Jun 3, 2025 | NCDCTA BOD Meeting - Virtual

Attendees:Helen Ingersoll Amy Brumbach Jordan McKenzie-Solis Ellie Balakrishnan Heather Boyer Charlotte Meli Todd Erickson Katherine Thornton Mandi Martyn Lisa Chisholm Will Barrus Absent: Heather Turner Ali LaTorre Amanda Delgado

President, Helen Ingersoll, called the meeting to order at 7:05

Amy Brumbach read the NCDCTA Charter. 

NCDCTA BOARD TEAM CHARTER:

• We the board of the NCDCTA hold the following values as guiding principles to carry out the mission of our organization.
• To educate, promote camaraderie and recognize achievement in dressage and eventing.
• Respect, Humility, Patience, Self Awareness, Supportiveness, Accountability, Listening, Generosity, and Helpfulness
• Communication that is: Clear, Flexible, Ongoing, Supportive, Constructive and Safe while celebrating brave efforts to question and disagree.
• Decision making that is shared. Roles that can be flexible and board members that are engaged, present, and share appreciation for and with one another, freely.

Reports:

• Presidents Report: Helen Ingersoll

• Vice Presidents Report: Amy Brumbach

• Treasurer Report: Heather Turner

• Jr/Yr Report: Mandi Martyn

• Competition Report: Todd Erickson

• Sponsorship Report: Heather Boyer 

• Gala Report: Ellie Balakrishnan

• Volunteer Report: Charlotte Meli

• Eventing Report: Katherine Thornton

• Communications Report: Lisa Chisholm 

• Education/Dressage Report: Ali LaTorre 

Old Business:

• Motion for NCDCTA to contribute $500 as a sponsor for the Sandhills Western Dressage 1 & 2 Show on August 16–17, 2025 at the Pinehurst Harness Track and sponsor a dedicated high score ribbon for AA/O/JR (total 3 ribbons). Moved by Heather Boyer. Mandi Martyn seconded the motion. The motion carried with all in favour and none opposed. 

• Motion to add a HOY track for nationally recognized CTs. Moved by Katherine Thornton. Mandi Martyn seconded the motion. The motion carried with all in favour and none opposed. 

New Business:

• None at this time 

Next meeting: July 1 @ 7pm, Virtual 

Helen adjourned the meeting at 8:47 PM

Minutes respectfully submitted by Jordan McKenzie-Solis, Recording Secretary.

May 6, 2025 | NCDCTA BOD Meeting - Virtual

Attendees:Helen Ingersoll Amy Brumbach Heather Turner Jordan McKenzie-Solis  Ali LaTorre Katherine Thornton Ellie Balakrishnan Heather Boyer Lisa Chisholm Charlotte Meli Amanda Delgado. Absent: Mandi Martyn Todd Erickson Will Barrus

President, Helen Ingersoll, called the meeting to order at 7:03

Helen read the NCDCTA Charter. 

NCDCTA BOARD TEAM CHARTER:

• We the board of the NCDCTA hold the following values as guiding principles to carry out the mission of our organization.
• To educate, promote camaraderie and recognize achievement in dressage and eventing.
• Respect, Humility, Patience, Self Awareness, Supportiveness, Accountability, Listening, Generosity, and Helpfulness
• Communication that is: Clear, Flexible, Ongoing, Supportive, Constructive and Safe while celebrating brave efforts to question and disagree.
• Decision making that is shared. Roles that can be flexible and board members that are engaged, present, and share appreciation for and with one another, freely.

Reports:

• Membership Secretary Report: Will Barrus

• Ex officio, Western Dressage Representative: Amanda Delgado

• Presidents Report: Helen Ingersoll

• Vice Presidents Report: Amy Brumbach

• Treasurer Report: Heather Turner

• Communications Report: Lisa Chisholm 

• Sponsorship Report: Heather Boyer 

• Dressage Report: Ali LaTorre 

• Competition Report: Todd Erickson
• Eventing Report: Katherine Thornton

• Jr/Yr Report: Mandi Martyn
• Volunteer Report: Charlotte Meli
• Gala Report: Ellie Balakrishnan

New Business:

• Heather B: interested in NCDCTA sponsoring the Sandhills Western Dressage 1 & 2 Show on August 16–17, 2025 with $750

• Motion to add a HOY track for nationally recognized CTs. Moved by Katherine Thornton. Heather Boyer seconded the motion. Two opposed. Four requested abstention. Two in favor. The motion is suspended. 

• Motion to close meeting. Moved by Lisa Chisholm. Seconded by Jordan McKenzie-Solis. The motion carried with all in favour and none opposed. 

Next meeting: June 3, 2025 - Virtual 

Helen adjourned the meeting at 9:18

Minutes respectfully submitted by Jordan McKenzie-Solis, Recording Secretary.

Apr 8, 2025 |  NCDCTA Board Meeting - Virtual

Attendees:Helen Ingersoll Amy Brumbach Heather Turner Jordan McKenzie-Solis Heather Boyer Ellie Balakrishnan Charlotte Meli Todd Erickson Katherine Thornton  Mandi Martyn Lisa Chisholm Ali LaTorre Will Barrus 

President, Helen Ingersoll, called the meeting to order at 7:06

Mandi Martyn read the NCDCTA Charter. 

