~By BCHA Board President, Clare Tone Authors Note: At the Annual Fun Show on Oct 22nd, 2023, the Recognition Award was presented to Dr. Fitch’s daughter, Lindsay Fitch. Before he was Dr. Fitch, Mark grew up on a cattle ranch outside of Gillette, WY where his passion for horses budded through participation in 4-H and […]
Our Horse Community
A Tribute to Jay Hearst
Jay and his horse Sonny, up Niwot Ridge in 2000. Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Webel JAY W. HEARST (1931-2021) A belated tribute to longtime BCHA member and Board member Jay Hearst by Suzanne Webel I met Jay in about 1998 when he called me to announce, “We’ve never met but I ‘m calling […]
Lily Thomas is Awarded the 2022 BCHA Youth Scholarship!
Lily and her colt Westley from the AQHA young horse development program My name is Lily, I have been riding pretty much my whole life but started showing when I was eight! I have been so blessed to get to learn to ride and care for horses as a youth and get to continue on […]
Boulder County Horse Bowl Team Are National Champions
By Mea French Congratulations to the Boulder County Horse Bowl team as they competed in the 2022 Western National 4-H Roundup Horse Classic in Denver on Saturday, January 8th. The team was there proudly representing Colorado as they brought home the national title by winning every single round in which they played. They competed against […]
Galloping Into 2022
For BCHA, 2021 was a great year of promoting, protecting and advocating for the equestrian community of Boulder County. We are galloping into 2022 with new energy and enthusiasm, but let’s do a half-halt and recap what we have accomplished: BCHA grew our Board of Directors and retained important committee leadership! Want to collaborate with […]
Our Condolences: Shirley Lou (Stalker) Garvin
BCHA wishes to extend our condolences to the friends and family of this great woman. Shirley L. Garvin May 6, 1934 — November 23, 2021 Shirley Lou (Stalker) Garvin, 87, of Longmont, CO went into the arms of Jesus on November 23, 2021. What she would want you to know most of all is that […]
Boulder County Horse Association Celebrated 50 Years of Service with their Community
By Brittany Steffensen, BCHA Community Offerings It’s not every day you get to celebrate a 50th year of service as one of Boulder County’s most impactful and long lasting nonprofit organizations, but we did it this year with all of you. On the evening of September 26th the Boulder County Horse Association (BCHA), with its supportive […]
Boulder County 4-H Hippology Team Wins National Championship
2021 Arabian Horse Association Youth Contest October 28-29, 2021 Tulsa, Oklahoma The Boulder County 4-H Hippology Team competed in the 2021 U.S. National Arabian Horse Youth Association Hippology Contest held at the Tulsa Expo Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They were the Champion team in this contest. The Hippology contest consists of four phases: Examination: members […]
What a Fun Day at the 2021 BCHA Fun Show
Carmen Porter and I arrived at 7:30 AM. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the perfect temperature for a show! Doors open and trucks unloaded the office was ready to go. Our announcers, Melissa Page and past BCHA president Laura Edwards (pictured above), arrived…testing 1, 2, 3! Office registration was ready to go with […]
Local CAHC Horse Judging Team Earns National Championship
Pictured: L-R: coach Kendra McConnell, Moriah McQueen, Jessica Jacobucci, Madalyn Gabel, Lily Thomas, coach Rachel LeClere FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCTOBER 31, 2021 The Colorado Arabian Horse Club (CAHC)/Region VIII Arabian Youth Horse Judging Team dominated the U.S. Arabian & Half-Arabian National Championship Youth Judging Contest on October 29, 2021. The contest was hosted during the […]
BCHA Bike/Horse Educational Presentations
Randy Winter, BCHA Trail Advisor On September 28, 2021, Randy and Cheryl Winter, along with their horse, Ellie, met up with a few cyclists from the Boulder High School Mountain Biking Team. Randy, BCHAs Trails Committee Advisor, and his herd mates have provided bike-horse interaction presentations to multi-trail user groups for quite a long time. […]
The positive side of being lame
BCHA would like to introduce our newest business member to the BCHA herd, Anna Mannerfelt. She is the owner of Wired Mustang, a full service digital marketing firm specializing in Equine related businesses. Anna recently sent me this inspiring story to share with our readers: By Anna Mannerfelt Howdy BCHA team and members, I failed […]
Planning to trail ride on National Forest?
