Clare Tone

Boulder County Horse Association Celebrated 50 Years of Service with their Community

Archives-BCHA history /

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 and fun community, gathered at the Longmont Museum Swan Atrium to celebrate. It was a long awaited special event, with the joy and comradery seen and felt amongst the new and familiar faces. The 50th Anniversary & Annual Gathering was a sight to behold. Centerpieces made of horse snacks caught your eye with their bright colors, mouthwatering hor d’oeuvres floated throughout the crowd while everyone sipped from their complimentary BCHA glasses and the tunes from a lone guitarist sounded throughout the space. The room was filled with In-kind donated gifts from local artists and business owners that instigated some friendly silent bidding in support of BCHA. From paintings and jewelry to handmade goods and professional equine services and learning opportunities, we had it all. Not only were the silent auction items unforgettable, so was the special guest speaker Dr. Tamar McKee, PhD. A local of Boulder, Colorado, Tamar had us all captivated with her presentation; Horse Empowered: how equines help us hold space in times of historic and ecological change. You could hear a pin drop in the room as she so eloquently spoke to the group. Through a mixture of storytelling and historical analysis, McKee created a cinematic view of the […]

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BCHA Bike/Horse Educational Presentations

archives, Archives-Advocacy & public lands /

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. As Cheryl described, “their horse Ellie had her early in-hand training days at trailheads. Bikers helped us train her to accept bikes by giving her cookies when she did well. So when Ellie saw the onslaught of bikes coming at her she had visions of cookies dancing in her little red head.” The day (pictured here) was the fourth consecutive session covering a total of 130 high school students. These presentations were about 30 minutes, and seemed to be well received. Afterwards, attendees were invited to come meet Ellie and give her a cookie. WEEEELLLLL, Ellie sure charmed them all and she was soon swarmed over by students.  Some were petting and laying over her back because she was “so soft”, others were taking selfies with her. For many it was their first up-close and personal time with a horse. While others who had ridden before said the experience made them want to start riding again. Whichever way you took it, Ellie was there to help. Needless to say she was a star and helped get the bike/horse world off better connected! [divider style=”solid” color=”#cccccc” opacity=”1″ icon_color=”#666666″ icon_size=”15″ placement=”equal”]To arrange a bike/horse educational presentation with your group please contact Randy Winter

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Planning to trail ride on National Forest?

Advocacy-public lands-resources /

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 to legal motorized travel (4WD, ATVs/UTVs, motorbikes, etc). Importantly, routes not shown on the MVUM are not open to motor vehicles. It’s not enough for vehicles to rely on signs to indicate where they can ride on the National Forest. It is the vehicle user’s responsibility to refer to the MVUM to ensure they are riding on legally designated routes. What does this mean for horseback riders? We can use the MVUM to plan our rides on USFS lands to minimize potentially dangerous run-ins with vehicles. The maps can be printed directly from the USFS website. Even better, download the FREE map onto your smartphone from the Avenza App store. The App does not require internet/cell reception to display map features and your location in real time. Below are the  links to the areas covered by the Boulder Ranger District. You can also find other MVUM areas in the Avenza store as well! Roosevelt National Forest: North Half Roosevelt National Forest: South Half  What should you do if you encounter vehicles on undesignated routes? As always it’s best to demonstrate good trail etiquette and communication. Often it’s a chance to educate others about safe interaction between horses and vehicles. When we

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