A Year with the Kentucky Draft Horse Association
by Rick Conley
The Kentucky Draft Horse Association (KDHA) consists of a small group of draft horse lovers whose goal is to promote of the ownership and usage of draft horses. The Association has about 50 active member families, most of whom are located in the central and north central portions of the state of Kentucky and the southern portion of the states of Ohio and Indiana. Members come from all types of economic backgrounds from small family farms to large corporate management ranks. Their common thread is the love of draft horses.
 |
This part of the state of Kentucky is known worldwide for its famous bluegrass horse farms where some of the finest racehorses in the world are born and raised. It is the home of one of the only parks in the world dedicated solely to the horse. (The International Horse Museum and the Kentucky Horse Park at Lexington Ky - www.ihm.com.) It is less well known for its thousands of small family farms and its rocky, hilly terrain. It has an economy that, even today, is very dependent on the growth of tobacco to provide a subsistence base. The growth of tobacco, along with full time employment off the farm, is what allows many of these "farmers" to maintain their desired form of living.
The Association meets for a holiday dinner each January just after the Christmas and New Year holidays. At this meeting, the event agenda for the year is established and the officers for the year are elected. In 1999, Bobby Van Hook was elected as president to replace Mitch Workman who had asked for relief after several years as the club's president. (Note: Mitch was reelected to the post of president for the year 2000.) Various other club officers and directors are elected and the "queen" for the year is determined. The most important post in the club, the secretary, remained in the capable hands of LaKeta Ritchie of Lexington, Ky.
 |
The Spring Field Day was held in May at the farm of Vice President Richard Lonkard. It proved to be a beautiful spot on the top of a ridge with a view of the valley surrounding it. The field where the members were plowing was rather interesting. It was right on the crest of the ridge and dropped off rather sharply on either side. Several members found themselves thrown from their riding plows when they either turned too sharply or their plows struck rocks. Fortunately, no one was hurt although some egos were damaged and one or two plow blades were bent. The big challenge of the day was an obstacle course. It required that the teamster use his two horse team to pull a dragging sled down a steep hill, wind around several trees, stop and tear a specified page out of a catalog attached to a tree with a cord, and then return to the starting point. This was all done "on the clock" with the top time getting bragging rights and a small cash award. This was made more difficult by the fact that the driver had to stand on the sled. Many of the older members were hampered by their need to carry their reading glasses so that they could find their assigned page in the catalog.
