Super Duper Youth

This year's Carson Carroll Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Shyanne Lopp. Shyanne is the granddaughter of members Travis and Barbara Henderson. The scholarship was presented to Shyanne by Sandy Carroll at this year's Celebration. Shyanne intends to study Agriculture at Columbia State for 2 years then plans to finish her studies at UT Martin. The members of TDA wish Shyanne all the best as she starts this new and exciting part of her life.

The Great Mule and Donkey Celebration in Shelbyville played host to the NMDA National Championships this year. Brittney Conyer, showing CCC Love Bug owned by Laura George, won the title of "NMDA National Champion Youth". Brittney, the daughter of Lisa Graves and Jeff Conyer, is a youth member of TDA and we are very proud of her!

Donkey Day Expo - May 21st

This year’s DDE will not be a public event. It will be held for TDA members only at the Skillington Barn at Maury County Park in Columbia, TN on Saturday, May 21^st. The morning will be dedicated to basic clinics (body clipping, hoof care, basic training of your donkey, etc) and the afternoon will focus on advanced training and guidance. Judge Dawn Ware will be on-hand in the afternoon to offer opinions and advice to the donkey-handlers. Watch your email, we will have full details out soon!

Novice Day @ Half Ass Acres - June 11th

by Theresa Puckett, Reporter

We would like to invite all our members to a day of fun, thrills and excitement. Mark your calendars for our first annual mock show and novice day on June 11^th. Our start time will be 9 AM but you are welcome to show up at anytime. This event will be at Dayle and Joe Haworth’s Half Ass Acres in Chapel Hill, TN. Bring your donkeys and play with them or come and use one of the many that will be available. You also have the option of just coming to visit. Lunch will be provided along with drinks but you might want to bring a chair. This event is designed around helping people do things like trail, jumping and driving along with how to put panties on your donkey. You don’t have to show to get something out of this day. We would very much like to meet your favorite long eared friend. Each newbie (which can be the person or the donkey) will be paired with a seasoned donkey handler to help them with the task at hand. As we all know, donkeys are full of surprises so we expect this day to be full of laughter. More details will be emailed out soon.

New Show for this Year!

The Williamson County Fair (Franklin, TN) has asked the TDA to hold a show during their fair this year! Guess what? It’s under cover! So, mark your calendars for Sunday, August 7^th at 2pm.  Lee Little will be the Judge.  More information (including class schedule) will come out soon.

Cheers for Ears Pet Day – Saturday 5/7

Lydia Spears is ironing out the plans for Hohenwald’s SECOND ANNUAL CHEERS FOR EARS PET DAY. It is on the clubs event calendar and as she gets more info – we will update you.


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Calendar Updates

The Event Calendar has been updated with the following information:

2.26: Awards Banquet
3.19: Spring Members Meeting
4.2: Mule Day Show
5.21: Donkey Day Expo (for Members Only) - Basic Clinics and Advanced Clinics
6.11: Novice Clinic and Mock Show

(more events on calendar for 2nd half of the year.)


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2010 Season Awards Banquet

The awards banquet for 2010 is on Feb 26th 4 to 6PM. Everyone is welcome! The location is the Ramada Inn at 704 South Cumberland Street Lebanon, TN 37087 (615) 444-7400. 

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MAP




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OCTOBER 2010

A few thoughts………….

It just seems I can’t be pleased with the weather this year. First it was too wet and cold, then too hot and now its DRY. I know, whaaaa! LOL! I do love fall and am thankful that it is here. Time to be outside and do fun things with the donkeys before it turns wet and really cold again. It’s also a good time to get some maintenance things done also. For example, make sure to check your water trough heaters BEFORE you need them!

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Just a quick reminder that this coming Saturday, October 9th is our Trail Ride/Drive (all sized donkeys, horses or bikes!) in Elkmont, AL http://www.traillink.com/trail/richard-martin-trail.aspx  and, next Saturday, October 16th ,is a FUN DAY at Sandy Carroll’s farm in Shelbyville, TN. Information has been emailed and is on our calendar.

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A couple of years ago I started a Facebook page for the Tennessee Donkey Association to help promote the club in Facebook -land . I have had several remarks from members that it is confusing (and I agree) to have the TDA’s facebook page set up as it currently is – under my personal facebook account. I am in the process of setting up a stand-alone Facebook account that can be linked to the TDA’s website etc. And will only have TDA info showing up on it.

As I make changes to convert everything over to the new page, current “Friends” will be notified. Once it is completed I will update all the club membership and invite them to join. This helps promote the page on Facebook and will help it get seen by more people that enjoy donkeys.

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Please join me in welcoming new members to TDA!

Kenny & Sherry Puckett of Cookeville, TN (muleman101@yahoo.com  and sassy.p@live.com )

Marybeth McGrath of Mt. Juliet, TN (marybethmcg@comcast.net )

Hope to see you all soon at a future function!

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ALL EARS needs articles! If you have an article you have written that would be of interest to club members OR have seen an article in a publication - please email it to me!

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In this month’s edition of ALL EARS:

OFFICER ELECTIONS & FALL MEETING

REPORTERS CORNER

TN STATE FAIR RESULTS

2010 SHOW AWARDS

October Calendar

OCTOBER EVENTS


First off, I need to update the members in the East Tennessee area…I am sorry to say, that we (TDA) had to cancel the venue at Lovingood Farms in Louisville, TN for October 9th. After months of planning, only two members RSVP’ed and neither were bringing donkeys. I am sorry this didn’t work out. We will keep trying!