NCDCTA BOARD TEAM CHARTER:

• We the board of the NCDCTA hold the following values as guiding principles to carry out the mission of our organization.
• To educate, promote camaraderie and recognize achievement in dressage and eventing.
• Respect, Humility, Patience, Self Awareness, Supportiveness, Accountability, Listening, Generosity, and Helpfulness
• Communication that is: Clear, Flexible, Ongoing, Supportive, Constructive and Safe while celebrating brave efforts to question and disagree.
• Decision making that is shared. Roles that can be flexible and board members that are engaged, present, and share appreciation for and with one another, freely.

Reports:

• Membership Secretary Report: Will Barrus

• Presidents Report: Helen Ingersoll

• Vice Presidents Report: Amy Brumbach

• Paid Horses: 282
• Volunteer Card Horses: 68
• Total Horses: 350 – 19% increase of this time last year.

• Other member information of interest
• New Members: 92
• Renewing Members: 342
• Reactivated Members: 77
• Dressage Only: 288
• Western Dressage: 68
• Dressage & Eventing: 160
• Eventing Only: 45
• Breeding: 25
• Lifetime Members: 6
• Trainers: 51
• Officials: 24
• E-News ONLY: 61
• Female: 480
• Male: 22
• Gender Unknown: 9

• Other Horse Information of Interest
• New Horses: 123
• Renewing Horses: 194
• Reactivated Horses: 33

• Volunteer Card Information
• Outstanding Volunteer Cards: 2729
• Festival:

• Treasurer Report: Heather Turner

• Competition Report: Todd Erickson

• Jr/Yr Report: Mandi Martyn

• Eventing Report: Katherine Thornton

• Volunteer Report: Charlotte Meli

• Gala Report: Ellie Balakrishnan

• Dressage Report: Ali LaTorre 

• Sponsorship Report: Heather Boyer 

• Communications Report: Lisa Chisholm 

Old Business:

• Discussion at EC committee around NCDCTA being award sponsor at Sporting Horse Services schooling show championships (Fall Finale)

New Business:

• Motions:

Next meeting: May 6, 2025 - VIRTUAL 

Helen adjourned the meeting at 8:41pm

Minutes respectfully submitted by Jordan McKenzie-Solis, Recording Secretary.

Mar 4, 2025 | NCDCTA Board Meeting - Virtual

Attendees: Helen Ingersoll Amy Brumbach Jordan McKenzie-Solis Ellie Balakrishnan Heather Boyer Todd Erickson Ali LaTorre Charlotte Meli Mandi Martyn Katherine Thornton Lisa Chisholm Will Barrus. Absent: Heather Turner

President, Helen Ingersoll, called the meeting to order at 7:00pm 

Helen read the NCDCTA Charter. 

NCDCTA BOARD TEAM CHARTER:

• We the board of the NCDCTA hold the following values as guiding principles to carry out the mission of our organization.
• To educate, promote camaraderie and recognize achievement in dressage and eventing.
• Respect, Humility, Patience, Self Awareness, Supportiveness, Accountability, Listening, Generosity, and Helpfulness
• Communication that is: Clear, Flexible, Ongoing, Supportive, Constructive and Safe while celebrating brave efforts to question and disagree.
• Decision making that is shared. Roles that can be flexible and board members that are engaged, present, and share appreciation for and with one another, freely.

Reports:

• Membership Secretary Report: Will Barrus

• Communications Report: Lisa Chisholm 

• Sponsorship Report: Heather Boyer 

• Vice Presidents Report: Amy Brumbach

• Dressage Report: Ali LaTorre 

• Eventing Report: Katherine Thornton

• Presidents Report: Helen Ingersoll

• Gala Report: Ellie Balakrishnan

• Volunteer Report: Charlotte Meli

• Competition Report: Todd Erickson

• Jr/Yr Report: Mandi Martyn

• Treasurer Report: Heather Turner

New Business:

• RFP from Will for web transfer

• Motions:

Next meeting: April 1, 2025 – Virtual 

Helen adjourned the meeting at 9:20pm

Minutes respectfully submitted by Jordan McKenzie-Solis, Recording Secretary.

Feb 4, 2025 | NCDCTA Board Meeting @ Jennifer Swanson's Farm

Attendees: Helen Ingersoll, Amy Brumbach, Heather Turner, Jordan McKenzie-Solis, Ali LaTorre, Charlotte Meli, Heather Boyer, Ellie Balakrishnan, Lisa Chisholm, Todd Erickson, Katherine Thornton, Mandi Martyn, Will Barrus, Jennifer Swanson 

President, Helen Ingersoll, called the meeting to order at 6:08

Strategic Planning with Jennifer Swanson:

• Jennifer started with highlighting that it’s important to integrate new team members

• Introductions and outlining good teamwork principles:

  • Katherine Thornton: eventing chair, new to board, important teamwork elements are communication and understanding others perspectives 

  • Jordan Solis: secretary, new to board, important teamwork principles are  collaboration and remembering your roots

  • Lisa Chisholm: communication chair, new to board, emphasizes recognizing each others skills and values while letting them use those skills within the group 

  • Ali LaTorre: dressage chair, 3rd year on board, values checking in on each other to make the team stronger 

  • Mandi Martyn: Jr/YR chair, 2nd year on the board, “what is your superpower?”, recognize others superpowers and weaknesses (kryptonite)

  • Heather Turner: treasurer, 4th year on the board, engagement of the people in the seats (care about each other and the members)

