GSCA Bylaws 2015 (current).pdf
GSCA Board of Directors 2019
President: Jean Harvey
Vice President: Eric Wilking
Secretary: Sandra Sims
Treasurer: Neil Harvey
Director: Cindy Schlener
Director: Connie Moses
Director: Denise Reed Gagnon
Jean Harvey, President
Jean Harvey currently lives 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.
Presently Jean is an active member of GMHA, CAA, ADS, GSCA, and PATH Intl. As an instructor, she enjoys teaching and promoting the sport of carriage driving.
Jean Harvey and her driving pony Pixie
Jean Harvey
Eric Wilking, Vice President
Eric the Navigator, also
GSCA Auctioneer
My wife, Linda, has always been a horse lover. As a kid she was the typical barn rat doing anything to be able to ride. It was not until Linda was 42 years old that we were able to buy our first horse. Nashin was a 15 yr old Arab gelding that took our son Christopher to 4-H highest award, best in the state, and to the BIG E three times. We bought Clydascope "Clyde" for Linda, a Clyde/TB that rode and drove all over the place. Clyde was a wonderful horse that will never be replaced-- he passed away suddenly at the young age of 13 from colic, every horse person's worst fear.
We have since moved on with many other horses that we drive and ride but driving is our true passion. Spinnaker is our current driving mare, she is a Russian Warmblood/Appendix quarter horse. Spinny is a big-boned girl that gives her all, whether we compete at CDEs or pleasure shows or just hack on the trails. We have a standardbred that we are fostering for the NHSPCA, she is a great addition to the barn. The poor thing came to us so thin and afraid of her own shadow! Amazing what a little bit of love and food does for her-- now she loves her retired life.
Sandy Sims, Secretary
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.
Neil Harvey, Treasurer
As a new member of the Granite State Carriage Association, I wanted to share a little bit about my equine journey. Deb had a horse as a child. She always wanted to, again, own horses. When our last child went off to college, we bought an old farm in Deerfield. Our idea was that Deb would ride horses and I would restore the old barns. I knew nothing about horses, but gradually got interested. At the age of sixty, I brought home my first horse, a 2 year old quarter horse. We have been training and riding our horses for the last seven years, though Deb has always had an interest in driving.
We rode on our own, and with local friends and riding clubs. Then, a couple of years ago, we went on a couple of GSCA trips. We liked the people and destinations, so we joined GSCA as riders. Then, this past spring, a good friend lent us an older 36” mini that drove. He came with a couple of carts and two bags of harnesses. With help, I sorted through the driving gear and got him back into driving. Last summer, with help from the GSCA, we went out as drivers, and had a blast!
This past fall our little mini went back to his previous owner. So, I brought home a Newfoundland pony, which I am training to drive and skijor. Deb continues to drive her Morgan, and is also skijoring. We plan to continue our journey with horses as long as possible. We enjoy the GSCA tremendously, and hope that our participation (if, even in a small way) helps the group stay strong and grow into the future.
Cindy Schlener, Director, Website 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 horse back 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 Apollo, a cremello Appendix QH and Glider, a bay OTTB.
Connie Moses, Director, Website Admin
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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 pair, sometimes in a tandem hitch, at many GSCA outings. Their favorite place for driving is Acadia National Park.
Connie served as GSCA President 2010-2014, helping since then with the club's printed communications, the GSCA Facebook group, and this website. Her background is in graphic arts and she enjoys photography and playing pickleball. Her other furry friends include a cat and a wonderful English Setter named Peaches.
Denise Reed Gagnon, Director
Hello my name is Denise Reed Gagnon.
Appointed Positions
Ginger Laplante, GSCA Newsletter Editor, Senior Advisor, Historian, founding and Lifetime member
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.
Sonja Cahill, Senior Advisor, Lifetime member (past President & has served in every other office)
Sonja and Bob driving Miss Breezy I have been a Granite State Carriage Association member for nearly 30 years. When I joined, I was a competitive long-distance trail rider and driver looking for some ‘pleasure’ events when taking a break from competition. GSCA was introduced to me as a recreational driving and riding club whose motto is to “Drive and Ride Just for the Fun of it.” And fun it has been ever since.
