Back Country Horsemen of British Columbia

Sharon Pickthorne and her horse, Elsa, enjoyed the ‘Hoof and Woof’ contest in the arena. Looks like Elsa is saying: “Whoa there Mom! You volunteered to review and edit HOW MANY photos?!” If a picture says a thousand words… then what do over 800 pictures say? In one word: Wow! Volunteer photographers Jill Hayward, Petra Migl, and Butch and Connie Falk took some great photos of this year’s Rendezvous 2013 in beautiful Barriere, BC. They were kind enough to share them with our members. Connie Falk uploaded them all to DropBox and then Sharon Pickthorne stepped up and took on the Herculean task of selecting the ‘best of the best’ images of the many activities. View and download some or all of the 350+ photos here: http://public.fotki.com/BackCountry/ Quality prints may be ordered for a reasonable fee. Mugs, T-shirts and other products featuring your favorite photos can also be ordered from…

 

Convoy of Horse Trailers Descends on Saratoga Speedway On Saturday, March 16, 2013, a convoy of ten trucks and horse trailer arrived at Saratoga Speedway in Black Creek for a most unusual event. While this venue is best known as a racetrack for cars, it was the perfect place for a ‘Trailer Rodeo’ organized by the North Vancouver Island Chapter of the Back Country Horsemen of British Columbia (BCH). The 'Rodeo' allowed all attendees to practice their horse trailer hauling skills in a safe and controlled environment. While the day proved to be plenty of fun (despite some rain) – with lots of laughter and kind-hearted jesting – the purpose of the Trailer Rodeo was to get serious about safety.   “We hosted the Trailer Rodeo because safety is a high priority for the Back Country Horsemen organization,” says North Vancouver Island (NVI) Chapter vice chair, Sharon Pickthorne. “The majority…

The North Vancouver Island (NVI) Chapter of Back Country Horsemen of BC is pleased to present the Final Report on a project that was many years in the making.   The Back Country Horsemen of British Columbia – North Vancouver Island Chapter (BCHBC-NVI) introduced the Salmon Brewster Equine Campsites and Trail Corridor Project as the first Crown land formally designated equine-friendly public recreation campsites on Vancouver Island. This is a significant accomplishment and will be joining the other provincial equine trails and camping areas such as those at Manning Park, Cascade Recreation Area, Lundbom, Stikine, Barriere, Merritt, and the extraordinary USA network of equine friendly camping and trails sites. The development of the campsites and trail corridor received a Section 57 authorization from Duncan Mactavish, Recreation Officer with Recreation Sites and Trails BC, Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. Biological and archaeological assessments were completed and reviewed by…

In April 2012, the West Kootenay Chapter presented our first annual educational conference “Swing into Spring with Horses and Courses." This event was an immediate hit: we increased our membership, raised the profiles of local equine-based businesses and provided a social arena where ideas were exchanged, discussed and celebrated! This year, we proudly introduce “Hitch, Hock, Hack and Haul”April 13th on the Trail Horseman’s Society grounds. The all day presentation begin at 9:00am sharp with registration at the clubhouse door. Admission fee is $5.00 for West Kootenay Chapter BCHBC members and $20.00 for non-members. Have your WKC member card handy if you want your discount! Be advised, dogs (even little ones!) are not allowed on the grounds. Please leave your pet at home. To reserve a seat for this event, please RVSP with Fillmore Quarter Horses at 250-367-9834 or email WKC Director Laurie Merlo at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Schedule: 9:30 – 11:30am…

Rendezvous 2013 is June 7 - 9, 2013 at the North Thomson Fall Fair and Rodeo Grounds in beautiful Barriere, B.C. On-line Registration now available. Click here to sign up and pay on line.   Here's what's in store for you: To download a PDF copy of this Schedule of Events, click here. To download a copy of the registration form, click here. Friday, June 7 Friday Time Conf Room Agri Plex Agri Plex Light Horse Arena Warm up Arena Trail Rides 9 – 10 Intro to Trails Gail Yon GPS & Geo Caching Connie Falk Practice time available Practice time available     10 – 11:00   Jessica Chappell Liberty   Practice time available     Guided Trail Rides 11:00 – 12:00 Camping with your horse Leave no Trace Mary & Rose Practice Time Available Randy Brodaway Natural Horsemanship     12:00 – 1:00          …

The Horse.com website has a fun blog called 'Weird Horse News." A recent post talked about how horses we not included in the Grammy Awards... but perhaps they should have been! Here is an exert from a post about a horse that plays a recorder! Sunday night we celebrated music's brightest stars with the Grammys. However, one act was greatly missed--the equine rockers. From Stockholm, Sweden, we have the recorder rocker doing his rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." This gray gelding employs the help of his handler, since hooves don’t do well covering the finger holes of the instrument, but he provides the vital ingredient of the performance--his breath. I just hope he's the only one using this instrument, since the handler places the recorder inside his nostril. Watch the video on www.thehorse.com.  

Hot off the press are the results of a study conducted by the Joint Trails & Access Committee over the fall of 2012. Click on the link below to read and/or print an on-line version of MOVING FORWARD: BC Equestrian Trail User Study or click  to download the PDF. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-tlsbvGgc7nanUzUWNHSUp1ckk/edit We will be referring to the document in our Spring Board of Directors meeting in April. This report provides a snapshot of the recreational trail rider in BC. The objectives of the study were: To describe the BC Equestrian Trail User; To learn how BC Equestrians use existing trail systems; To measure the level of satisfaction of BC Equestrians with components of the Trail System; and To determine preferred enhancements to the existing trail system. As you read through the report, you may find information that supports your beliefs and other info that may surprise you. All information can be…

'Hit your brakes... not my horse' is the new slogan adapted by the British  Horse Society with hope of getting motorists to slow down! Read this blog post about this unique new public education program. Click here.