  • Ellie Balakrishnan: gala chair, 2nd year on the board, develop meaningful relationships (fosters communication and trust)

  • Charlotte Meli: member at large with focus on volunteers, 2nd year on the board, positivity is important for fostering positive relationships

  • Will Barrus: involved with BOD for the past 20 years, values engagement/investment of board with focus on communication 

  • Todd Erickson: competition chair, new to board, successful boards focus on the mission (don’t get sidetracked)

  • Heather Boyer: member at large with focus on sponsorship, 2nd year on the board, important to respect the group and each others perspectives, guide without judgement 

  • Amy Brumbach: VP, 3rd year on the board, key to success is engagement and participation, “show up when it matters”

  • Helen Ingersoll: president, uses her periphery (vision) to keep the group moving forward, focused on team charter last year and used it as an anchor/guiding principle

Todd read the NCDCTA team charter:

NCDCTA Board Team Charter:

• We the board of the NCDCTA hold the following values as guiding principles to carry out the mission of our organization.

• To educate, promote camaraderie and recognize achievement in dressage and eventing.

• Respect, Humility, Patience, Self Awareness, Supportiveness, Accountability, Listening, Generosity, and Helpfulness

• Communication that is: Clear, Flexible, Ongoing, Supportive, Constructive and Safe while celebrating brave efforts to question and disagree.

• Decision making that is shared. Roles that can be flexible and board members that are engaged, present, and share appreciation for and with one another, freely.

The current board elected not to make changes to the team charter at this time. 

Celebration of what’s been achieved over the past year!

• Tough decisions were made for the betterment of the NCDCTA and it’s membership

• Improved communication and ownership of roles within the organization 

• Competition decisions (even last minute) were made that aligned with the mission, charter, values, and budget 

• Adherence to zero based budgeting (specifically with the gala)

• Accomplishments in education with Functional Anatomy clinic with Jillian Kreinbring, instructors workshop, Festival, etc

• Gala was a success that ran smoothly and seamless with lots of awards, perfect venue, and attendance was excellent

• Development of HOY self reporting 

What has been learned?

• Quality of shows/events over quantity

• Can’t make everyone happy  

For this next year, build on the framework that already exists starting with a SWOT analysis based on the membership survey. 

2025 SWOT and NCDCTA Priorities 

• Communication with Lisa Chisholm: 

  • Priorities: newsletter reformat, more social media with subpages, website redesign

  • Social Media:

    • Goal is to keep the social media channels clear with rules around posting

      • The Facebook page is not for community posting, only for posting official NCDCTA information

    • It was noted that 2 Facebook pages exist (one is a page and one is a group); there was discussion around eliminating one and there was fear of losing members/followers. 

      • There is consideration for having 1 NCDCTA page with a separate eventing subpage 

    • Board members are encouraged to post regularly to show visibility and let members know what’s happening behind the scenes 

  • Newsletter: 

    • Planning to transition to an email style newsletter (that is inline with NCDCTA bylaws) that includes a link to a News page on the NCDCTA website for additional information and educational articles 

    • Helen is planning to appoint a communications cochair for the News page and emailed newsletter

    • Transitioning from a magazine style newsletter to an email newsletter will save $5400 per year (by not hiring newsletter staff)

  • Website:

    • Planning to redesign the NCDCTA website

    • Planning to maintain an up to date calendar of events and encourage organizers to submit their events to the calendar through the NCDCTA website: https://www.ncdcta.org/submit-your-event 

  • Webinars: tabled this for now due to concern for burnout

    • Lisa is happy to help develop once other priorities have been addressed

      • Plan to link with the festival and clinicians

      • Possibly includes continuing ed with USDF, recordings of prior educational events, classroom opportunities

      • Potential to create YouTube channel 

• Festival and Harvest Moon Schooling Show with Amy Brumbach: 

  • Festival is September 12-14, 2025 at Carolina Horse Park

  • Harvest Moon Schooling Show is September 14, 2025 at Carolina Horse Park

  • Clinicians pending (potentially JJ Tate, Richard Malgrim, Tik Maynard, Daniel Stewart) 

    • Planning for dressage, eventing, and education clinicians

    • Hoping to have clinicians secured by mid-march along with budget 

  • The Carolina Horse Park is looking forward to hosting 

  • Festival ticket prices will increase this year 

• L program with Ali LaTorre: 

  • November 22-23, 2025; February 28-March 1, 2026; May 16-17, 2026 at Averett University

  • Developed by the USDF Judges’ Committee, this educational training program teaches judges to evaluate the correct training of dressage horses.

  • Auditors can purchase one event or all 3 (discounted price for all 3)

  • Averett students will get a discount: $25 each to cover food

• NCDCTA Winter Solstice Dressage Championships:

  • December 12-14, 2025 at Carolina Horse Park

  • Will be a level 2 recognized show

• Shows:

  • Considering expanding to FENCE and Williamston for 2026

  • NCDCTA needs more show organizers that are in different locations

• Eventing growth with Katherine Thornton:

  • Priority is is encouraging and developing members

    • Planning cross references USEA to discover NCDCTA membership opportunities 

  • Reconsidering eventing championships that are currently based on War Horse Eventing Series 

  • Considering developing an eventing committee focus group

  • Planning to send communication about who Katherine is as eventing face for NCDCTA

  • Planning to submit quarterly FAQ emails

  • Plan for sharing of dressage and event volunteers

  • Planning to evaluate alternative eventing venues 

  • Considering creating eventing scholarships 

Reports:

• Presidents Report: Helen Ingersoll

  • ***

• Vice Presidents Report: Amy Brumbach

  • Working on the overall budget for the festival, plan for communication with budget outline and discussion points for the March meeting. 

