Martinez Horsemen Association

Battle of the Barns 2010

This years Theme is SPORTS

Any sport can be used- Football, Hockey, Cheerleading, Horse racing... use your imagination!
We are keeping the Entry fee the same $150 per Team, first deposit Due May 1, Last deposit due July 1.
The games will change, but the fun will be the same!

To sign your team up drop an e-mail to bookibug@comcast.net.
Or send your name, address, PHONE NUMBER and a check for $75.00 to MHA/Battle of the Barns , P.O. Box 1954, Martinez, Ca 94553

Battle of the Barns 2009

The Horsemen have been sponsoring Battle of the Barns for over 11 years- the actual count is thirteen (the first two years were just our Barn and another in friendly competition). We decided to sponsor Xenophon Therapeutic Riding Center and make it our beneficiary. We couldn’t have chosen a better Center. The kids are great, and the directors are helpful and caring. Their founder Judy Lazarus told me the MHA has raised over $13,000 dollars for them!

This year the Theme was Disney so we had a lot of Pirates, but also Snow White, harem girls, Mouseketeers,an Evil Sorcerer, Seven Dwarves, a crocodile, Skelton horses and of course Prince Charming! As a matter of fact we had the most amounts of youngsters showing in the whole history of the BOB.

Our youngest one was eight and rode an adorable pony. He had a definite advantage when it came to the race where you had to lower a plastic pail on a string into a bucket of water, and then carry the pail across the arena to a dry pail and pour the water in. Any Ping Pong balls you captured were considered as bonus points. This little guy just leaned over a little, scooped out the water and the balls and trotted over to the bucket and dumped them in, nary spilling a drop! Needless to say his team won that event!

We handed out other small awards too, and though some of you might have wondered why the 'Hometown' team won the Spirit Award it was because they were the only team in costumes, with a decorated Trailer area. Other Winners were Joshua's Posse for the Theme,( their costumes were great!) Sunrise Riders for Sportsmanship,and the Neverlanders for Horsemanship.

Joshuas' Posse was the Grand Champion barn of the day and they have an interesting story to tell! Last year they were spectators, with only one or two horses. A church horsemanship club that has rescued horses and children that are just learning how to ride. They came just to have fun in a friendly and no pressure environment. Well- they just blew the rest of the competiton out of the water- winning the majority of the classes. And the best part is that they are really NICE kids!

Reserve Champion barn is Moraga Horsemen's Association. They have been entered in the BOB for all of its eleven years! Their Horsemanship is excellent!

Third Place was The Creekside Crew from Creekside Stables in Walnut Creek. They all dressed like Pocahontas.

We had vendors, authors, a great raffle with over 40 prizes to win and a wonderful Ball-tip sandwich plate for lunch.

And as always- I consider any event as successful if everyone has a good time, learns something and no one gets hurt. I think this was one of the most successful BOB’s ever.

Teams compete

There are currently ten clubs signed up for Battle of the Barns! We have contracted the Sportsmen's Club of Martinez to bring their BBQ grill and fix fabulous lunches on site! Raffle donations are coming in and the whole atmosphere is one of anticipation! It is promising to be a wonderful year despite the economy and I knew that all of you would do your best to make it so!

The Practice Day of June 20th has been cancelled for lack of interest. OK- But I'm warning you all- Roxanne has made up some really Goofy games that you are gonna wanna Sleep( like Beauty) through becaue you didn't come to practice!

The MHA team is going to be on site practicing that afternoon-get in touch with the MHA team capatain Julie for the time.

Battle of the Barns 2009

Here we go again! Battle of the Barns 2009 is going to be a BIG one despite the economy! We have chosen a theme and the date of July 25, 2009.( Last Saturday in July)

We are currently accepting ten teams to ride.

To enter you can call Club President Barbara Glenn at 925-519-4239 and ask for an application. Fill it out, send it in with the first deposit of $75.00 and you're IN Baby!

This years theme is going to be so much fun. There will be a hundred differnet ways to go with it and I can't wait to see what you all come up with! What is the Theme?

DISNEY!

Pick a song or a movie or your favorite character, or your favorite ride- what ever! WE just ask that you do not 'Go Blue" (be kind-remember it's for the kids!) NO naked Snow Whites or horney animals please.

And not to leave you non riders out- we will have the Team spirit Award and Trailer decorating contest.

Also if you are a local vendor and wish to set up a table- we would love to have you! Contact Barbara Glenn to set that up.

And MEMBERS_ I am asking all of my good members to donate ONE thing to the Raffle this year. I know you can all do that!

It will be Supercalifragilisticexpalladotious!

Battle of the Barns 2008 was a HUGE sucess!

I believe that this years Battle of the Barns was one of the best! We had ten full teams and boy the competition was stiff! All of the teams must have practiced because everyone seemed to know just what to do- despite the new gamesand the twists and turns in the courses. I always say that if you stayed on your horse and you learned something new-= it was a sucessful day. We only had two minor falls, one loose horse, and a whole lot of fun!

Winners for 2008 are : First Place - Franklin Canyon Stables Second place - Charles Angels Third Place - Creekside Crew .

All the teams did a great job!

I hope you all got a chance to see and meet the kids from Xenophon. Boy, what a bunch of sweeties!

In the Truck for the Grand Entry was :

~Jane Griebstein. She is 8 and has been riding with Xenophon for three years. Her Mother and Father- Joe and Bonny and her brother Sam were there to cheer her along.

~Alicia Jensen. She is 15 and attends Alhambra High. Alicia has been riding two years, she also volenteers at Tony ZLaRussas ARF foundation. Alicia was seen most of the day talking to every animal she could find! Her parents Jim and Dawn were also there, along with her grandparents and her Aunt and Uncle.

~Melyssa Snyder. Melyssa is 10 and rode also in the lunch time demonstration. She home schools and is lucky enough to have her riding be counted as a PE credit! Melyssa also volenteers at Childrens Fairyland in Oakland where she works with the animals.

~Fiona Shoemaker. Fiona is 11 years old. She was the other rider in the lunch time demonstration. She goes to Stanley School in Lafayette and has a twin borther Ian. She was joined by her mother Stephanie.

The raffle was a big hit this year also. I am proud and glad to announce that I won the painting of BOB that you have seen on this website. Thanks to all the Sponsors and personal donations for Xenophon.

It's not all counted up yet, but so far the donations total over $900.00. Stay tuned for the update at the end of the week!