Welcome to The New England Equestrian Center of Athol
Managed by The New England Land Management Conservation Corporation
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NEECA's Equestrian Showcase
We would like to thank EVERYONE who turned up to support our first ever "Equestrian
Showcase" Event up at NEECA.  Our brand new driveway into the park was literally completed
the night before the event, thanks to the hard work of Pete Lyman and his crew.  Pete also
bulldozed out a couple of fields so that we could have some extra parking, and boy did we
need it!!  

We had a LOT of people and animals up at the park that day, including horses, minis, llamas,
goats and a camel, yes....camel.  But there was plenty of room for everyone and the traffic flow
was great.  Following are two examples of feedback we've already received about this event,
one from a vendor and the other from a spectator.








NEECA
What a terrific event!
First of all the venue was great. From the signs for directions posted from the highway making
arrival stress free to seeing the Park so far along from its first days.  It is beautiful.   The grass
seating area around the ring is splendid, and the more than ample parking facility made it easy for
vendors and attendees  to park and attend the event. My vendor spot was pre-assigned so there
was no stress there which the vendors appreciate!

As a vendor I was very pleased with the turnout and had a great time getting to know the other
vendors. It was like a mini-mid summer Equine Affaire. From Horses to Jewelry to Ice cream and
really everything in between!!  

The NEECA Showcase had a full day of activities from Kid’s games to an amazing Stallion
Showcase! I particularly enjoyed the demonstrations .  

As usual the NEECA volunteers made the day.   Can’t wait for next year!!!!  Thanks for a wonderful
event!

                                                           Jean Mathieson
                                                                 Frog Hollow Shop.com

My elderly sister-in-law and I (also elderly) attended your horse show today. I can honestly say we
have never had more wonderful people assist us. We are both using walkers and as soon as we
started down the hill two John Deere carts loaded our walkers and took us to the arena. When we
got ready to leave a fellow went and got my truck and helped load our walkers again. I have gone
to many horse pulls, draft horse obstaclecourses and shows and although horse people are
always nice yours were above and beyond.  Thank you so much.  

                                                                                  Phyllis Stevens, Dudley, Mass  


Well, I don't think we could ask for any more encouraging and rewarding feedback than that.  
We're already thinking about what we can do to make next year's event even bigger and
better!  We'd like to give a special thanks to NEECA Board Members Peter Whitmore and
Althea Bramhall for all the hard work and time they put into make this event such a success.  
Literally hundreds of hours of preparation went into planning this day, as could be witnessed
by how smoothly everything ran.  And thanks also to the many NEECA members who showed
up to help out that day., we couldn't have done it without them.  We're still working on the
numbers but hopefully we'll soon be able to report how much money this event helped raise
towards NEECA's development.  Also, we will be posting pictures from the day on this website
soon, hopefully by the end of the week at the latest, so be sure to check back!
Click on vest to go to NEECA Store
where you can order a variety of
customized NEECA items.
FALL TRAIL RIDE GOES OFF WITHOUT A HITCH

A classically cool, blustery fall day greeted the intrepid riders who were brave
enough to join Sir Roderick Bumblebutt in his Gallant Quest at this year's NEECA
Fall Trail Ride. These hardy souls mounted up and traversed the numerous trails
winding through Cutthroat Brook Tree Farm and Harvard Forest, looking for the
elusive tokens that would bring them the fame and glory sought by many!

As usual, ride organizers Susie Feldman and Beth Erviti outdid themselves with
the preparation and thought they put into this ride.  And the participants really got
into the theme of the day, as seen by the wonderful costumes worn by many,
horse and rider alike. We will be posting pictures from the trail ride on this site
soon so be sure to check back.
WANNABE COWBOY CHALLENGE

Well, over 30 horse and rider
combinations showed up to
participate in our recent Cowboy
Challenge up at the NEECA Arena.  
And it would be safe to say that a
"good time was had by all."  The
horses were introduced to a wide,
and very interesting, array of
obstacles and challenges that they
had to cope with mentally, then
navigate through physically.  

There were big balls bouncing
around, fake stuffed bulls, hula
hoops, toy wagons, flags blowing,
noisemakers....you name it, I think
they thought of it (although I didn't
see a kitchen sink, maybe next
year?)

Yet another wonderful event
sponsored by NEECA for area
horse lovers to come and enjoy.  
We've got some great pictures
already, with more to come.  Click
here to see the photos.

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE
NEXT YEAR!
LOT'S OF LAUGHS AT THIS YEAR'S NEECA FALL SOCIAL
Nearly 90 NEECA members and friends joined us for some good food, great bargains and
LOTS of laughs at this year's Fall Social.  Thanks to coordinator Kathy D'Orto, the evening went
off perfectly, and we wound up raising nearly $1400 for NEECA!  Kathy also booked DJ Kevin
Jacques for dancing and entertainment, and boy, did he ever entertain!

Many thanks to everyone who supported this event by attending, donating items for the auction
and/or purchasing items from the auction.  And special congrats to our 2011 Volunteer of the
Year, Monte Roberts from New Salem.
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!
Calendar of Events for 2012
Scheduled

At the most recent NEECA
Board of Directors Meeting the
2012 Calendar of Events was
tentatively scheduled for next
year.  We like to get it out as
early as possible so that our
members know what fun stuff
is coming up, and when.

Although we have quite a few
things going on up at the
arena next year, there are
plenty of dates open if you
know of an organization or
group that might be interested
in renting NEECA for their own
event.

We have recently put together
a Park Rental Packet with all
the information/forms needed
to rent the arena.  If you are
interested in reviewing the
information, please contact
Pat France at
oneparticularfarm@msn.com
and she will be happy to
forward you the information.