Good friends, good food, good horse talk: The TWHA 2013 annual dinner and membership meeting will feature a talk by equine nutritionist Dr. Clair Thunes (see below), owner of Equine Summit Nutrition. She will share some simple things we can do for our horses right away, and she will offer discounts on consulting services and nutrition products to attendees.

Food: Our dinner will be prepared by Lila Abdul-Rahim, chef to the East Bay Hills Ride, and Eric Schroeder, caterer extraordinaire. When you buy tickets, you will be able to request a vegetarian entree. Our insurance does not allow us to provide wine, but you may bring your own. If you have any menu questions, please email menu@twha.org. If you have any other questions about the meeting, please email meeting@twha.org.

Directions: Take San Pablo Dam Road to the north end of San Pablo reservoir (4.8 miles north of the intersection with Wildcat Canyon Road) and turn into Kennedy Grove. Fern Cottage is at the back of the parking lot. Here is a map.

Tickets: Anyone may purchase a dinner ticket above. See below for memberships. You may order tickets here with a credit card, or you can send a check to Kirsten Whitsett, 17 Middle Road, Lafayette CA 94549. But note that mailing a check takes time, this event may sell out quickly, and we are limited to 60 guests. If you do send a check, please make it out to "Tilden Wildcat Horsemen's Association". Processing fees do not apply to checks, so the amount will be less: $15 per member and $20 per non-member.

Membership: You may purchase or renew your membership online, at the door, or with the check you send to Kirsten as above. If you send a check, please download and fill out the Membership Application and include it with your check.

Wait list: If the event sells out you will be placed on a wait list and contacted if a place becomes available. Refunds will be issued to the original purchaser only if a replacement purchaser becomes available.

Clair Thunes M.S. Ph.D.

Born and raised in England, Clair started riding at the age of 8 and owned horses for 25 years participating in a wide array of disciplines including eventing, dressage, fox hunting, side saddle and polo.  She worked as a groom for a medium goal polo string based outside London, and while in graduate school was assistant trainer for an FEI dressage trainer.

Clair attained her Ph.D. in nutrition from UC Davis in 2005 and started Summit Equine Nutrition LLC (www.summit-equine.com) a consulting company in 2007 where she is an independent equine nutritionist. She believes in making nutrition accessible to everyone and removes the guesswork so that owners can be sure that their horse’s diets are optimal for maximum health and peak performance.  Her clients include all horses from competitors at the 2010 World Equestrian Games and short listed for the 2011 Pan American Games to retired pasture friends.  Besides consulting she teaches equine nutrition in the Animal Science Department at UC Davis and equine health at Cosumnes River College.

When not busy with equine nutrition Clair can be found either out running, in her garden, or trying to keep her 4 year old daughter away from ponies.