My husband Bob and I now drive and ride leisurely at the many wonderful outings offered throughout the year by GSCA. Since retiring from competition, we have been very involved with the organization which includes hosting many events ourselves especially the Chocorua, NH and Greenfield, NH drives and rides. From 1996 to 2002, I was president of the club and now serve on the Board. We truly enjoy and are committed to this wonderful organization and have met many like-minded enthusiasts who take pleasure in the well organized GSCA outings in some of the most beautiful New England locations one might not have experienced otherwise.
Corin and Remy in Vermont
Corin Brennan, Media/Facebook Tech Advisor, Website Admin
The first event I attended as a Granite State Carriage member was the 2012 “Look to the Mountain Outing” in Chocorua NH, and I knew that I had found a group that I would love being a part of. I have had horses throughout my entire life; I spent more of my childhood on horseback than I did on my own feet. Growing up on a horse farm in southern NH, I competed in a variety of riding disciplines (English, Western, Eventing, Dressage.) Trail riding has always been what I enjoy most.
Leslie Baxter, Membership Coordinator
I am a lifelong horse owner and have been driving pretty much all of my life but it has been more of a passion in the past 15 years. I live in Manchester and own three lovely Morgan mares: a chestnut mare, Tiffany and her two daughters, Holly Who and Kate. You will see me out and about with Holly but Kate is working her way up nicely and I hope to be driving her on trails soon.
Previous Officers and Directors
Renee Wormell, Past Secretary
Renee trail riding her horse Rafl
I am a NH native, attended Dover schools and graduated from UNH. I retired in 2012 from a rewarding career as a paralegal, the last 22 years with the legal department of a local bank. I am a life-long horse-lover, and these days particularly enjoy communing with nature on a woodsy trail, by a babbling brook. However, I also school low level dressage and am a carriage driver "wanna-be".
Bill and I raised two daughters, and several Arabian foals, in Northwood, NH over the past 40+ years. We all competed in long-distance, competitive trail riding and local pleasure shows. Bill and I also have a small farm in the foothills of western SC where we spend winters with our two border collies and two horses - my third generation, 18 year old Arabian, and Bill's 16 year old Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse. Our favorite place to ride is Acadia! In addition to the joys of riding, I am having great fun training and competing in rally obedience and agility with my young, happy-go-lucky dog, Camdyn.
Cresca Albright, past President
Cresca and Sweet Pea Cresca has served the club for many years, including being past President. She has managed the Hancock outing for several years, where participants enjoy a lovely fall setting for camping, and rural dirt roads and railroad bed trails. Hancock features a notable "road cut" originally hand-dug for the train to pass to Sunapee Lake; now our drivers and riders get to pass through on the reclaimed railroad bed.
Isabella "Boo" Martin, past Director
Founder and Executive Director of Touchstone Farm. A life long horsewoman, Boo has shown, trained, evented, driven and taught riding and driving lessons for the last 40 years. She has also actively fox hunted and done Pony Club. She has spoken at numerous regional and national conferences. She graduated as a teacher for grades K-12 from UVM and Fordham University. She then went on to found Pony Farm, a girls’ summer residential riding camp, fully accredited by the American Camping Association. She was involved as both the President and Executive Director of the NH Camp Directors’ Association, serving on the NE/ACA board as well.
She then founded the lesson program at the farm and became involved with the American Riding Instructor Association, receiving her instructor certification from ARIA. She was awarded the Riding Instructor of the Year in 1997. Attended Antioch Graduate School in the Organization and Management Degree Program, and started Horse Power and the Horse Power Instructor Training School with her colleagues and professors, as well as became involved in the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (now PATH Intl.) when she founded Horse Power in 1989. She went on to co-found the Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association, as well as serve on numerous NARHA committees. She has received the Presidents’ Award, the Founders’ Award and the James Brady Lifetime Achievement Award with PATH, Intl., as well as the NH Horse Person of the Year. In 2013, she received the Sis Gould Therapeutic Driving Award from PATH Intl.
Dave 
Dave competing his Morgan pair
Dave and his wife Liz enjoy recreational driving with Rhythm and Concert, their Morgan pair, put to an Eagle Carriage. They first joined GSCA in 1990. Dave is also a board member of the New England Region of the Carriage Association of America, the CAA's oldest region.
