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BCHA

Monthly Update

News & Updates September 2024




Picture

Latifia Rodriguez, Becky Krueger and Charlotte Gray



Forms and Documents

We have a new "Forms and Documents" page on the website, located in the tabs at the top. You can now go directly to this page without using the Shared Drive.


Saw Curriculum Made Easy

BCHA has added the USFS Saw curriculum on the BCHA.org website, highlighting the most important areas to accomplish training more efficiently. Click Here for the Sawyers page.

(More information is being added to this page so check back often for additional resources.)


Are you interested in learning more about the sawyer program for BCHA members? Click here to answer a couple questions so we know how to better help our BCH states and chapters.

PUBLIC LANDS

BCHA encourages all members to use the E-Bike Reporting Form and the Horse Camp Incident Form when they see problems.


E-BIKE REPORTING FORM


HORSE CAMP INCIDENT FORM

HEY! Chapters and States...

2024 YOUTH GRANT APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

Do you have an event or program to promote youth?

Check out the BCHA Youth Grant Opportunity.

FREE MONEY, SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION ASAP!

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APPLY ONLINE HERE

CHAPTERS

Northern Colorado BCH Project

Stub Creek horse camp is behind the Stub Creek Ranger Station just outside the Rawah Wilderness in the Arapahoe/Roosevelt National Forest. The US Forest Service asked the Northern Colorado BCH chapter (NCBCH) to pack out t-posts from an old fence line that was no longer needed and had become a hazard for wildlife and hikers alike. On August 1st through the 4th, the NCBCH chapter along with some BCH friends from Wyoming packed out 200 t-posts over 2 days. There were 5 packers, 14 helpers, 2 cooks and 1 professional photographer who recorded the event. We also had 13 horses and 3 mules, oh, and 1 camp dog. The first day was move in and set up camp day. Days 2 and 3 were packing days and the fourth day was break camp and head home. NCBCH has a camp cook who has a full camp kitchen and the food was out of bounds good. He prepared 8 meals for the crew including breakfast on the last day. The meals included his custom cured bacon, the most tender brisket I have ever eaten, and ham steaks with our eggs on the last morning. And of course, there's nothing like morning coffee at a mountain camp. Both mornings before we packed, we had a safety briefing and reminded everyone that safety is job number 1. We had to clear one widow maker and trim some limbs for the pack animals in a narrow section of the trail. It was a very successful project. The Forest Service was happy and no one nor any animals were injured. 


Pictures by Michael Van Beber, Medicine Walk Photography

Story submitted by L Jay McDonald

2024 ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF BACK COUNTRY HORSEMEN OF THE CROATAN

Submitted my member Joan Coble, August 16, 2024


When the BCHC Equestrian Parking Area was constructed by members in 2015 (Fig 1), the chapter had to utilize the materials that were made available thru grants by the Federal Recreation and Trails Program and the North Carolina Horse council. Unfortunately, the 3 1/4 acre parking area was covered in large gauge gravel (Fig. 2) which turned out to be very uncomfortable for horses to walk over to get to the trail head. Some equestrians even stopped coming to the area because of this problem. We also had to deal with the problem of ATV riders damaging the parking area


READ and SEE PICTURES HERE

Fall Creek Campground Corral Project

Click on image below for full article.

ARTICLES

Who Are We?

By Ron Toland


As a kid in Pueblo, I lived next door to my grandparents on a 10-acre hobby farm. My uncle still lived at home, was only 11 years older than me and didn’t mind a second shadow following him everywhere. I tagged along to Elmer’s pool hall and sipped a Nehi grape while he shot pool; I followed him into the field to hunt turkeys; he took me to the state fair to see Ken Curtis (Festus from Gunsmoke); and I recall one afternoon when I couldn’t tag along as he was going out with some friends. Now my grandma was no fool; she had a pretty good idea what teenage boys and their buddies do on a Friday night (I’m sure he could blame his older brother for that!). I remember clear as day as he walked out the door, she called after him in a stern but worried voice: “Don’t forget who you are!” 


