Corporate Partner Highlights:
A message from Allison Creek, LLC – your horse trailer service shop:
Here in Oconee County, the kids are heading back to school and summer vacation is over. If you have been traveling with your trailers this summer, now is a good time to schedule your Annual Inspection with Allison Creek Farm and Services. Look over all of the items we include on our inspection and remember we service all types of trailers!
We remove the wheels, bearings, and bearing seals, make sure all moving parts inside the wheel (wheel bearings, brakes, etc) are in good, working condition, re-pack the bearings with new grease seals, and put everything back together.
The visual inspection doesn’t stop there, we also cover the following :
Hitch, coupling, pins, safety chains, jacks
Axle condition, fenders, tire alignment and age
Frame, roof and floor, wall condition; broken welds, rust, rot and corrosion, missing rivets
Windows, doors, and ramps: dents, locking mechanisms, weather stripping, hinges, safety bars
Interior: partition locking, injurious protrusions, breast and butt bars
Electrical wiring, lights, safety markers.
Visit Allison Creek’s website to learn more.
New Mobile Mechanical Repair Service
Brett Ledford Services is now serving the Athens Area providing mobile mechanical repair for your tractors, mules and gators, and other farm equipment as well as sports equipment – dirt bikes, motorcycles, atvs and utvs. Call 706-338-1358 today to set up an appointment or contact him on Facebook.
AAHC Initiatives:
Heritage Park Proposal
Right now our biggest project is the Heritage Park Proposal. If you know, you know <3 If you don’t know – Heritage Park is a 350+ acre park in Oconee County. AAHC has been working with OC Parks and Rec, the Board of Commissioners, and a huge number of volunteers to make some much needed updates to the arena and equestrian facility. The park has a really nice covered arena and barn, but the arena needs some work to make it safe for horse use: footing and semi-permanent barrier between concrete and footing. We are also exploring getting a tractor and drag, dust management system, footing academy for park employees, second well, warm up arena, and more.
We’ve been compiling blessings lists if you know someone who would be interested in a quote letter or interest in using this facility when it’s updated and safe then let us know. Additionally, we are working out the details of the budget. We want to take a minute to thank all the volunteers who are supporting this initiative – it takes a village and we value all of your help more than we can express.
If you want to read more about Heritage Park, you can read more HERE.
Marketing Campaigns
As you know our mission here at AAHC is to grow the local horse community. Along those lines we have testing for 2 marketing campaigns under way. The first is to attract beginners to the sport who already live here.
If you provide beginner lessons within an hour of Athens, be sure to take a minute to add your lesson program to our list of beginner lesson providers because this is the page we are sending traffic to. There is no charge to be added to our directory.
If you know someone locally looking for beginner lessons, you can send them this link:
https://www.athensareahorsecommunity.com/business-directory/wpbdp_category/beginners/
The other marketing campaign is a nation-wide campaign to attract horse people to the area. Athens is blessed with a top of the line vet teaching hospital, year round riding weather and ample green space, close proximity competitions in to Ocala, Tryon, and more, not to mention the THRIVING local horse community 😉
If you know someone who is interested in moving here, here is a link you can send them:
https://www.athensareahorsecommunity.com/join-us/move-horses-to-athens-ga/
GDCTA – Volunteer and Paying Opportunities
GDCTA is paying for someone to be the volunteer coordinator for the championships Oct 7-9. It’s $500 for the weekend plus a hotel room. Normally that is an unpaid volunteer position but we need someone ASAP who wants to be there and manage the 80 or so volunteers over the course of the 3-day show. You will be surrounded by an experienced and supportive staff plus it is a fantastic networking opportunity.
They are also looking for volunteer scribes, ring stewards, and similar for shows. Scribing is a wonderful opportunity to learn and de-mystify the judges stand. GDCTA tracks volunteer hours for the year for an incentive program. Liz Faso Memorial Volunteer of the Year sponsored by Wilsun Custom Horse Products)
- $1000.00 to the person with the most hours volunteered at GDCTA events and participating shows (check the events calendar to find the events that will work for you!)
- $750.00 to person with the 2nd highest number of hours
- $500.00 to person with the 3rd highest number of hours
- $250.00 raffle consisting of every volunteer with 24 hrs volunteering
This program will run from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022, and will be awarded at the Awards Gala in January 2023.
See you at the Barn! – Amanda McCoy
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