The MUET holds a meeting on the first Tuesday of every month. In case you missed the meeting, or forgot some things, here are the minutes of what was covered. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail a club officer.

October 3, 2007

Regardless of differences, we strive shoulder to shoulder... [T]eamwork can be summed up in five short words: "We believe in each other." ~Author Unknown

1. Opener - Katie Kurtz, MUET president, opened with the inspirational quote at the tops of the agenda.
2. Signs-ups for polo shirts, as well as list to correct or give parent's emails/addresses were sent around.
3. Attendance – Sarah Willoughby, MUET secretary, took attendance to see who was present at meeting.
4. Coaches' Comments – Lori and Heather came to the meeting and spoke. Lori talked about how we have a long couple of weeks ahead of us and if anyone needs anything, they should come talk to one of them. Even though they seem busy, they are available to everyone. Please come to executive board with questions about workweek, excuses, etc. because Lori and Heather are not in charge of those things and may not know the answer. They also shared with the team the sad news that Gabby was put down because of the appearance of lymphoma, a cancer, and old age. We will all miss Gabby.
5. Travel to Western Show – Sloane Schottenheimer, MUET travel coordinator, explained our team's travel policy. She explained that all team members must stay with the team at all times. Everyone needs to sleep, eat, and ride the bus with the team. Each team member is responsible for themselves and must be on time and ready for the show, etc. even if that means you need to bring multiple alarm clocks. Everyone's parents are more than welcome to join the team to eat but team members cannot go to eat with their parents separately. She also discussed the details of the Western show:
1. Departure from Cook Field at 6:00pm Friday Oct 5th
2. Eat before you get on the bus
3. Staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Wilmington
6. Horse Show
1. Horse Show Guide –
2. Work Week Responsibilities
3. Committee Head Meeting

– Kate Sickles, MUET VP English talked about and explained workweek. Sign-up sheets were sent around for each committee and committee heads were introduced. Each committee was described: horse committee (groom, bathe if warm, all horses, make sure they are groomed well during show), tack committee (clean tack, saddles, bits, bridles), barn/grounds committee (clean up grounds, including pulling weeds, taking care of trash, make sure everything looks nice), jump committee (decorating jumps, setting courses, resetting jumps/course during show), and Friday committee (work on Friday doing anything left over). Everyone needs to be on a committee and put in their hours down at the barn during the week before the show, Monday the 8th-Friday the 12th. A personal saddle sign-up was also sent around for people to volunteer their saddle for the show. Committee heads will email out more information to their committees during the week. A sign-up to work the concession stand was also sent around. Everyone should be down to barn at 6:20 am on Saturday and Sunday morning. Sign-in sheets will be their and everyone needs to make sure they sign in promptly because the sign-in sheets will be taken away and those not signed in will be fined for being late. There will something for everyone to do when they get down to the barn, just ask if you don't know what to do. Horse holders will be assigned and need to make sure their horse is properly groomed and tacked up and down in time for their class. Floaters should be down by the ring to relieve horse holders, if need be. Leslie Coen, MUET website coordinator, announced that you might be assigned to video tape some classes which will then be available for purchases, for basically as much as the DVD cost. If you take pictures email those to Leslie so they can be included as well. Katie talked about the rules for getting on at the show. Once riders in the ring have changed directions in the flat classes, you can mount. Rider can adjust stirrups but may not adjust or touch the girth and cannot gather reins until in the ring. Please only say positive things about the horse you are holding and if you are asked a question and don't know the horse, do not make anything up. If you get a lot of information from the horse holder ignore most of it because the coaches will make sure you know everything you need to. Horse holders should get their horses water in between classes. The horse holders will be assigned based on their ability when you're riding and convenience. If you notice something unusual or wrong with your horse say something immediately. Also if you need help putting polos, boots, etc. on your horse ask, don't try to attempt yourself. At the end of the day, do things for your committee or things that look like they need done. Do not leave until after attendance has been taken, after everything is done, because you will be fined for leaving early, $60, if you aren't present. If you have questions during the show, please try and direct them to exec members or upperclassman who might have the answer, because Lori and Heather will be very busy trying to help all of the riders. Please try to wear boots/breeches during your lessons the week before the show if you are showing. Homework will probably not get done during the show, because we will be very busy so please try to plan ahead. Brittany Lambert, MUET VP Western, discussed the regulations for study tables. Email with any questions!

