GSCA Board of Directors 2023
President: Leslie Baxter lakevue100 [at] comcast.net
Vice President: Melissa Every valleyfarm [at] gmail.com
Secretary: Avis Rosenfield ironshoes2013 [at] gmail.com
Treasurer: Michael Prange prange [at] alum.mit.edu
Director: Jean Harvey jeanharvey [at] saltaccounting.com
Director: Connie Moses cmoses [at] metrocast.net
Director: Sandy Sims angelmeadowsfarm [at] myfairpoint.net
Meet a few Former GSCA Hosts and Officers
Current Appointees
Leslie Baxter, President (2022- )
Leslie Baxter
& friends
A little about me. I have resided in Manchester all of my life and was very fortunate to have lake Massabesic a mile down the road. I live with my husband Dave and have a grown daughter living close by in Boston. I have owned and cared for horses pretty much all of my life. Competed in many areas from gymkhana, pleasure, trail classes etc. and bought my first Morgan 26 years ago.
This is where I got into breeding, training and got heavily involved with Carriage driving. I joined up with the Granite State Carriage club and have enjoyed my free time meeting up with new and old friends alike with similar passions for everything horse related. My interest going forward is to stay involved with our club in hopes of keeping this great tradition going for years to come-- seeing our beautiful state from the seat of my carriage, friends nearby, and my little black mare Holly Golightly.
Melissa Every, Vice President (2023-)
Melissa Every driving her
carriage horse
I have been around horses all my life, including such breeds as Spanish Mustangs, Arabians, Haflingers, lots of ponies and miniature horses. I’ve been driving for about 15 years. I have my Level one ADS driving certification and will be getting my level 2 hopefully this year.
I like to help people find a love for driving and have helped many get started in this wonderful sport. Driving them is my comfort and relaxation when life takes its not-so-great turns and my pleasure when life is going great. I also teach riding lessons out of my barn, Rocky Rest Stable and run many great clinics that help people further their horsemanship.
Avis Rosenfield, Secretary (2020- )
I have owned, raised, trained, shown & evented horses for over 50 yrs. My involvement with & passion for horses has been since childhood & I expect, like Queen Elizabeth, to be riding when I am 90.
I am currently a member of the Rockingham Riding Club, Essex County Trail Association, Southeast land Trust, Bear-Paw Regional Greenways and of course Granite State Carriage Association, where I assisted Cindy Schlener with marking trails for GSCA events.
My leadership experience includes serving as: Past President of the NH Horse Council, Secretary of the Derry Trail Riders for the past five years, Co-Chairperson of the Bear Brook State Park Planning Committee, member of the New Hampshire Horse Council trail committee, and Advisory Board Member for the NH Rail Trails.
I have continued to support the equine community to ensure as lands are transferred into conservation, the Land Trusts consider horses. Assisting the equine community with appropriate landowners to ensure trails remain open & accessible and/or new trails are created. Advising the NH Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) as well as NH Division of Parks & Recreation to consider the needs of the equine community, and I am currently working to have horse camping at Bear Brook State Park, and have better access for carriages with trail loops within the park.
I have traveled throughout the state to attend meetings to enlighten communities of the recreational value of horse owners to the GDP, and will continue to advocate for the horse throughout NH and as I travel to other states with my horses to camp. I will continue to learn the state's Best Practices for trail development and building relationships with other user groups.
As Secretary I look forward to serving Granite State Carriage Association and the membership.
Michael Prange, Treasurer (2023- ) 
Michael Prange retired in 2017 from a career as a research scientist in geophysics. He and his wife, Anne, moved to her childhood home in Shelburne, NH, to begin a new life on 120 acres with two horses, two pack llamas, chickens, bees, four cats, and a wonderful trail dog. He actively trains and competes in endurance with his Rocky Mountain horse, Dancer.
He is certified, along with Dancer, with the Maine Mounted Search & Rescue Team, where he is a training officer and on the board of directors. He is president of the Shelburne Trails Club, which creates and maintains hiking trails in Shelburne, NH. Michael has been an active member of the GSCA for three years, and was part of the team that made the 2021 Presidential Rail Trail ride a success. With a personal focus on both training and trail riding, as Treasurer he works with memberships and club finances.
Michael Prange
Connie Moses, Director (2019-), Website Admin since 2012
|
Connie |
The Moses' Perch-Arab driving |
Connie has been a Granite State Carriage Association member since 1998 and a trail rider since 1992. Connie went from being horse show mom and trail rider to carriage driver. Having bred and trained two carriage horses, she and her hubby Rick drove their pleasure pair, sometimes in a tandem hitch, at many GSCA outings. Their favorite place for driving was Acadia National Park, for 28ish years and to the top of Mount Washington Carriage Road in 2011.
Connie served as GSCA President 2010-2014, and interim VP in 2015, helping since 2012 with the club's printed communications, the GSCA Facebook group, and creating this website. Her background is in graphic arts and she enjoys photography, sculling, and playing pickleball. Her other furry friends included many cats and two successive wonderful English Setters, Freckles and Peaches. Connie and Rick now have a new rescue kitty named Hermione.
Jean Harvey, Director (2023- )
Jean Harvey currently lives on and operates a horse farm in Enfield, NH. Horses have been a large part of her life since her early teens. Now as a young senior, carriage driving is her passion both for pleasure and competing.
