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Wednesday, 22 October 2014 18:12
BCHBC Chapter Profile: North Thompson
The North Thompson (NT) Chapter was formed in 2012 by Connie Falk, after she put an advertisement in the local newspaper calling for people interested in joining a new chapter of the Backcountry Horsemen of BC. That was in 2012, and we now have 30 members in the chapter comprising people from Clearwater, Barriere, McLure, all the way down to Merritt and the Lower Mainland. The chapter meets on the third Wednesday every month; except for the summer months when we are too busy riding to meet up. We spend our meeting time covering our usual business and planning rides, work bees and our yearly trail projects that we take on. Since our inception in 2012, the NT Chapter has organized and put on Rendezvous 2013 at the Barriere Fairgrounds, which was a lot of fun, hard work and a great way to meet the rest of the Backcountry Horsemen…
Tuesday, 14 October 2014 19:38
The Lundbom Lake Campground Improvement Project
Lundbom Lake Recreation Site is set in the grassland hills above the town of Merritt, B.C., near Kelowna. It is a favourite place of mine to ride and camp. The beauty is just incredible. There are numerous lakes scattered over the grasslands and trails that lead to some amazing views of the Nicola Valley. Lucky riders can see wildlife out on the trail plus many cattle, as this is grazing lands for local ranchers. Over the years, Lundbom has become one of the most popular horse camping destinations. The corrals that Back Country Horsemen BC built many years ago were in desperate need of repair or replacement. Back Country Horsemen of BC saw the need and responded. In May 2014 a small delegated group of BCHBC members met with Ed Ables, District Officer from Recreation Sites and Trails BC, and the camp host Ann Jeffery to talk about improvement to the…
Tuesday, 14 October 2014 19:14
Working With Local Government for Trail Improvements
Back Country Horsemen of BC volunteers get ready to work on a bridge in the Wildwood Forest last summer. From left to right: Susan Mendonca, John Eigler, Karen Eigler, Meg Watts-Findlay, Sharon Pickthorne and Bonnie Hull. NORTH VANCOUVER ISLAND CHAPTER REPORT - By Terri Perrin The old saying – many hands make light work – certainly rings true when it comes to multi-use recreational trail development in British Columbia. Just ask Sharon Pickthorne, chair of the North Vancouver Island (NVI) chapter of Back Country Horsemen of BC (BCHBC). An avid equestrian who logs hundreds of hours on horseback every year, Pickthorne can recall dozens of examples across the province where communication and collaboration with local governments has opened new opportunities for trail riders and ensured an on-going ‘right to ride’ in local parks and green spaces. But it is the ones here in the Comox Valley that she, and fellow…
Monday, 06 October 2014 15:44
BCHBC Chapter Profile: Central Vancouver Island
The Central Vancouver Island (CVI) Chapter has approximately 50 members and serves the central part of Vancouver Island, with members from Victoria, Gabriola, Chemanius, Ladysmith, Nanaimo, Greater Nanaimo, Parksville, Qualicum, Errington, and Coombs. The CVI Chapter meets on the third Monday of each month at a public location (guests welcome), with a 6 p.m. social and 7 p.m. business meeting. Our meeting location has a kitchen, washrooms, and a large area to host presentations. The CVI Chapter was formed in 2012, by a strong group of BCHBC enthusiasts that wanted to apply the BCHBC missions to the geographic area, particularly to ensure a voice towards the protection and development of parks and trails. This included collaboration and the development of partnerships with the large Regional District of Nanaimo’s parks and trail strategies, North Cowichan Forest Land Management, Ministry of Forest’s crown lands, local cycling groups, and the Trans Canada Trail…
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Sunday, 31 August 2014 14:45
Local horse club partners with McBride Community Forest to grade Holmes River Road
