My GREEN BEAN year has nearly come full circle.

I never in my wildest thoughts dreamed that an idle conversation would build such a personally fulfilling (low mileage) year in endurance riding.   But it did.  One thing I can say about this sport is that it has been more a self-discovery of myself more than anything else.  That dreams of this or that are fine, but getting to help a couple of bus-loads of new riders get motivated?  Has been the best EVER ♥  None of that is really a reflection of what I have done...but a real blast of what they have done.  It has just made me happy ☺   Happy they believed in themselves.  Happy they pushed their boundaries (safely),  and happy that their dreams are coming true.  People finding friends, connections, bonding with their equine partners...all really good stuff.  I got to sit in the box seat right up front and see it all go down in a virtual sort of way.  You know we as a group made it through an entire year, and not one person complained.  Lord knows, I'm not perfect, and we hit a snag or two and may still hit a few before the prize shipments are through (I'm thinking O-M-G over a 100 packages to address and ship during the worst time of the year to do it, December).   I hope you will visit the website after the season ends and hear about the awesome ride year they had.  I can't wait for awards, so excited.

 Spread the word to your newbie riders.  We hope to play again and do it just as well in 2016.

For the 2016 ride season we are making some changes that will have an affect on the point spread.  We will be adding bonus points for such activities as volunteering at rides, and turning in did not completes/RO's/rider pulls.  Points for pulls?  Yes.  This is a group of relatively new riders and we feel that we need to collect that data to know how we are doing, and who might need a connection with a mentor.  Most riders will encounter the dreaded pull some time or other, but we especially want to know why.  We will be adding bonus points to our individual competition (which will be separate from TEAMS in 2016) for such things as first LD, first 50, first 75, first 100 to hit the scoreboard quarterly.   This will reward riders for incremental growth.  Pull them together hopefully and get them using "strategy" for some of their points.   The volunteer aspect will allow a rider who has to temporarily sideline/rest their horse to gain non-riding points (but they must have one ride on the board to do so).   It will serve as a way to TEAM build.   As a point tracker, it will make my job much more complicated.   In 2016 my Co-director and I will divide and conquer.  She will track TEAMS and I will track INDIVIDUAL.

We are looking for sponsors for year end awards or monthly give-aways, but as last year will turn the ride fees into the prize structure.  Prizes awarded will be based in value on fees collected.  Modest but meaningful.

Join us in 2016!