  • Daniel Stewart is secured for the clinic, Ali is working with JJ Tate and Richard Malgrim. Ongoing discussions with eventing clinician, Tik Maynard. 

  • Ongoing discussions with Carolina Horse Park around budgeting and facility needs. 

  • Working with Todd to develop budget for the Harvest Moon Schooling Show. 

 

Membership Numbers:

Current membership numbers for 2/3/2025

At this time last year we had:

294 total members

174 total horses

Adult Amateur: 218

Jr/YR: 66

Open: 79

Total Members: 363 (23% increase over last year)

Paid Horses: 185

Volunteer Card Horses: 41

Total Horses: 226 (30% increase over last year)

Other member information of interest

New Members: 52

Renewing Members: 272

Reactivated Members: 39

Dressage Only: 202

Western Dressage: 43

Dressage & Eventing: 117

Eventing Only: 34

Breeding: 18

Lifetime Members: 6

Trainers: 25

Officials: 9

E-News ONLY: 45

Female: 345

Male: 17

Gender Unknown: 1

Other Horse Information of Interest

New Horses: 67

Renewing Horses: 138

Reactivated Horses: 21

Volunteer Card Information

Outstanding Volunteer Cards: 2747

• Treasurer Report: Heather Turner

  • 1099s were completed and filed electronically for 26 individuals/LLCs (paper copies were mailed to each person also)

  • Engagement letter in progress with our tax advisor for 2024 taxes; preparing final Quickbooks reporting for tax advisor

  • Working on insurance for L-program 

  • Account balances - 

    • TOTAL - $23,049.44

    • Checking - $16,287.16

    • Savings - $2,595.80

    • PayPal - $4,166.48

• Communications Report: Lisa Chisholm 

  • Social media:

    • Created an editorial calendar for scheduled posts, promotions, reminders

    • Planning to establish group/posting rules and socialize them to our members

    • Planning to establish clear guidelines for show promotions to ensure consistency and avoid providing unpaid advertising

  • Email

    • Planning to create an updated distribution list based on 2025 membership

  • NCDCTA Brand

    • Plan to have a creative discussion about a unified brand kit that we can use for all designs across documents, presentations, newsletter, email, social, website. 

  • Sponsorship packet

    • Began design pass & editing on sponsorship packet, final product will depend on brand ideas above

  • Newsletter

    • Next edition due 3/15, planning for email style newsletter as above 

• Competition Report: Todd Erickson

  • ***

• Eventing Report: Katherine Thornton

  • Organizing Eventing Committee 

    • Reaching out to a group for input/feedback then developing that group into an actual “committee” as per the job description and in order to provide for succession planning and ongoing leadership to the NC eventing community

  • Execute USEA Affiliate Membership (Partnership) and NC eventer mailing list sharing

  • Develop and share NCDCTA eventing-specific calendar and promulgate

    • Send out w “Got Eventing” sticker or fridge magnet

  • Work with USEA Area 2

    • Get Area 2 eventing championships at CHP

    • Identify scholarship opportunities, and clinic support

  • Work with CHP

    • Clarify what, exactly, we are asking for 

      • Yes, Nov “championships” at Nov War Horse

      • Yes or No re: the monthly overlap with War Horse…..

  • Begin process for “Organizer Standards” program based on USEA Organizer Committee work

  • Clarifications/Approval Required:

    • Medal Program (like dressage with different levels of achievement)

    • Eventing Championship

      • Hold Championship at Nov War Horse

      • Gather Points at May, Jun, July, Aug War Horse –

      • Mail 1-3 ribbons out, Points collected (by Katherine) from results

        • (less $ on ribbons)

      • Points accrued for 1-5 to qualify for Championship,

      • Only one result required to qualify

      • Post standings somewhere on the website as we go along (excel spreadsheet)

    • Jr/YR Volunteer program (same as Dressage)

      • Possibility for eventing Jr/YR chair 

    • Eventing Clinic –  in 2025, in coordination with Fall Festival

  • Upcoming Communications:

    • Introduction to Organizers - email

    • Introduction to NC eventers (Include FAQ) - email

    • Ongoing quarterly FAQ emails to stimulate membership

      • Explain USEA benefits (credit of $35 toward USEA membership as well as list the other benefits – access to discounts, etc)

      • Explain HOY self-reporting

• Dressage Report: Ali LaTorre 

  • Continued work on Festival planning and securing clinicians

  • Ongoing development of the L program.

    • Websit: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/lprogram

• Jr/Yr Report: Mandi Martyn

  • D4K clinic planning is in the works. Dates are April 12-13. Looking for a sponsor for lunches. Looking for 3-4 guest lectures, and would love to focus on local talent.

  • Developing email correspondence to all current Jr riders who have not yet registered a horse

  • Planning ahead for our Winter Solstice & NCDCTA championships. Reaching out to our same sponsor for the costume class, who communicated after the show that they would consider sponsoring it again this year.