Grandma’s advice, I think, is something for all of us to ponder from time to time. Take BCH for example. Who we are is summed up in our mission statement. In short, we work to 1) ensure public lands remain open to recreational stock use; 2) assist government and private agencies to maintain trails and backcountry infrastructure; and 3) educate, encourage and solicit active participation in the wise use of the backcountry resource. It’s important to note there is no mention of potlucks, barbeques, Christmas parties or social rides. Now those things are certainly important for group cohesiveness and team building but should not be the focus of our activities. Folks should, however, leverage their association with BCH members to get together on their own and have a grand time riding, packing and whatever else suits them. I just think it’s important our chapter doesn’t devolve into a saddle club.


Now I wrote on this topic a year or two ago so why did I bring it up again? Well, I was reading “Backcountry Horsemen of America – The First 25 Years” by Lloyd Fagerland, a BCH member and advocate who served in many offices in local, state and national BCH organizations starting in 1974. He chronicles many challenges BCH had to overcome to get to where we are today. He compares the journey to a trail ride in unfamiliar territory. “At each fork in the trail, they would stop and have a long and sometimes noisy discussion about which trail was the right one and would take us to the destination we wanted to reach.” Thinking about our chapter, that unfamiliar trail sounds awfully familiar! Something else he said prompted this story:


We tend to think of our enemies as those rabid, anti-horse types who are continually trying to force us from public lands. While these people can be a nuisance and an aggravation, they can’t really hurt us. The people who can mortally wound us are good people, horsemen, BCH members who lose site [sic] of our purpose. They become so wrapped up in the social aspects of BCH that they forget that it has a more serious purpose.


Let’s don’t forget who we are so we can continue to do the good work our organization is designed to do. I don’t know about you but however onerous that sounds, I’m having a lot of fun doing it!

SADDLE UP AMERICA

On SADDLE UP AMERICA we’re joined by Randy Rasmussen, DIRECTOR PUBLIC LANDS & RECREATION with Back Country Horsemen of America and Celebrating 20 years of Best of America by Horseback host Del Shields! 


https://www.blogtalkradio.com/equestrianlegacy/2024/09/05/sarah-pierce-and-bcha-best-of-america-by-horseback-on-equestrian-legacy-radio


You can scroll at the very top to minute 1:00:00 for BCHA's portion of the show.

ADVERTISERS


ADVERTISING SPACE - Click here if you would like to advertise

NATIONAL BOARD MEETING

2025 NATIONAL BOARD MEETING


Prescott, Arizona

April 13th - 16th, 2025

Registration Opens January

VOLUNTEER HOURS UPDATE

Hello Members,


BCHA Volunteer Hours Committee has updated the volunteer hours reporting form. The reason for this change is because we feel we are missing out on opportunities through the USFS and other organizations by not providing trail information that you all have volunteered to maintain. By collecting trail names we open the doors for potential grants and other funds paid to BCH states for their time.


The updated form is available by clicking the link below. And please reach out to the volunteer hours committee if you have any questions. volunteer@bcha.org

Volunteer Hours Form, Updated

2024 Equisure Equine Insurance

TIME TO RENEW YOUR EQUISURE INSURANCE OR SIGN UP FOR THE FIRST TIME

$1,000,000 Coverage for $20 Individual or $40 for a family.


CLICK HERE FOR FAQ



CLICK HERE FOR APPLICATION

Keeping Trails Open for All
BCHA OPERATIONS DONATION HERE
CHAPTER SUPPORT GRANT DONATION

SHARE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS!

Does your chapter have a trail, project or great story you would like to share? Please send them to michellewade@bcha.org. We will do our best to include them here.



  • Please send as Word doc and pictures as attachments not in the word doc.
  • Provide description: project, place, purpose, etc.
  • Please include the name of person and chapter submitting the pictures.

2024-2025 BCHA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Mark Himmel

Chairman

Craig Ferdig

Vice Chairman

Kathy Young

Treasurer

Sherry Copeland

Past Chairman

Brad Pollman

Director

Jim Allen

Director

Heather Cox

Director

Dana Chambers

Non-Director

Greg Schatz

Non-Director