7. Fundraising Update - Brittany Lambert, MUET VP Western, showed everyone the fundraising pamphlets. We would like to gain more exposure for our team and are going around to businesses, parents, and alumni. We would like the whole team to be involved. Please talk to your parents and ask them to support our team. Everyone will be getting an email with more information, please work hard to promote these opportunities to people you know, because it will help your costs go down and provide more opportunities for our team. If you want to be more involved be proactive and contact Brittany.
8. Horse show expenses and Funding – Funding for this year has been determined. For the horse show $25.00 is just your entry fee. It is possible that everyone will need to pay around $10.00 depending on the location of show and number of people going.
9. Payments and Statements – Balances were passed out. If you have questions or are concerned about your balance please come talk to Haley or Greg or email them. Don't just pay whatever is on there. Entry fees need to be paid before the show. For away shows, entry fees need to be paid before you get on the bus and you will not be allowed on the bus without your check handed in. An envelope will be down at the barn this week in the office for checks. For apparel, you will need to pay for all of your items before you can receive it. Add $16.50 per polo to your bill and if you are showing twice on Sunday the 14th please check your bill to make sure you are being charged $50.00.
10. Apparel Update – Sterling Berry, MUET PR, requested that all team members responded to her emails when they receive them instead of waiting until lasts minute to let her know what they'd like. Sorry about getting coats/sweatshirts first but thought it would be colder for our shows. Will be sending an email about hats soon but can't do everything at once, so coats/sweatshirts will come before hats. She will email when they come.
11. Upcoming Events –
1. Team Workout: Thursday October 4th – Kickball, Frisbee, soccer, football, etc. will be played at the field behind bachelor. Workouts are mandatory so need to email excuse before workout occurs. We will be getting a schedule together and will make sure you get the dates in advance for future workouts.
2. Homecoming Parade: Friday October 12th – Sign-up was sent around for those interested in being involved in the homecoming parade on the 12th. Email Sarah at willouse@muohio.edu if interested.
3. Team Pizza Party: Friday October 12th at 7pm – We will be having a pizza party on the 12th down at the barn. Everyone who wants to attend needs to put $2.00 in the envelope marked pizza $ by Wednesday if they want to attend.
12. Pony Pals - Sarah talked about pony pals and sent a sign-up sheet around. Pony pals will be sent out this weekend.
13. Website – If you are having problems will the listserv or are not receiving emails from MUET@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU please email Leslie ASAP. Also the website is looking wonderful so check it out: www.miamiriding.com. If you have any suggestions feel free to email Leslie.
14. Team Bible Study – Brittany announced that there will be a Team Bible Study starting up in the near future. The study will be lead by David Strecher. Please stay tuned to the listserv for more information.
15. Questions, Comments, Concerns – Katie reminded everyone to take ear cotton out and polo wraps off the horses when they are done riding! It is not okay for these things to be left in/on! Do not polo wrap horses if you are not sure how, they can be injured from this, ask for help! For workweek, responsibilities will be emailed and will be listed in the tack room on the white board. Call exec or committee heads before asking Lori and Heather because they will be very busy this week. Please check this board regularly. If you have any comments/questions/concerns email them to Katie.

September 8, 2007

Introduction: All officers introduce themselves and say their position.

Attendance was taken.

Icebreaker: Team breaks off into smaller groups. Toilet paper rolls were sent around and everyone took as much as they felt they needed for a night. Each team member told as much information about him or herself as toilet paper they had.

Explanation of Officers: Each officer gave brief explanation of position and who to contact for what.

Pony Pal Sign-ups: Sheet was passed around for optional pony pal sign-ups.

Roster: Sarah Willoughby sent roster around for people to correct name spellings and add name to list if it was missing.

Calendar: Katie Kurtz went over calendar and explained that all events are important. Team members need to make it a priority to be at things, especially with dates in advance.

Practice Procedures: Leslie Coen explained guidelines for practices. Make sure to be on at your lesson time. Sterling Berry and Kate Sickles explained the need to dress appropriately. Sterling demonstrated how to put hair up in helmet. Make sure to take care of your horse properly and put everything away/clean tack when finished.

Costs throughout year: Need to pay balance on time and pay entry fees for horse shows before getting on the bus.

Fines: Sarah Willoughby went over fine list in packet and explained what is considered a valid excuse for missing team events.

Wednesday Workouts: Brittany Lambert explained importance of workouts for team building and strength building. Workouts are going to be fun and interesting this year and team needs to make them a priority.

Facebook Pictures and Parties: Greg Cush explained the importance of not putting pictures up with any alcohol or suggestion of drinking with captions such as "MUET party" or in MUET gear. As a club sport, we can get in serious trouble/possibly kicked off for this. Greg also explained that we do not have "MUET parties". We can have parties with team members, but they are not MUET parties.

Team Building: All officers took a small group out of the room and made the human not. Each group had to work out of not without letting go of each other's hands.

Personal Information: All team members put their information into the computer. Information included: name, team, email, phone, address, parent's email, parent's address, and home phone.

IHSA: Heather explained the basics of IHSA and horse showing. Small groups went over the rulebook and answered questions on the quiz. Whole team went over answers together.

Small groups: Small groups filled out what they liked about previous years and what they want to see happen in the future.

MUET Apparel: Sterling Berry passed out surveys to see what people are interested in having this year for apparel and shows examples of clothing from previous years.