GALA hosted the American Side Saddle Awards Banquet Weekend March 26-28, 2010. What a great weekend! Friday night we had the awards banquet at the Fickle Pickle in Roswell, GA. In addition to presenting the awards, we had a silent auction, a raffle and a costume contest. It was great seeing GALA members socializing with other regional members.
Big congrats to GALA for winning the Busy Bee Award! The award is for the regional group with the most people at the most events through out the year. GALA members participated in a variety of events in Georgia as well as out of state, including demonstrations, parades, trail rides, foxhunting, hunter paces, and flag bearing. Last year we received second place. Way to go ladies!
Congrats to a few members who won awards this year. Duffy won the costume contest at the banquet. Over half of the people who attended the banquet participated in the costume contest!
Lisa Doker and Stephanie Hutcherson won a few year-end awards. Both Lisa and Stephanie placed in the Top Ten Senior Champion division. Lisa received 8th place overall and Stephanie 5th place overall. Stephanie was tied for 1rst place in the Street Cruiser division which is a category for parade riders. She tied for 2nd place in the Social Butterfly division which is category for attending social events. Stephanie received 2nd place in the Route 66 division for the farthest distance traveled to one event, that event was the 2009 Inaugural Parade. She also received the Betty Skelton Award for her published article in Up Close and Personal magazine about side saddle riding. The coveted Velcro Award also went to Stephanie for staying on her horse through repeated musket volleys during the Old Soldier’s Day Parade in August of 2009.The Civil war reenactment group was only one unit ahead of ours!
Saturday, March 27, GALA hosted an incredible side saddle clinic with Rhonda Watts Hettinger at the lovely Sonora Creek Farm in Canton, GA. Rhonda traveled all the way from New Hampshire to GA to be our fantastic clinician. The weather was perfect. We had thirteen riders and thirteen auditors! People came from GA, OH, KY, TN, NH, and MI!
On Sunday, some of us did the “mini tour of Atlanta”. We headed out for breakfast, then to the Princess Di exhibit at the Civic Center, then to the GA Aquarium and ended the day with a late lunch at the Varsity.
Next year the American Side Saddle Association’s Awards Banquet moves to the far north to Minnesota! Hope to see you there!