ACTHA Monthly | April 2015 | 11
essential to a smooth running event. Stacy enlists the aid of her family as judges, kitchen crew, trail preparation and the ear to her crazy ideas. She also has a few horse boarders who not only lend a hand but, who have joined ACTHA to get in on the fun themselves. For Stacy the best part of hosting a ride is meeting new people, as Stacy says “where else can you go and meet people from all walks of life and share these wonderful experiences with them?”
Stacy’s advice to ride hosts is to stick to your game plan and smile, smile, smile. She carries around a notebook that everything gets written in. Like many ride hosts, she pre-assigns camping spots and stalls and ride packets contain all pertinent information for the ride and camp activities. For Stacy putting on a great event is also a way to encourage and develop new ride hosts so ACTHA can grow in Indiana. While she acknowledges it is hard work it’s also very rewarding. Through her events she has met some amazing people and built some lasting friendships. She has the best of both worlds, she gets to work and play!
the option to participate in a variety of additional activities throughout the weekend.
These range from demonstrations with clinicians, massage therapists, seminars on helmet safety, poker runs, and jackpot rides. For Stacy part of being a ride host is being a great event planner, a skill she not only learned from her mom but from running the camp as well, “we want people to have a great time and it’s important to me that they do.”
Stacy is often asked why she became a ride host, for her that’s easy, “I love my family, my horse and my home. Now you might wonder how does that translate to ACTHA? I host their events at my camp which allows me to pay my bills, it allows me to spend time in my barn loving on my “Baby Huey” and it allows me to spend time with my family. I don’t have to drive to work and stare at a computer screen all day. I get to keep learning new things while following the adage- do something you love, and you will never work a day in your life.”
Like all ride hosts, having a support crew is