Jean has been an active member of GMHA, CAA, ADS, GSCA, and PATH Intl. As an instructor, she enjoys teaching and promoting the sport of carriage driving. Most recently she has become involved in harness racing!
Jean Harvey
Jean Harvey and her driving pony Pixie
My husband Dennis and I live in Loudon, NH and have a small farm on 6 acres. I am an UNH graduate in Animal Science and have a Diploma in Nursing from Concord Hospital where I worked for 35 years in Critical Care. I have been “horse crazy” my whole life but was only able to get my first horse as an adult, a wonderful 3 year old standardbred OTT mare. She taught me to drive and I taught her to ride! She became an excellent trail horse and XC jumper. We did everything together and she lived to be just shy of 34 years. A second horse, an 11 month filly joined my family and became an everything horse also: trails, hunter jumper, eventing, dressage and driving. She will be 28 in June. I bought a 4 year old Dutch Harness horse in June 2016 who I ride and drive. I have been active in many sports throughout my life and enjoy an active outdoor life style. I am on the Loudon Conservation Commission which actively seeks to preserve open land and forests and a new member of The Abbott Downing Historical Society. I volunteer at The Live And Let Live Farm animal rescue in Chichester, NH. Our home is in the country surrounded by miles of dirt woods roads that are great to explore via horseback or carriage so we are truly enjoying our retirement years. With one year’s membership in GSCA we have met many great people who share our interests and look forward to more friendships in the coming years.
Appointed Positions
Eric Wilking, appointed Senior Advisor in 2022 (former Treasurer)
Eric the Navigator, also
GSCA Auctioneer Since our application to become members of Granite State Carriage Association many years ago... way too many to count… my wife Linda and I have been all about what we can do to give back to the driving and riding community. From hosting the Manchester Water Works event in Auburn 2006-2018, to helping with the Myles Standish and Acadia National Park events throughout the years, it has always been about helping others enjoy their horses and camaraderie.
Over the years, Linda and I went on to develop and host a series of three Arena Driving Trials each year in Brentwood, for the past 5 years. Those that attend all enjoy the Pickpocket Farms’ low stress and fun way we approach competition and learning, and can’t wait for winter to end and the spring schedule to be published.
It all started over 10 years ago when I volunteered to help run the FUNd-raising Auction at our Annual Meeting and dinner. From there, I was elected Treasurer in 2013 and served the maximum allowed, 3 terms for a total of 6 years, and in 2019 I was elected Vice President of this fantastic organization. GSCA has grown so much over the past 10 years, and our future is bright.
In April 2020, I was appointed Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director for the Town of Exeter.
As you can imagine, those jobs are difficult enough without the current Coronavirus Pandemic.
During the past year— and, as many have already begun to realize, for the foreseeable future — much of my time must be devoted to the citizens of Exeter, the 30 firefighter/EMT’s that work with me, my family, and then of course GSCA.
It comes with mixed emotions that I have asked to step back as your Vice President. I believe the importance of the position deserves someone that can work closely with our outing hosts, create and maintain an annual event calendar that our membership has grown accustomed to, and represent the Granite State Carriage Association on statewide boards, and attend meetings as required.
All that being said, I would like to stay active and contribute to the club.
Ginger Laplante, GSCA Newsletter Editor, Senior Advisor, Historian, founding and Lifetime member - starting in 1978
Ginger's antique buggy and her Canadian driving horse, Punk
I sold my war bonds in 1953 to buy my first horse, a lovely six year old sorrel quarter horse/Saddlebred mare, for $150 when I was seventeen. I also bought my first antique vehicle that year, a lovely cutter for $15. Both were the first of many. I continued to collect antique vehicles and taught myself to drive a few years later using antique books on the subject and ever since have driven over country roads, at GSCA events and at a variety of interesting places such as Acadia National Park.
In 1978 my husband and I became two of the founders of the Granite State Carriage Association and their first event was held at our farm, Canterbrook, in Canterbury, New Hampshire that year. A few years later I began the newsletter and have been its editor ever since as well as serving in various office positions in earlier years.
I presently have two older mares a Canadian and a Standardbred but find that I am doing less driving as I get older. However, there is usually at least one GSCA event at Canterbrook each year to carry on the tradition.
Cindy Schlener, Website Admin, Facebook Admin
Glider and Cindy
I grew up on a 60' by 100' plot of land on Long Island, NY and have loved horses all my life. I started riding as a teenager when I was given a lesson as a birthday present and then bought my first horse when I moved up to Massachusetts in my early 20s.
I was out of horseback riding for a while in my late 20s/early 30s but then got back into it in my mid 30s by buying a horse whom I named Kubla Khan. He was a big Thoroughbred/Hanovarian and loved going fast and jumping anything. Through a lot of hard work, I learned to ride Kubla safely and enjoyed lots of trail rides and hunter paces.
Even though I took hunt seat and dressage lessons, my real love is trail riding. Exploring new areas, long distance riding and horse camping are the things I look forward to. Thank goodness I discovered GSCA a few years ago which introduced me to horse camping.
Now you'll see me riding and discovering new trails and venue opportunities with the club.