NEW EVENT: Trail Ride/Trail Drive Elkmont, Alabama (just south of the TN border off of I-65) Saturday October 9th. (Time to be determined by those participating) - Bring your mini, standard, mammoth, mule, horse, bicycle…… This 10+ mile trail can handle it all. Follow this link for info on the trail. http://www.traillink.com/trail/richard-martin-trail.aspx . Each animal will need a Negative Coggins & Health Certificate to travel in to Alabama. If interested, contact Lydia Spears at miniacre@bellsouth.net or 931.796.4920.

FUN/FARM DAY: Sandy Carroll is inviting all members and their family to her farm on Saturday October 16th. Mark your calendars now – we will email more info to you (time etc) after Sandy gets the TN State Fair off of her plate.

The TDA Calendar has been updated to reflect this information.

ANNUAL MEETING & OFFICER ELECTIONS

Take part in “steering” YOUR club!

The Annual Meeting and TDA elections is getting closer….. November 6th! Which means that if you are thinking about “throwing your hat in the ring” for an Officer position, you must let me (Diana Poole – tda.president@gmail.com) know by October 6th. OFFICERS POSITIONS ARE:

• PRESIDENT
• VICE –PRESIDENT (2)
• SECRETARY
• TREASURER
• REPORTER
• SHOW COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
• SHOW COMMITTEE MEMBER (2)

 

August 2010

A few thoughts….

Well, as we move in to August, I think most of us have now forgotten how cold and miserable this past winter was. I must admit it seems that our wonderful donkeys are much more tolerant of these recent weather extremes that we've had – than we are. Here’s wishing us all a cool air-conditioner, lots of ice and plenty of shade.

In last month’s newsblog, I mentioned the possibility of a show at the Middle Tennessee Fair in Lawrenceburg. The steering committee postponed the meeting they were going to have in July. So, at this time I have no update. I will keep you posted.

I recently sent out a couple of emails about the Wilson County Fair show to be held August 15th. We still have sponsorships available. They are: $25 for a class sponsor and $50 for a banner display sponsor. Additionally, we still need volunteers for the registration table and a Ringmaster to help the judge. If you have a friend or family member that would help – that is okay too!  Please contact me at tda.president@gmail.com or the co-showchairs: Sandy Carroll at ccarroll@cafes.net or Pauline Gray at lglfarms@yahoo.com

We will chat again soon!

~Diana Poole, President

In this months newsblog:
5Questions
Fun Day
Reporters Corner
Classified Ads
Officer Elections



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Fun Day - October

October 9th is the day for the next planned TDA get-together. It will be held at LOVINGOOD SPRINGS FARM in Louisville, TN (their web address is: http://tnhorse.com/ ) . This is just outside Knoxville. Though the date wasn’t our first choice, it was the 1st date that Lovingood had open. If members want to stall their donkey(s) over-night on Friday – please contact the farm directly to make a reservation. The fee for the stall is $25. There will be no charge to members for the venue – it will be paid for by club funds.

This is a lovely facility and if you have a driving or riding donkey, there is plenty of space for you to go enjoy the scenery. It is also everyone’s hope that if you are unable to bring your donkey with you that members will still come out and enjoy fellowship.

We hope to be able to hold a couple of quick clinics on this day. As we get more information together it will be updated on the calendar.

Volunteers needed also – if you can help with some things, please email Diana Poole at tda.president@gmail.com .

2011 Officer Elections

Though TDA elections are not until November for the 2011 year, I just wanted to put a bug in your ear. If you are thinking about “throwing your hat in the ring” for the following Officers positions, please let Diana Poole know by October 6th:


PRESIDENT
VICE –PRESIDENT (2)
SECRETARY
TREASURER
REPORTER
SHOW COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
SHOW COMMITTEE MEMBER (2)

BEDFORD COUNTY FAIR DONKEY SHOW

July 24th is TDA’s Fun Show. If you have been considering the idea to show you donkey(s) and have been a little nervous about it – this show is the one to give it a try in! No fancy show attire or halters are required and everyone has a great time. We also love to have cheerleaders! To get more information about it, just click on the link on the TDA’s calendar at the top of the newsblog.

Note to the Volunteers: I will be sending out updated information about the show to you the week before. Thank you again for stepping up and helping with this show preparation.

SADDLE UP for ST. JUDE is June 19th

A couple of emails have been sent out in regard to this event, but wanted to make note of it here too! Calico Mule Ranch has made a special effort to make the Tennessee Donkey ASSociation feel welcome to this event! This is a link to their website so you can peruse all the activities. Should be a fun weekend! We have members that will be camping for the weekend and many that aren’t able to bring donkeys (or horses) but want to just enjoy the event. The folks at Calico said if we are just coming for the day that 11am on Saturday would be a good start time. Watch your email, will be updating again soon!

DONKEY DAY EXPO 2010 - coming May 15th!!!

One week and counting! We have a great line-up of clinics and fun next Saturday, May 15th! To view the list of events, go to: http://tennessee-donkeys.com/events/DDESOE.pdf


REMINDER: Make sure you have a current negative Coggins on each donkey you bring to DDE.




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