By Birgit Stutz (As published in The Valley Sentinel, Robson Valley edition, Thursday, August 14, 2014) “The work needed to be done rather sooner than later so more people can take advantage of a better road to drive on.” Brian Wallace, Chair of Back Country Horsemen of BC Robson Valley Chapter The Holmes River road is now more pleasant to travel on after some grading work a couple of weeks ago. The Back Country Horsemen of BC (BCHBC) Robson Valley Chapter recently proposed, organized and managed the grading of the Holmes River Road as a way of giving back to the community, said BCHBC Robson Valley Chapter Chair Brian Wallace. “The road had not been maintained over the past several years. The purpose of this project was to sustain and improve access for all recreational users, including tourists and locals, of the road and trails for their enjoyment.” Wallace said…
Sunday, 31 August 2014 14:19
Central VI Chapter at Work
Back Country Horsemen Never Forget!By Anne Fiddick About 10 years ago, Backcountry Horsemen of BC partnered with the Cedar Horse Club on Vancouver Island and spent $500 to get signs made and installed at Hemer Park in Cedar, BC. They received that money long ago but had to negotiate with ever changing BC Parks personnel to accept the notion that the original Hemer Park uses included horse trails. Finally, early this summer (2014), they got approval for the design of the signs and permission to install them in the park. Well guess what? Thanks to a group of dedicated horseback riders in Cedar Horse Club, the trail courtesy signs are now installed in Hemer Park! Hooray! Below is an account and photos of the work bee. Monday June 28th was a very hot day. Everyone worked hard and sweated bullets. All deserve a medal for effort and endurance.…
Tuesday, 12 August 2014 16:55
BCHBC Northwest Chapter in the News
As published July 30th, 2014 in the Interior News, Smithers, BC.
Monday, 04 August 2014 20:38
The Lundbom Lake Improvement Project
Help Us Help You.... Ride, Ride, Ride! A volunteer work party is planned for October 2-5, 2014. Photos courtesy of Nina Christmas Lundbom Lake is a beautiful, large remote recreation lake nestled in the back country desert hills located east of the community of Merritt, BC, Canada. The lake is a popular destination for many activities like fishing, hiking, canoeing, riding and camping when exploring the countryside near Sugarloaf Mountain. It is near Merritt and Quilchena, B.C. The Back Country Horsemen Society of BC (BCHBC) and Recreation Sites and Trails BC (RSTBC) are working in partnership to make improvements to Lundbom Lake, which is one of the most popular equestrian camping and trail riding venues in the province of BC. Riders from all over BC and the State of Washington come here to enjoy holiday time with their horses and mules. The site is urgently in need of an upgrade…
Sunday, 27 July 2014 11:52
Salmon Brewster Horse Camps on Vancouver Island.
These facilities were developed by the North Vancouver Island Chapter of Back Country Horsemen of BC, in cooperation with many industry, government and community stakeholders. The grand opening was held in July 2013. There are two developed horse camps, one at each end of the Salmon Brewster non-motorized trail corridor, which is approximately 31-kilometres long. It is located in the Sayward Valley, near Campbell River, and is part of the Discovery Coast Recreation District, Recreation Sites and Trails Branch. Special thanks to: & TO DOWNLOAD PDF FILES, CLICK DESCRIPTION BELOW: Donation form, to support on-going camp & trail maintenance & development Directions (map) to the camp sites Map of the Salmon Brewster Trail Corridor Map of the Brewster Horse Camp Map of the Memekay Horse Camp Want to know more? BCHBC's NVI Chapter published a book on this project in February 2015: Scroll down for more photos and info about…
Thursday, 24 July 2014 14:51
A Call for Saddle Up! Articles
Hay there BCHBC Members! We need your articles for the BCHBC Page in Saddle Up Magazine! BCHBC encourages all Chapters to submit articles for inclusion in Saddle Up Magazine. Our page in Saddle Up is a great way for us to tell the whole world about who we are, what we do, and how much fun we have out there... With our friends, our horses and our beautiful “beyond”! Articles should have a wide appeal, and have a focus of engaging the general horse community even if they have never been on a trail ride. Articles can feature Chapter events, group efforts on trail clearing, relevant educational events, new trails that have been opened, rides, local area trails (public), pack trips, etc. Articles featured by BCHBC should not be time sensitive, or feature trails that are private – generally all stories should relate to – and connect the reader to…