By Clare Tone Download the free U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Motor Vehicle Use Maps first! The USFS has established official Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) for the Roosevelt and Arapaho National Forests. These National Forests include some great horseback riding trails in Western Boulder County. The MVUM displays National Forest routes, roads and trails open […]
BCHA Announces its 2021 BCHA Youth Scholarship Recipients!
PRESS RELEASE: AUGUST 20, 2021 The Boulder County Horse Association (BCHA) is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2021 BCHA Youth Scholarships: Nora Ditzel, $250 Teen Scholarship Madeline Williams, $750 Collegiate Scholarship These two very impressive young horsewomen demonstrated equestrian dedication, along with high standards of character in their community involvement and educational achievements. […]
On the Trails: What’s New!
By Randy Winter, BCHA Trail Advisor I recently met with City of Boulder Open Space staff on a variety of topics. We covered a lot of ground—so to speak. Here is a April update on trails around Boulder County. Hall Ranch Thanks to trail maintenance crews, it’s smooth sailing into the horse trailer parking area […]
Liz & Stitch
This BCHA Share Your Story is by Liz French Liz French was awarded the BCHA Teen Scholarship in 2018. In her scholarship application she wrote about using the $250 award to further her dream of adopting a wild mustang. Fast forward several years and now Liz is a senior at Silver Creek High School in […]
Melissa Page & Riddle: A COVID ❤︎ Story
This BCHA Share Your Story is by Melissa Page If you have a conversation with most “horse” people, there’s a fantastic chance they’ll recount how they landed with their first horse and the life changing markers that relationship produced. As a fairly new and now initiated member of the pack, I rarely introduce myself without […]
BCHA Gallops Towards 50: 2010 to the Present
A couple of weeks ago I put the last of the physical archives back in storage. Without tangible clippings, photos and newsletters in my hands I feel my grip on the magic of the past loosening—and perhaps that’s fitting. I turn now to the digital landscape and our amazing boulderhorse.org website. I have to dig […]
Our Horse Community: How I’m spending my Pandemic Time
By Mary Cook My friend and fellow horse lover, Linda Parks, asked if I would share my experience in Ojai, California during the Pandemic as part of the BCHA series “Our Horse Community.” In April 2020, my daughter, son-in-law and 7-year-old grandson had had enough of living in Washington DC. They had been thinking about […]
BCHA Gallops Toward 50: The 1990s in Boulder County
The 1990s opened by showcasing a horse-human relationship in a film that went on to win the 1991 Best Picture Oscar Award. When “Dances with Wolves” filled movie theaters (remember those?) hearts thumped loudly. But for horse lovers everywhere the question remains, did hearts thump louder for John Dunbar or the dun horse ‘Cisco’? It […]
Local Horse Judging Team Earns National Championship
For Immediate Release: November 16, 2020 Contact: Kendra McConnell, Coach 303-956-2885 The Colorado Arabian Horse Club (CAHC)/Region VIII Arabian Youth Horse Judging Team dominated the U.S. Arabian & Half-Arabian National Championship Youth Judging Contest on November 14, 2020. The contest is typically hosted during the national championship show held at Tulsa Expo Square, Tulsa, Okla., […]
A Fire Season of Historic Proportions
By Clare Tone Photo: Joe LaFollette, temporary pens at Boulder County Fairgrounds It’s likely residents of Boulder County were in a heightened state of wildfire awareness as drought conditions persisted through October and historic wildfires raged elsewhere throughout the west. When the Calwood and Lefthand Canyon Fires broke out in Boulder County in mid-October, the […]
Big Win for the Boulder County Hippology Team!
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2020— The Boulder County 4-H Hippology Team took home first place in the National Arabian Horse Hippology Contest. In addition to the team’s first place win, Liz French garnered the highest individual overall score. This year nine teams from around the country competed for six grueling hours over Zoom. Each hippology team […]
Wildfire Smoke & Livestock
From UC Davis Severe wildfires expose humans and animals to unhealthy air containing who knows what! These particulates can affect our respiratory systems. There is limited information available to horse owners, but the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine published Guidelines for Horses Exposed to Smoke. Quick takeaways (from UC Davis article Wildfire Smoke and […]
H.O.O.F Horse/Livestock Operation Find Form
Download the HOOF form—save time and lives! Just before the 2020 firestorm, horse evacuation emergencies was at the top of our list! BCHA was working with Brandy Perkins, Animal Control Officer with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office to revise the Horse/Livestock Operation Find (HOOF) Form. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office is the central dispatch for […]