  • Scholarship announcements for our two shows were on hold until we had the calendar finalized. Considering offering the same Jr/YR scholarships for our Harvest Moon schooling show or the festival to get younger riders involved

• Volunteer Report: Charlotte Meli

  • ***

• Sponsorship Report: Heather Boyer 

  • Defining 3 categories of sponsors.

    • 1) Monetary

    • 2) In-Kind Donation

    • 3) Vendor

  • Developing rough draft of the 2025 Sponsorship packet

    • Once packet is made, reach out to 2024 sponsors re: continuing in their specific roles given the new budget of tiers that are created

  • Connecting with multiple Equine professionals interested in sponsoring 

• Gala Report: Ellie Balakrishnan

  • Continuing to ship prizes out

  • Working on rebooking the Grandover for 2026 with a later date - January 24th, 2026

• Membership Secretary Report: Will Barrus

  • Volunteer cards were cataloged and members were advised of their active cards, still available for use.

  • 475 reminder emails were sent to inactive 2024 members.

  • Surge in membership and horse renewals. Ahead of 2023 & 2024 numbers.

  • Actively working on Horse of the Year using new self-reporting.

  • Preparing HOY Self-Reporting Email to 2020-2025 members.

 

The next meeting will be via Google Meet on March 4, 2025 

Helen adjourned the meeting at 9:01. 

Minutes respectfully submitted by Jordan McKenzie-Solis, Recording Secretary.

Minutes passed by majority Board vote.

Jan 7, 2025 | NCDCTA Board Meeting REMOTE

Attendees:Helen Ingersoll, Amy Brumbach, Heather Turner, Tonya Bruno, Charlotte Meli, Ellie Balakrishnan, Ali LaTorre, Mandi Martyn, Alex Martini, Erica Pawlak, Melanie Harper, Sarah Bookner and Heather Boyer. 

1. 7pm Call meeting to order, Helen Ingersoll read the NCDCTA Charter

2. Membership secretary report, Will Barrus, Membership sign up so far is ahead of where we have been in the past. Will is also working on Volunteer Card details and HOY self reporting. 

Current membership numbers for 1/6/2025

Adult Amateur: 139

Jr/YR: 37

Open: 48

Total Members: 224

Paid Horses: 109

Volunteer Card Horses: 17

Total Horses: 126

Other member information of interest

New Members: 27

Renewing Members: 173

Reactivated Members: 24

Dressage Only: 127

Western Dressage: 25

Dressage & Eventing: 74

Eventing Only: 18

Breeding: 11

Lifetime Members: 6

Trainers: 18

Officials: 6

Other Horse Information of Interest

New Horses: 31

Renewing Horses: 87

 

1. Presidents report, Helen Ingersoll Helen has been working to fill all Board positions for 2025. She is pleased with the progress and caliber of new Board members. 

2. VP Report, Amy Brumbach Amy read through Membership numbers and will discuss other details later in the Agenda. 

3. Treasurer Report, Heather Turner, Heather reports that Memberships and Gala payments are coming into the account. There are payments going out to the Gala expenses. Heather is also working on the taxes as well as putting together year end financials for the Gala Board meeting.

4. Competition Report, Erica Pawlak Erica is working on wrapping up all the details from this year's shows. She will also work with the incoming Competition Chair.

5. Communications Report, Sarah Bookner Sarah has been focusing on sending out information about the Gala. Sarah will also work with the incoming Communications Chair.

6. Education Report, Ali LaTorre 

7. Jr/Yr Report, Mandi Martyn Mandi has sent possible Dressage 4Kids clinic dates. 

8. Eventing Report,  Alex Martini and Melanie Harper Alex and Mel presented their recommended changes for the Eventing Medals program. There was discussion and they will make the changes and send out for an email Board vote. 

9. Gala Report, Ellie Balakrishnan Ellie discussed the tables for our Gala Sponsors. The Gala attendance is very high at over 380 attendees. Ellie asked for additional photos for the slideshow. 

Old Business:

Launch of the Self reporting HOY, Helen Ingersoll has a document prepared to send to the Members regarding the self reporting.. Will discussed the details of the self reporting as well as any issues that the Board had. It was agreed that a letter should go out to all Members before the Gala.  Sarah Bookner will send out January 8, 2025

Website Helen got additional information from a second website company  and we are awaiting a quote. Sarah discussed her meeting after she and WIll talked with the first website supplier. There was discussion by Will and Sarah about goals and issues in the website with Board discussion.

New Business:

New committee members 

    Todd Erikson - Competition Chair

    Katherine Thornton - Eventing Chair

    Lisa Chisolm - Communications Chair

Both DAL positions will be charged with overseeing positional duties  Volunteer Coordination and Sponsorship Coordinator

2025 Competitions dates and locations discussion

    Move Autumn Leaves date from Oct 31- Nov 2 to December 12-14. Due to the change in the USDF Finals to our chosen weekend of Autumn Leaves and subsequent moving up or Regionals  it is recommended that we change the date. Sarah Bookner made a motion to move the Autumn Leaves show to December 12-14. The motion was seconded by Erica Pawlak and the motion passed.

Harvest Moon Show and Equine Festival

    Discussion was had about the Harvest Moon Show in reference to the movement of USDF Finals and Regionals. There was Board discussion on the impact of these issues on a rated Show. 

Amy talked about the opportunities with the Carolina Horse Park for the Equine Festival coordinated with a Harvest Moon schooling show. 

