By Clare Tone Clare is a Boulder County Horse Association (BCHA) committee member and freelance writer living in western Boulder County. In this monthly column leading up to our 50th Anniversary she explores the rich history of BCHA. What does the 1980s conjure up for you—big hair, neon clothing, high-waisted jeans? For me, because I […]
The 1970s: Article No. 3 — BCHA Gallops Towards 50
By Clare Tone “BCHA is nothing without you, the horse owner and enthusiast who cares enough about your equine friends and their future in Boulder County to join with us in our dedication to maintain our heritage.” –BCHA 1976 In 1971 there were roughly 67,000 people living in Boulder. You could go to the movies […]
City of Boulder OSMP Irrigated Agricultural Lands—An Ecosystem Collapsing
By Linda P In order to protect those from recent activities reported by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office of over $100,000 of damage to PD mitigation equipment on Boulder County Open Space Lands names and locations have been omitted. Many of us are deeply concerned about the health and future of our OSMP irrigated agricultural lands. […]
In The Time Before BCHA
Article No. 2: of the BCHA History Series “Galloping Toward 50!” By Clare Tone Before there was Boulder County Horse Association (BCHA), before there was Boulder County and even before there was a state called Colorado or a place called Colorado Territory, there was this distinct place in the world. A place with geologic, natural […]
Baling Twine—what barn doesn’t have some!
By Linda P Recently, looking at a handful of baling twine, it made me recall a post I did quite a while ago, What do you do with all that baling twine? I thought I would revisit this and share some recycling resources. Baling twine just seems to accumulate, with most of it winding up in the landfill. […]
What to Read This Summer
I wanted to share this list of “reads” from Ranchlands—a blog I follow. From epic novels about the “old West”, like The Ox-bow Incident, to meditations on the natural world like Desert Solitaire, and humanity’s place in it. Ranchlands is an agricultural-based business that operates large-scale cattle and bison ranches in the American West. They […]
Boulder County 4-H Horse Program: Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Carmen Porter The Boulder County 4-H Youth Development program provides opportunities for members age 8–18 to develop life skills through their 4-H horse project under the direction of CSU extension, and powered by volunteer 4-H horse leaders. This 4-H year started out like any other for kids and their horses, with many hands-on opportunities […]
BCHA Gallops Towards Its 50th Birthday
By Clare Tone Feature photo: the author riding Clooney, circa 1974 The year was 1971 and a five-year-old girl was growing up in love with horses in the suburbs of Chicago. She hadn’t yet started weekly horseback riding lessons with her sister, those would start next year. She was shy and butterflies darted in her […]
A Hidden Injury to the Equine Mouth
By Linda P I have been increasing my connecting to friends during this COVID-19 pandemic—more than usual in fact—and happy doing so. Most are healthy and doing their best to keep busy. But last week I connected with one equine friend and long-time BCHA member, to see how she was doing. She is fine, but […]
Update on our City of Boulder Agricultural Lands and Prairie Dogs due to COVID-19
By Linda P As many of you may know we have a big problem on City of Boulder Open Space Agricultural Lands due to uncontrolled growth of prairie dogs. Our open space and agricultural lands have been under attack ever since Council voted to protect them over 10 years ago. Left to continuously breed with […]
Can you ride on Boulder County Open Space during COVID-19?
Update on trials from Randy Winter, BCHA Trail Liaison March 26, 2020 Many of you may wonder if it is okay to ride your horse on Boulder County Open Space during the current COVID-19 regulations. Today, Cheryl Winter and some friends were out riding on Boulder County Open Space, and were approached by a maintenance […]
Giving Back—Colorado Horse Rescue
By Mary Cook Recently retired, I found myself with time on my hands that I wanted to put to good use. I decided to apply to be a volunteer at the Colorado Horse Rescue (CHR) in Longmont, Colorado. Having been a horse lover all my life, and a horse owner for the past 20 years, this seemed like […]
Boulder’s Agricultural and Open Space Lands: What’s Our Legacy?
By Linda P When I moved here in 1991, our grasslands were bountiful and ecologically diverse. Our City and County Open Space grasslands would ebb and flow in the wind—reminding me of the ocean waves of my childhood growing up on Long Island. On Jan. 18, 2000, the City of Boulder adopted an ordinance prohibiting […]
Baby it’s Goin, Goin, Gone—a spectacular landscape soon to be was!
By Linda P “After purchasing the land in the 1980’s, Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) partnered with the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service to stabilize and improve the soil by seeding native grasses. Thirty years later, the grass cover and height create some of the best ground nesting bird habitat in Boulder County.” It’s […]
Boulder County Launches Trails App
The Boulder Area Trails App is designed to connect local communities, enable users to find trails by use or type, allow users to plan routes, and link users to agency websites for more information. As the weather warms up you might find this new App useful in planning your next ride or hike on Boulder […]
Horse Trailer Parking Signage Changes at the Dowdy Draw Trailhead
We all know how frustrating it is when you arrive at a trailhead and find cars parked in horse trailer assigned spaces. Our BCHA 2019 survey results expressed concerns among equestrians on just this subject. Last year we met with OSMP staff to see what could be done. Randy Winter, BCHAs Open Space trails liaison […]
