Greetings!

During my term as a board member and your president, I have discovered that FETA members, in general, fall into two basic categories.

The vast majority of you are deeply appreciative of our magnificent trail system, extremely grateful to the incredibly generous landowners that make the system possible, sincerely thankful to the board that tirelessly administers the huge job of running this organization with zero compensation, and faithfully abide by the few simple rules that have been put into place to protect this treasure for all of us.

Unfortunately, there is also a very small group of individuals who seem to feel that membership is their birthright, that the world owes them a favor, and that the rules do not apply to them.  You know who you are. You, the prominent businessman riding without current tags, because the money for renewing your membership just wasn't in your budget. You, the young woman who just had to ride the trails when they were closed because your horses needed exercise. You, the man who rode the closed trails because you forgot to call, found that the trails were closed when you got to the parking area, and then rode anyway because you had trailered a long way and the trails seemed dry. You, the woman who took three guests out on closed trails because your visitors were leaving the next day and the trails seemed okay to you. You, who lent your saddle tags to two non-members who were caught riding helmetless through FENCE. And last but not least, you, who couldn't be bothered with getting a release signed before allowing your guest to ride.

When selfish people choose to break FETA's few simple rules, and in doing so jeopardize the very existence of the trail system we all cherish, your board of directors must take action. Recently, a rules violation occurred that was so egregious that a large landowner considered removing their extensive network of trails from our system. Your board had to make a particularly unpleasant decision, and voted to terminate the membership of the violator.

Some have expressed concerns that this punishment was too severe. To those who feel this way, I ask that you consider this:  How would you feel if the next newsletter you received announced the permanent closure of the FETA trail system?  We have very few rules and they are very simple to follow. Please, everyone, let's work together to keep our trail system!

Happy Trails,
President Dan