The Director's Chair,
By Glen E. Keller, Jr.
(from the Spring 2000 issue of Boots and Saddles)
As all of you can tell, things are happening around Fort Westernaire and around the Fairgrounds. Heavy equipment is all around us, dirt is being moved and new dirt will soon be hauled in to the area northwest of the Fort (the parking lot and former little wheels track), the road into the Fairgrounds and Westernaires from Ellsworth Avenue will soon be realigned and changed, water mains will be laid throughout the area around the Fort and the Hutchinson and Western Arenas, pens will be built to move the horses away from Ellsworth all the time, trees will be planted, lakes will be dug and the list goes on and on. What does all of this mean?
Well, to begin with, it means inconvenience for a while. We will be sharing parking lots with Fairgrounds visitors. The area where we park will soon be a mud hole if it rains. The road through the Fairgrounds to the Fort will disappear and we will be confined to entering off Ellsworth, everything will be different throughout this year and for the next several years. We are flexible, of course, but we will be taxed to be always cheerful in the face of adversity.
This brings me to an important issue. During this time, even more than usual, it is vital to the Westernaires' interests that we cheerfully share with other Fairgrounds users, not appearing to hog everything for ourselves. I think for a while a lot of us will have to park east of the lower arena, row after row, so that the area just south of the county maintenance shop can be used by the other visitors. When we are in facilities belonging to the Fairgrounds, we must treat them as if "Mom" was watching and we needed to be extra neat and considerate of others. We do not own the Fairgrounds any more than any other taxpayer, even though Westernaires has an agreement for the use of a part of the land, we have also agreed to share it. Recently, someone badly muddied up the ladies room in the new multi-purpose building when we were given a special favor and permitted to practice in it for an hour. We have been blamed for the inconsiderate behavior and all of us are very embarrassed. I doubt that we should be blamed but it happened on our "watch" and we must accept the responsibility. We have apologized to the Fairgrounds staff for the extra two hours work they had to spend to get the facility ready for the Easter show. Let's all be careful not to ruin a good relationship with the Fairgrounds. It could hurt Westernaires for years to come.
Speaking of Easter, congratulations to all who participated in the Parade and the show. It was a splendid event that we can all reflect on with pride. What a pleasure it was to see you all and to ride with you. Also, a great treat was having the Mayor of Lakewood in our parade. He took great delight in riding with us. (Wonder if he could walk on Monday?) Congratulations also to Royal Rangers who suffered through adverse weather conditions to perform during our annual trip to Fountain Valley School near Colorado Springs. It was a successful event!
As we approach Summer Schedule, it is time to reflect upon what growth we have seen during the Winter months. First, we have practiced more than usual because of mild weather, and the new Blue Arena, we have more horses to enjoy and more riders to enjoy too. Our fervent hope is that the Summer is equally as good as Winter has been. Let us all have fun, whether showing at the Fairgrounds, traveling to perform or just practicing on a beautiful Summer evening. We should enjoy each other and the time outdoors. We are among the really lucky people anywhere.
Incidentally, you Internet surfers, get a load of www.iedta.org. We are investigating to find out why they chose to use our pictures and to learn whether we want to be associated with them in any way. Nonetheless, times are really interesting.
