Well, we're almost officially at the end of 2010 as I write this and that can only mean one thing... banquet and awards time is just around the corner.

In keeping with the kicking it up a notch attitude we've approached the season with this year, the banquet and awards committee is doing likewise.

There are some great things in store for everyone at this year's banquet.

The event is being held at the Quality Inn in Woodstock once again and a special room rate is available for banquet attendees. Tickets for the banquet are just $35 each as part of the cost of the meal and hall and other expenses is being subsidized by the OBRA this year.

Tickets must be sold in advance since we need to know how many we are serving for dinner and note they are limited due to the hall size, so be sure to book yours now with Carol Crane by emailing her how many you would like at cdcrane@xplornet.com, or calling her at 519-475-4577 or 226-228-4577

It includes a great buffet meal as usual, but we are bringing in some entertainment for after the awards ceremony and then we will head into a dance for the remainder of the night with some extra food being brought out a little later on in the evening.

The decorating is being done by Rachel Clingen of Rachel Clingen Designs. If you haven't checked out her work, visit her website www.rachelaclingen.com. I'm sure you'll be impressed!

About the awards. Award winners this year are in for a treat. Thanks to the generosity largely of sponsors as well as our business plan, OBRA is pleased to be able to announce that we will be giving out a total of eight trophy saddles to the champions, 11 Gist trophy belt buckles to our reserve champions in all classes and our 2-D Rookie, Youth and Polebending champions. In addition we are awarding trophy jackets to the top five in all divisions of the 4D and all the first divisions of all the other classes. That's a total of 40 trophy jackets for those of you counting. There's even more prizes too, so be sure to come out and check out all the bling.

We are putting the call out to the membership for two things for that day though. Prior to the banquet which begins with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. we are holding the OBRA annual general meeting and election of the 2011 executive.

Our president David Clingen and myself will be stepping down. For those of you who weren't at last year's meeting, David and I made the commitment to pour our heart and soul into the organization this season and get it back on its feet. But we said we would only be able to commit to this for one year.

It's a lot of work folks, and takes time away from your personal life and both David and I need to get back to that. Hopefully however, others of you out there will be able to step up to the plate for a season and take over where we left off.

We are leaving the association in great shape financially, better than it's been in years so you won't have those same worries we did at the start of this season.

Despite the workload, I must say it gave me an opportunity to get to know so many of the members better and I leave the post with a ton of new friends for life. It was a tremendously rewarding experience for this and so many other reasons. I think I speak for David and the rest of the executive when I say that. We could not have had a better team. And I'm very proud of our membership and how you have all pulled together this year. There are no better people in the horse world than all of you!

But once again, we need some new blood to experience that same feeling. The meeting will be held in a meeting room at the Quality Inn starting at 2 p.m. on Sat., Jan. 15. You don't have to be attending the banquet that evening to come to the meeting. Bring any issues or concerns and please considering filling an executive position. Everything's great, but if no one steps up we could be in peril once more.

The Quality Inn is conveniently located just off Hwy. 401 at exit 232.

The other thing we need from you is items for our annual raffle at the banquet. I think the raffle format last year was terrific where you can buy tickets and put them in the jar in front of the item you would like to win. This went over very well at the Royal Run Ranch show too. But we need donations. Everyone has some new tack they've never used and likely never will, or other new items sitting in the basement, or SWAG from your business. Please bring them along and use them to support the OBRA as we move forward. If you aren't attending the banquet, please send me an email at cwiddifield@simcoe.com and we can make arrangements to have your donation picked up.

Hope to see you all at the banquet! In the meantime, merry Christmas to everyone and all the best to you and your families through the holiday season.