Erica Pawlak made a motion to put our recognized Harvest Moon Show on hiatus for 2025 and make it to a Schooling Show and combine with our Equine Festival. It was seconded by Sarah Bookner and the motion passed.

The next meeting will be held at 4:00 PM January 11, 2025 at the Grandover Resort. All Members are invited to attend. 

Helen ingersoll adjourned the meeting at 9:03

Minutes approved by majority Board Vote and respectfully submitted by Tonya Bruno, Recording Secretary

NCDCTA Board Meeting December 3, 2024

Helen Ingersoll called the meeting to order at 7:05. In attendance were Helen Ingersoll, Amy Brumbach, Mandi Martyn, Charlotte Meli, Heather Turner, Heather Boyer, Ellie Balakrishnan and Tonya Bruno. Joining via Google Meet were Melanie Harper, Ali Perkins LaTorre and Alex Martini. Also in attendance was Will Barrus, Membership Secretary. Absent from the meeting was Erica Pawlak. 

Membership Secretary, Will Barrus- Horse of the Year is updated and most major questions are answered, The Calendar is updated. Annual Scholarships had no submissions. Will discussed the 2025 HOY Score submission form and made recommendations for the process. Will recommended we explain  the self submission requirements at the Gala. Will made a recommendation to have our Show Series members/organizers of show to get people who are participating in their Shows who are not NCDCTA Members to join. 

President’s report, Helen Ingersoll. Helen and Will met to discuss the HOY Self reporting. She also met with a Show Manager who will likely run our 2025 Shows.Helen discussed the Annual Report and that she has asked all Board members to lay out what it is that they have done for each Committee to be included in the Annual Report.

Vice President’s report, Amy Brumbach- Amy is working on Breed numbers for HOY.

Treasurer’s report, Heather Turner The NCDCTA balance is low as people are rejoining for 2025, the Show expenses from the Fall and Gala expenses. 

Dressage Training report, Ali Perkins LaTorre, The Trainer’s Conference was a great success and Mandi Martyn is taking over the Dressage 4 Kids Program.

Eventing report, Alex Martini and Mel Harper- Mel and Alex presented the Eventing Medal totals. Alex and Mel have put together a proposal to revise the Medal program. There was discussion about if the medals can be earned with multiple horses. 

Jr/YR report- Mandi Martyn- The Scholarship submissions were very successful this year and all of the Scholarship winners have done their write ups about their experiences. Mandi is taking over the Dressage 4 Kids Program. 

Gala report, Ellie Balakrishnan- Ellie has ordered ribbons for Gala and is contacting people who checked the box on their Membership application that they are willing to volunteer for HOY. Ellie asked everyone to make sure they are getting Gala raffle sponsors. There was discussion about ticket pricing. Ellie proposed a Table cost for the gala of $575 per table, Tonya seconded it and it passed unanimously. 

Communication report, Sarah Bookner- Sarah shared the proposal from Mythic Landing Enterprises who manages websites and specialize in GMO’s. There was discussion about different aspects of the proposal and it was decided that Will Barrus will schedule a call with Mythic Landing to answer some questions. In addition, Helen is talking to another website Company.

Membership Numbers:

Final 2024 membership numbers as of 11/15/2024

Adult Amateur: 391

Jr/YR: 117

Open: 137

Total Members: 645

Paid Horses: 388

Volunteer Card Horses: 106

Total Horses: 494

Other member information of interest

New Members: 156

Renewing Members: 394

Reactivated Members: 95

Dressage Only: 390

Western Dressage: 71

Dressage & Eventing: 179

Eventing Only: 55

Breeding: 27

Lifetime Members: 6

Trainers: 81

Officials: 23

E-News ONLY: 99

Female: 612

Male: 30

Gender Unknown: 3

Other Horse Information of Interest

New Horses: 200

Renewing Horses: 247

Reactivated Horses: 47

Volunteer Card Information

Outstanding Volunteer Cards: 2553

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05. 

The next meeting will be via Google Meet on Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Minutes respectfully submitted by Tonya Bruno, Recording Secretary.

Minutes passed by majority Board vote.

NCDCTA (remote) BOARD MEETING 11/5/24

Helen Ingersoll called the meeting to order at 7:01. In attendance at the meeting were Helen Ingersoll, Amy Brumbach, Heather Turner, Charlotte Meli, Ali Perkins LaTorre, Melanie Harper, Alex Martini, Erica Pawlak, Mandi Martyn, Ellie Balakrishnan, Sarah Bookner and Tonya Bruno. Absent from the meeting was Heather Boyer. 

7pm open meeting with Team Charter

1. Dressage Education Report- Ali Perkins LaTorre, The Instructors Workshop is scheduled for November 23, 2024 at Elon. We received a Scholarship Grant from the Dressage Foundation for $1500 to cover the costs. Lendon Gray is interested in presenting as well and will be sponsoring breakfast.

2. Membership Secretary Report- WIll Barrus, Membership/Horse Registration prices have been increased to reflect changes made board. Membership/Horse Registration forms are being simplified.2024 membership is complete. New members who submitted applications, but were not working toward 2024 HOY/Championships, will be processed in November as 2025 members.Competition organizers are being informed of 2025 dates and given information regarding NCDCTA requirements for compliance with USEF/USDF/USEA rules, reporting requirements and how to renew/request show dates. HOY will be updated by this weekend.An updated ribbon count will be provided by this weekend as well.