Tuesday, 24 June 2014 10:28
CVI: New Horse Trailer Staging Area
Back Country Horsemen of BC members hard at work! BEFORE AFTER Earlier this year, the Central Vancouver Island Chapter (CVI) of the BCHBC applied for and received funding from Horse Council to continue to develop a Horse Trailer Staging area on a portion of Crown Land, what is surrounded by approximately 3500 ha of Crown land. The staging area was roughed out last year, but there was still a significant amount of broom bush to clear. After working with a local aggregate company and a community volunteer, arrangements were made to have the site leveled and cleared. Funds from both the CVI Chapter and Horse Council are being utilized to fund the site grading, gravelling the entrance and exit and installation of BCHBC signage. Gravelling of the approaches will occur in August. The new Horse Trailer Parking area is now approximately 3 clear acres in size. With extensive…
Tuesday, 03 June 2014 14:37
Meet Your 2014/2015 Provincial Executive
The Back Country Horsemen Society of British Columbia (BCHBC) elected its 2014/2015 Executive at its Annual General Meeting on May 31, 2014. We would like to introduce you to the people who will guide our organization over the coming months. Welcome to our new Executive members and welcome back to those who are returning to continue their terms of service. We appreciate your efforts on our behalf! And thank you to those whose time on the board is complete. You efforts have been appreciated! PRESIDENT: Brian Wallace Brian Wallace lives in McBride and is a founding member of the Robson Valley Chapter which started 4 years ago. Since that time, Brian has been the president of his chapter and as such has been on the BCBCH board of directors. Brian is also the chair of the BCBCH trails committee. Brian was elected to the BCHBC executive as a vice president in…
Tuesday, 03 June 2014 08:39
RV 2014 Kicked Up... Is All Wrapped up!
Thanks to the RV Committee for putting on a FABULOUS event!Your efforts were much appreciated! Look who won the Canadian Tire Saddle Raffle! Congratulations Heather Bradshaw of Langley, BC Click here to learn more! Other Event Winners were: Hoof and Woof was won by Al Stewart (Kootenay) and Ed Bakstad (Okanagan) Reserve champs were Pat Johannson and Gail Robinson (Kamloops) Age and Weight Packing were won by Cindy Corney (Aldergrove) and Rolly Nuetzel (Yarrow) Divorce Course was won by Malcolm Dion and Scott Walker (Okanagan) Malcolm Dion and Scott Walker (Okanagan) also won the Bullwinkle Challenge and the coveted Packing Championship buckles!! The Horse’s Ass award (a hand forged horse’s bum) went to Susan Cashen and David Crowe, non members from White Lake who put in a truly appalling performance in Divorce Course, destroying several cedar trees and driving over chairman of Aldergrove, Brian Harder at least once.…
Tuesday, 27 May 2014 10:10
Cowboy Poetry Contest
Do it for Ernie! UPDATE: The RV2014 Ernie Buckle went to Mary Huntington (Kamloops) with honorable mention to Jim McCrae (Aldergrove) and Rose Schroeder (Yarrow) There were well performed, heart wrenching poems by several people. A tough call. ------------------------------------------------------------- Last year we lost one a good one, when long-time BCHBC member Ernie Buckle passed away. When he recited “The Buckskin Mare” around a campfire or at our annual Rendezvous, there usually wasn’t a dry eye in the house. This year we are remembering Ernie with a Cowboy Poetry contest in the pub at MREC, and a chance to win The Ernie Buckle! Even if you just come in for an hour give it your best shot with your best poem. To book a time contact Linda at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Sheila at 604-839-6606. Do it for Ernie! Here is some more information about the contest: COWBOY UP! At the Ernie…