2024 STA Annual Meeting – January 13, 2024

The afternoon event was held for the second year at The Homestead Barn, in Monticello.
A delicious potluck lunch was held with David Rigdon cooking his famous BBQ.
After lunch, Joyce Papp began the meeting with some brief summaries of STA current and future projects.
Jessica Mauer gave a summary of the status and needs of the upcoming Benefit Event on March 16th. There will be a Poker Run, Obstacle Challenge and a Tack Yard Sale.
Sharon Haughton gave a brief summary of the current financial status of STA.
Officers and directors were elected for the year 2024: Joyce Papp as President, Sue Noyes as Vice President, Regine Kraft as Secretary, Becky Day as Treasurer and Leatha Flowers as Newsletter Editor. Directors are: Sharon Haughton, Maria Morales, Liz Rich and Linda Vause.

Top Five Ride Hours
1st: Sharon Haughton- 16.5
2nd: Joyce Papp- 13.25
3rd: Liz Rich and Becky Day tied – 12.75
4th: Sue Noyes – 12.5
5th: Jessica Mauer and Brandi Enfinger tied – 10.75

Top Five Volunteer Hours
1st: Sue Noyes – 103.5
2nd: Ron Tuttle – 42.5
3rd: Linda Vause – 33.75
4th: Susan Wilson – 25
5th: Nancy Stephens – 22.75

Poker Ride & Obstacle Challenge!!!

Join us for a Poker Ride, Obstacle Challenge and Tack Yard Sale on March 16, 2024 beginning at 9:00 a.m.
Visit the STA Facebook site https://www.facebook.com/groups/SouthernTrailriders/ or the event page on Facebook https://fb.me/e/30nqN3N2V for more information.

Click here for a printable EVENT FLYER and for the TACK YARD SALE FLYER.

News from the STA President (October 2023)

Hello STA Members,

Just wanted to reach out to you all and remind you of several things we have coming up on our calendar.

Saturday, October 21 st , is our monthly scheduled ride and our quarterly meeting. It will be at Rivers Road, ready to ride out at 9:30 am. It will be a 2-hour ride and afterward will be the quarterly meeting (short and sweet, I promise). If you don’t want to ride, then just come to the quarterly meeting which will begin around noon. STA will be providing the meat from Sonny’s BBQ. Bring a covered dish to share, BYOD (drink) and a lawn chair.

As our year will soon be winding down, your Board is asking for help on some decisions which we will discuss at the quarterly meeting.

  1. Last year (Jan 2022), STA had the annual meeting at the American Legion on Lake Ella Drive. This year (Jan 2023) we had it at The Homestead Barn in Monticello. We need you to think about where you prefer, or recommend, we have our annual meeting? We need a building for about 60 people, access to a kitchen, tables, chairs and restrooms, along with the ability to have or purchase alcohol. Please don’t just ignore this for someone else to do; we are truly asking for your assistance. Since it’s the “Annual Meeting” would you prefer it in early December to close out the year or in January as in the past few years?
  2. As 2024 is coming up, we are asking for new board members because some of us need a break.  Sharon Haughton is resigning as Treasurer and Liz Rich is stepping down as Newsletter Editor. Wendy Trawick is leaving the board. We will need bodies to fill these positions. If you want to help,
    or know of anyone who would want to help, speak up. Let us know! This is the time for you to come to our aid because Southern Trailriders Association is an important organization that keeps communication lines open with our legislators, land management groups, local government
    representatives and keeps our equestrian trails active.
  3. STA is getting back to sponsoring a benefit ride to be held in March. Details will be coming soon on our website and on Facebook.

Think about what you can do to participate.  Now’s your chance to help make a difference. Hope to see you at the Quarterly Meeting, October 21st . If you can’t make it, you can still make a difference by reaching out to any board member with your thoughts and ideas.

Thanks again and see you soon.

Joyce Papp, President

Apalachicola National Forest Cleanup Day – Feb 25, 2023

The day dawned cool but quickly warmed up. Orientation was at 8:00 AM sharp presented by Sharon Gray. We had the BEST ever STA membership turnout with 17 members coming to pick up trash. Present were Jessica Mauer and her husband Brandon, Stephanie Gallegos and her husband Richard Fiesel, Katrina Ward, Doelle West, Ron Tuttle, Joelle Maclyn, Jan Early, Nancy Stephens, Linda Vause, Susan Wilson, Twila Wilson, Pam Freeman, Liz Rich, Sue Noyes, Joyce Papp and 2 non-members who volunteered under the STA banner, Janice Smith and Deb Stone, 19 all total. Awesome turnout! My apologies if I misspelled anyone’s name.
Some brought their UTV’s and we all brought empty feed sacks for the garbage. We have found that the feed sacks are much stronger than plastic garbage bags much to the surprise of the other volunteers. It also shows the community just how many equestrians were there helping out. After orientation, we split up into groups, some headed to Forest Road 362 off Springhill Road and the rest of us cleaned the trails at Rivers Road. All met back at Rivers Road trailhead around noon for an awesome lunch provided by Sharon Gray and the Forest Edge Neighbors. 2023 results are not in yet, but the cleanup results for 2006 – 2022 are 240.5 tons of trash.
Groups participating in the Forest Cleanup this year included Tallahassee Mountain Bike Association (TMBA), Southern Trailriders Association (STA), Forgotten Coast Jeepers, GD Off Road, SEDRA, Back Country Hunters and Anglers, North Florida Back Country Horsemen, Pi Lambda Phi, Phi Alpha Delta, Red Hills Chapter of Quail Forever, Rainbow Group, Tallahassee Fellowship Church, iHeart Media, and the Forest Edge Neighborhood.
Thank you, STA, NFBCH & SEDRA equestrian members and non-members for coming out and helping to keep the forest clean!
Joyce