3. Newsletter Report, Shannon Hoffman- she feels comfortable with information for the Newsletter but can always use more. 

4. VP Report- Amy Brumbach

Current membership numbers for 11/4/2024

Adult Amateur: 390

Jr/YR: 117

Open: 137

Total Members: 644

Paid Horses: 387

Volunteer Card Horses: 106

Total Horses: 493

Other member information of interest

New Members: 155

Renewing Members: 394

Reactivated Members: 95

Dressage Only: 390

Western Dressage: 71

Dressage & Eventing: 178

Eventing Only: 55

Breeding: 27

Lifetime Members: 6

Trainers: 81

Officials: 23

E-News ONLY: 99

Female: 612

Male: 30

Other Horse Information of Interest

New Horses: 199

Renewing Horses: 247

Reactivated Horses: 47

• Portofino responded about the cost to use their facility for the Equine Festival. Amy is going to also ask for costs from Carolina Horse Park as well.

• Scholarships are due Nov 30, 2024

5. Presidents Report- Helen Ingersoll talked about filling Board positions as well as possibly changing roles within existing positions.

6. Treasurer Report- Heather Turner, Heather read the balance. The Autumn Leaves bills have been written but not cashed which is reflected in our balance numbers. Heather is sending out prize money checks for Autumn Leaves. Heather put the zero based budget form on the shared Drive. 

7. Competition Chair- Erica Pawlak, Autumn Leaves had a great turnout and was a larger turnout than last year.  There were organizational challenges at the Show and Erica expressed appreciation for all the people who stepped up to help the Show be a success.

8. Eventing Report- Mel Harper and Alex Martini, The Tim Bourke Eventing clinic was postponed due to an accident Tim Bourke had. Mel and Alex are working to find a replacement dates. WAR Horse Eventing Championships are this weekend and they are looking for Awards ideas which were discussed.

9. Jr/Yr Report- Mandi Martyn, Mandi had a great turnout for the costume class at Autumn Leaves. Foundation Equine provided sponsorship for the costume class. Helen Ingersoll thought of the idea to have a Junior/YR volunteer challenge for the weekend which had great participation. Mandi will submit the write up for the Newsletter. Mandi has given the scholarship recipients a deadline to write up their Scholarship experiences.

10. Communication Chair Report- Sarah Bookner shared analytics for Facebook (10,000 accounts reached with over 50% open rate which is higher than the industry average.) Sarah asked for texts when requesting her to post information on Social media.

11. Gala Report- Ellie Balakrishnan has put together a Budget for the Gala that she has been working on as she has been planning. She is going to put the budget into the zero based budget and requests feedback from the Board Members.

Old Business

● Job Descriptions, Tonya is working on creating role descriptions for all positions and asks that each person review as they have time before year end.

● Strategic Planning - Final date- Helen and Jennifer Swanson have set the dates for the last Strategic Planning on February 4, 2025 at Jen Swanson’s Farm in Durham, NC.

New Business

● December meeting dinner celebration- in Raleigh 

● Executive committee meeting date - Website discussion will be November 19, 2025.

• Helen asked the Board to consider NCDCTA members who have made contributions. 

Helen Ingersoll adjourned the meeting at 8:24 PM. 

The Next meeting will be held in person on December 3, 2024. 

Minutes respectfully submitted by Tonya Bruno, Recording secretary

Minutes approved by majority Board vote. 

NCDCTA Board Call, October 1, 2024

Helen Ingersoll read the NCDCTA charter and called the meeting to order at 7:03.  Present on the call were Helen Ingersoll, Amy Brumbach, Heather Turner, Heather Boyer, Mandi Martyn, Mel Harper, Alex Martini, Charlotte Meli, Ellie Balakrishnan and Tonya Bruno. Absent from the call were Sarah Bookner, Ali Perkins LaTorre and Ericka Pawlak.

Membership Secretary report, Will Barrus: Will has moved the NCDCTA database and HOY data to a secure location within Google Drive and ensured the files are automatically updated. HOY results have been published and teams eligible for Championships classes at Autumn Leaves identified. Will is working with riders who delayed renewing memberships & horse registrations to ensure they can ride in the championships without negatively impacting HOY. 2024 is coming to a close at the end of November and membership renewals/registrations will begin for 2025 early in October.

Newsletter report, Shannon Hoffman: The Newsletter is out and the next quarterly newsletter deadline is November 15 for the December newsletter. 

President’s report, Helen Ingersoll- Helen and Amy Brumbach were Award presenters at Autumn Leaves/BLM’s. Helen has been working with Charlotte related to Volunteer coordination. Helen coordinated with the necessary Board members related to shows. Helen discussed website and other information management tools. 

Vice President’s report, Amy Brumbach- Amy is working on the details of the 2025 NCDCTA Equine Festival.  

Current membership numbers for 10/1/2024

Adult Amateur: 387

Jr/YR: 116

Open: 135

Total Members: 638

Paid Horses: 380

Volunteer Card Horses: 105

Total Horses: 485

Other member information of interest

New Members: 153

Renewing Members: 390

Reactivated Members: 95

Dressage Only: 388

Western Dressage: 71

Dressage & Eventing: 175

Eventing Only: 54

Breeding: 27

Lifetime Members: 6

Trainers: 80

Officials: 23

E-News ONLY: 98

Female: 606

Male: 30

Treasurer’s report, Heather Turner- Heather presented current numbers for the accounts. She is finalizing Labor of Love financials as well as working on the totals for Autumn Leaves. Heather will put a “zero based budget” template to show the Board how it works for cost submissions. 

