Variety and enthusiasm!!!!!
A club is made up of many different members, each with their own individual reason for being a member. A club should offer a variety of activities and events for its members.
For instance, club shows could offer classes for different levels of exhibitors from Beginners to Experienced such as Mentored classes, Junior/Youth/Adult classes and Open classes as well as different types of classes such as Costume, Halter, Performance and even fun & unique classes (e.g. Egg & Spoon, Barrel racing, relay races). As some club members may be more advanced in their showing level, a club could try to be involved in a Sanctioned show and encourage their members to participate to further their showing skills.
Special non-show days like "Fun Days" could be set up for members to bring their horses (or just themselves) and have games for horse and/or humans so that all members could participate whether they had a horse there or not.
Educational events such as clinics could be offered that cover a variety of topics (feeding, grooming, farrier, showing, etc) and topics could cover items of interest to the majority of Mini owners (e.g. all members FEED their horses so feeding would be a good generic topic). Clinics can be either hands on or classroom style or combine the two or have different types of clinics at different times of the year (e.g. hands on clinics such as Clipping/Grooming during good weather times or pre-show season when members are able to bring their horses or are preparing for the show season, classroom sessions such as Conformation during winter seasons or off-show season when more members have time).
General Social Get togethers are perfect for any member that may not show or be active with their horse in events etc but still want to meet other members and talk "Mini". Socials also offer a chance for all ages of member to attend (e.g. younger children who do not want to sit through a classroom lecture or perhaps retired members whose still want to be involved but cannot as much due to failing health). These types of events are also an excellent opportunity for members who are very active with their horses in club events; often they don't have the time at shows etc to socialize freely and without distraction.
And perhaps most importantly, the club must foster enthusiasm! The members and their representatives who are currently in the club (Executive Members, Directors, Clinicians, Event organizers, etc) must portray the club in a positive and enthusiastic light. All events put on by the club should be put on in an engerized way to hopefully have the members come away feeling that it was worth their while to attend. To ensure members feel their club is giving them what they want, feedback should be encouraged. This can be in the form of casual conversations between the club organizers and the other members or even as formal questionaires at the end of events asking what the members liked, disliked and suggestions of what they want to see happen in their club. Make every member feel they are important and that their opinion matters and they will be more apt to help the club grow with ideas.
The more members that enjoy the club and have fun, the more members that will spread the news of their club to other Mini owners and the more the club will grow in a healthy and happy direction!
An excellent club that does all of the above is the Miniature Horse Club of Ontario www.mhco.ca
