Remarks delivered by director Maddy Butcher at the Summit Farewell Reception:
The story of the Summit lanyards can go a long way in illustrating the range of details and the room for errors when putting together a conference. Especially a first-year conference on a limited budget.
A few months ago, I was researching lanyards (those things that go around necks and to which badges attach). Geez, they seem pretty expensive, I said to myself.
I thought of our friends at Knotty Girlz in Valleyford, Washington.
Why not order rope from Knotty Girlz and make our own lanyards? It would be fun and lend special detail to our event.
A few days later, we received 400 feet of multi-colored, quarter-inch rope.
The Soulfolle Creative team, Tommy Costello and Beau Gaughran
A few hours later, I learned how time-consuming and detail-oriented lanyards could be:
- Lengths must be measured
- Ends must be burned and looped together
- Badges must be attached
I had inadvertently made a work mountain out of molehill. But thanks to some volunteer ingenuity and volunteer work hours, each attendee did, in the end, receive a nifty lanyard that (unlike conventional lanyards) can be used to practice knot tying or can be attached to a stick or otherwise used in horse work.
Of course, the souvenir is also an illustration of the myriad details tended to by those involved in an event like the Summit. As with horse work, sometimes we learn more from our mistakes than our successes.
As I reflect on our first year Summit effort, I’m taking into account these learning experiences and using them to craft a better, progressive path forward.
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the volunteers, presenters, sponsors, board members, steering committee members, the audio-video team, and the staff at the Strater Hotel.
A/V team:
Soulefolle Creative
Lightning Communications
Fred Holcomb, West Taylor, Dr. Sheryl King
Volunteers:
TJ Zark
Julie Kenney
Cindy Morin
Helen Bird
Amy Skinner
Amy Diener
Fred Holcomb
Trish Lemke
Carrie Jenkinson
Kerry O’Brien
Debbie Hight
Raechel & Dennis Nelson
A special watermelon for the Summit Welcome Reception
Fred Holcomb
Michael Benner
Elizabeth Benner
Cathi Champion
Presenters and Special Guests:
Dr. Steve Peters
Dr. Robert Bowker
Dr. Gerd Heuschmann
Dr. Sheryl King
Wendy Williams
Martin Black
Presenters Warwick Schiller, Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, and Martin Black
Bryan Neubert
Randy Rieman
Jim Thomas
Warwick Schiller
West Taylor
David Stickler
TJ Holmes
Mike Jensen
Sponsors in attendance:
Dr. Petra Sullwold, Equus Chiropractic
Tamara Yates, Many Hands Equine Body Work
Amy Skinner introduces evening presentation
Letitia Glenn, Natural Horseman Saddles
Dr. Samantha Johnson, WildFed
Emily Kitching, Eclectic Horseman
If you’ve been following the story of the Summit journey, you know that we had been searching for something in the horse world that dovetailed science and horsemanship and was a collaborative deal. We didn’t find anything.
We hope that our effort has resonated with you and that you leave with questions answered but that you also have more questions as you continue in your horsemanship journeys. You might find that the horses themselves give you the best (most honest) answers if you are willing and available to listen.
As so many presenters reiterated over the course of three glorious days in Durango: look for the best evidence and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
As Ms. Frizzle of the old public television show loved to say:
Get Messy! Ask Questions! Make Mistakes!
See you next year.