 

Dressage education chair, Ali Perkins LaTorre- The Trainer’s conference is scheduled for November 23, 2024 and will be held at Elon. The grant proposal is sent into the dressage foundation.They have reviewed it but she has not heard if we received the grant or not yet. 

Competition report, Ericka Pawlak- Ericka is finalizing the high score awards for Harvest Moon and working on finalizing Autumn Leaves. She also is working on 2025 planning of Show dates. 

Jr/YR report, Mandi Martyn- Mandi is doing a costume class and a stall decorating contest for the Autumn Leaves show.

Gala report, Ellie Balakrishnan- Ellie has put together her Budget for the Gala and will incorporate the zero based budget that Heather Turner is sending out to the board. She is working on prizes as well as dining options to stay within budget goals. 

Eventing report, Alex Martini and Mel Harper- Alex and Mel have 5 open spots for the Tim Bourke eventing clinic that they will be working to fill those spots at War Horse. They are getting all of the items together for the War Horse Championships. 

There was discussion about the rules related to the  NCDCTA Eventing Championships (outside of HOY.)

Email vote between meetings:

The Executive Committee discussed and presented a proposal to the Board to increase dues by $10 for each division (Professional, Amateur, JrYR and Family) as well as horse registrations. The vote passed via email. 

 

New Business: 

 

Old Business: Heather Boyer and Ellie Balakrishnan put together a proposal for the Volunteer Card and usages. It was decided to utilize Volunteer Cards for additional gala raffle tickets. 

Tonya Bruno asked that members of the Board who plan to step down after this year to please let her or Helen know so she can get those Board Role descriptions done first. 

Meeting was adjourned at 8:55 by Helen Ingersoll.

Minutes respectfully submitted by Tonya Bruno, recording Secretary

Minutes passed by majority Board vote

NCDCTA Board Call September 3, 2024

Amy Brumbach called the meeting to order at 7:03. On the call were Amy Brumbach, Heather Turner, Charlotte Meli, Heather Boyer, Ellie Balakrishnan, Sarah Bookner, Ali LaTorre, Alex Martini, Melanie Harper, Tonya Bruno, Mandi Martyn and Erica Pawlak. Helen Ingersoll was absent. 

7pm Open Meeting with Team Charter

 Membership Secretary Report

 Newsletter Report, Shannon Hoffman has the Newsletter almost done and is waiting for a couple more promised articles. 

President Report

Vice President Report, Amy Brumbach- Amy is working on getting the Festival details finalized. 

Current membership numbers for 9/3/2024

Adult Amateur: 382

Jr/YR: 114

Open: 129

Total Members: 625

Paid Horses: 369

Volunteer Card Horses: 103

Total Horses: 472

Other member information of interest

New Members: 150

Renewing Members: 383

Reactivated Members: 92

Dressage Only: 379

Western Dressage: 70

Dressage & Eventing: 173

Eventing Only: 52

Breeding: 27

Lifetime Members: 6

Trainers: 78

Officials: 22

E-News ONLY: 95

Female: 595

Male: 28

Other Horse Information of Interest

New Horses: 189

Renewing Horses: 240

Reactivated Horses: 43

 

Treasurer Report, Heather Turner- Heather reported on the current balance which is elevated but we have not paid any Labor of Love invoices yet. We have a Merchant account that is up and running for taking fees. 

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Competition Report, Erica Pawlak- Labor of Love entries were down and unfortunately there were some internet connectivity issues on Saturday which delayed scoring. CBLM’s/Harvest Moon is in a week and Erica has been reaching out to all involved for the Show. 

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Eventing Report, Alex Martini and Melanie Harper- Alex and Melanie discussed the WAR Horse ribbons decisions. Melanie talked about the Tim Bourke clinic signups  which has not yet filled and options for fees were discussed and agreed upon by the Board. 

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Communication Report, Sarah Bookner- Sarah has looked into the website and has determined we will need to update our Website provider for next year as the plan we are on with the current Website has expired. She is going to look for providers including those within NCDCTA Members.

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Gala Report, Ellie Balakrishnan, is working on sourcing prizes and determining costs and will bring to the Board for decisions when she has firmer numbers. 

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Jr/Yr Report, Mandi Martyn- There was a Scholarship for a Jr/YR for Labor of Love and three Scholarships for Harvest Moon. 

Dressage Education Report, Ali LaTorre- Ali is working on the Trainer’s Conference instructors as well as the Grant writing for the Dressage Foundation.

 

Volunteer Program Update, Heather Boyer- The Volunteer Card crew has updated the Volunteer Card proposals. All Board members should review these by October 1, 2024 meeting and be prepared to discuss and vote. 

 

Old Business- None discussed

 

New Business- Sarah Bookner made a motion to approve the “not to exceed” Budget for Eventing ribbons and Heather Turner seconded the motion which unanimously passed. 

 

 Amy Brumbach adjourned the meeting at 8:08 PM. The next meeting is scheduled for a remote call on October 2, 2024 at 7:00PM

 

Minutes respectfully submitted by Tonya Bruno, Recording Secretary and approved by majority vote.