2023 STA ANNUAL MEETING January 14, 2023 The Homestead Barn, Monticello, FL

We would like to thank everyone that came to the STA Annual Meeting. We had a good turnout, plenty of food, and we want to thank David Rigdon for the fabulous job on the smoked meat.
We discussed the challenges in 2022 including the low number of people riding and attending workdays and what can we do to get members to participate. Some riders relayed that the rides are too fast if gaited horses are leading. We can divide up into two groups (slow and fast) if we have enough participating. You can also call the ride leader to find out the speed of the ride. Other members said they need to know well in advance if there is a ride. The destination does not need to be determined, just a date so they can put it on their calendar. Nancy Stephens motioned that STA have a ride on the third Saturday of each month, and the location will be determined as the date gets closer. If the ride needs to be canceled, it is at the discretion of the ride leader to either assign a new date or cancel the ride completely. It was seconded by Pam Freeman and the motion carried.

Slate of Officers and Board Members for 2023:
President: Joyce Papp
Vice President: Sue Noyes
Secretary: Leatha Flowers
Treasurer: Sharon Haughton
Newsletter Editor: Liz Rich
Board Members: Maria Morales, Linda Vause, Gaye Johnson, Wendy Trawick

We would like to recognize the following individuals for their time:
Linda Vause for the most hours ridden in 2022 (17 hours)
Sue Noyes for the most volunteer work hours (37.5 hours)

In closing, we want to thank you again for coming and providing valuable input. We hope to see you on the trail, so please mark your calendars for STA scheduled rides the third Saturday of
each month. Anyone can lead a scheduled ride, so if you would like to lead, just contact one of the board members.

Miccosukee Greenway Workday with Horses – Saturday, August 27, 2022

When I arrived at the Crump Road Trailhead with Quia at 8:20 a.m., it was 80 degrees. I was glad about that as I figured it wouldn’t be a bad heat-filled day to be clearing a trail! Esther D. was the next to arrive with Dana. She is a NATRAC rider and travels all over the country for competitions but happened to be here this weekend! Linda V. was next with Scarlet and then Sharon H. showed up with General. This was our mighty team that set out to clear our single-track trail after you cross Miccosukee Road. We actually started clearing on the way to the crossing and remarked about the high humidity. Once we arrived at the single-track trail, the real “fun” began. This trail was so overgrown we had trouble finding it in spots. The pictures with this write-up will give you an example of the severity of need for maintenance as it was truly impassable. We were really taken back by the amount of growth we experienced as we noticed the county had conducted a prescribed burn and it must have really encouraged growth. We soon realized we would have to work from the ground, so Sharon and Linda started it off and Esther and I held their horses. Later on, Esther joined the ground crew with Linda and Sharon held her horse. I went on ahead and cleared the overhead branches when the underbrush had cleared out. We could not have accomplished the clearing without Sharon’s Super Saw, a small four-inch electric chain saw. I was amazed when she was able to cut through a fallen tree that was at least 8 to 10 inches in diameter. When we saw that tree, we thought we’d have to call it a day! It was tough going for most of the way, but we were able to clear the underbrush as well as the overhead branches and vines all the way to where the trail joins back up with the main trail. Needless to say, we all felt accomplished with the work we were able to do on this 3.5-hour workday! As I left the trailhead, the temperature was 91 degrees.
Sue N.

St. Marks River Preserve State Park – Ride and Lunch

Saturday, January 1, 2022, Ride out at 10:00 a.m. Ride contact: Linda, 850-544-1900

If you are concerned about the speed of the ride, please contact the ride leader.

There are picnic tables at this trailhead. This will be a 2.5 hour ride. We will be cooking hamburgers after the ride.  Please  bring a personal snack to accompany your hamburger, as well as your own beverage. There are several trails all marked with different colors. It is a good idea to refer to the map at the kiosk prior to riding, if not familiar with this park. The terrain is generally flat and at times made up of thick loose dirt. Not much shade on this ride, so heat of the summer can be oppressive. Deer are frequently spotted and once in a long while, bear. Please bring bug spray in case the bugs are active as this park tends to be buggy.

Directions from Tallahassee: Take US 90 East to Chaires Cross Road. Turn right and continue to Apalachee Parkway. Cross over the Parkway and continue on W.W. Kelly Road to Tram Road. Turn left and go about 2.5 miles. About 1,000 feet before entrance, there is a brown State Park sign on the right directing you to the trailhead on the left. When you see Bobby Godwin Road on the left, the next drive to the left is the entrance to the State Park.

Directions from Woodville/Crawfordville: Take Capital Circle east to Tram Road. Turn right and continue several miles. (Trailhead is about 2.5 miles past W.W. Kelly Road.) About 1,000 feet before entrance, there is a brown State Park sign on the right directing you to the trailhead on the left. When you see Bobby Godwin Road on the left, the next drive to the left is the entrance to the State Park.