The IEBRA was started in 1995
Some of the founding members were Debbie Clinton, Cindy Lemke, Claudia Johnson, Connie Zimmer, and Joyce Merrill. If there are any others that are not mentioned, thank you for helping build this organization.
These people got together to try and form a club that was close to home so they would no longer have to travel so far. They decided on the counties that were included, which held for 10 years, until the club voted to extend the boundaries by one county in all directions for the 2005 season.
At the 1st general meeting 30 members were present
The 1st secretary was Debbie Clinton
The first president was Cindy Lemke
The dues were $15 for an individual and $25 for a family
In February of the 1st year there were 49 members and of July of that same year there were 85 members.
Our competitive year started January 1st and ended October 31st
Some interesting statistics:
We had 22 races the 1st year
March 25th was the 1st race (in 1995) at Mission Park in Spokane
The last race was on October 21st
Most of the races the 1st year were held at Saddle Warmers Arena
We also used Davenport Fairgrounds, Springdale Rodeo Arena, Cheney Rodeo Arena, The Sheriffs Posse Arena, Merlin Farms Arena, Tyler (Nan Warrens) arena.
You think traveling is bad and scheduling races is bad these days..well..when the IEBRA first started out, we would have 2 races on the same day. One at 10am at Saddle Warmers and another at 4:30pm the same day at Springdale Rodeo Arena.
When it came down to year end awards it was determined by the a points system that remained the same until a change was made in 2004 to go into effect for the 2005 season.
The first awards banquet was held at the Deer Park Arcadia School and was catered, but it was slim pickens for awards:
It was decided on that only 4 people in each division would receive year end awards but that is not the shocking part--you only received ONE THING
1st place received a Kenny Hansen Silver Buckle
2nd place a silver watch band
3rd place a monogrammed Horse Blanket
4th place a monogrammed Navaho saddle blanket
As it turned out the 1st year the club had $2000 to spend on awards
As time went on and more members joined you then would receive 2 awards if you were one of the lucky 4. Anyone receiving awards today should consider themselves very lucky because our club has grown considerably and is able to have many nice awards to give
So when you look around the room today and see many fellow barrel racers and friends, know that you all have many things in common. The love of horses, the love for the sport of barrel racing, and that each and every one of you have helped to make this club what it is today.
