Archives-BCHA history

Kudos and Achievements

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In 2022 We Have: Grown and stabilized our leadership team coming out of the Covid Pandemic era by welcoming Jonas Balloga to the Board as Secretary and Jodi Fowler as Chair of our newly formed Emergency Preparedness Committee. Hosted our first Emergency Preparedness Clinic alongside Boulder County Mounted Search and Rescue, Boulder County Animal Control and the Boulder County Fairgrounds. Fundraised for and awarded two youth scholarships Provided education on how to interact with horses on shared trails to over 215 mountain bikers in collaboration with the City of Boulder OSMP, Boulder Mountainbike Alliance and the Singletrack Mountain Bike Alliance. Gathered for a trail ride up at Caribou Ranch, with picnic and guest speakers. Held a fun and successful Fun Show in October with broad support from key community business partners and dedicated member volunteers. Engaged with Boulder County in key areas of impact to equestrians including evolving rules & regulations around e-bikes and firearms/shooting. Established a strong Facebook presence thanks to our hard-working social media team. Started updating our website to ensure a lasting and easy-to-manage presence that will span into the future. Held board meetings and sent out newsletters every month through 2022 to keep the work of the organization moving forward! If you are glad we did any of the above, or if you have an idea of how you could do it better, WE WELCOME YOUR HELP!

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

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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 Gallops Towards 50: 2010 to the Present

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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 a little, but thanks to the vision and technical know-how of recent leaders, I can travel back in time online all the way to 2010. I pick up the thread of history there, and begin to weave together the most recent decade and the years leading up to our pivotal moment in time as we gallop into our 50th year! Floods, Fires, VS, and a Pandemic—Really? The Floods How could any of us forget September 2013. Between September 11–15 more than 18 inches of rain fell in Boulder County and the neighboring front range areas. The historic flooding along Boulder’s 15 drainages, earned its designation as a Federal Disaster Area. In all, 17 counties were affected in Colorado requiring the biggest airlift rescue operation since Hurricane Katrina. Boulder County horse owners had to cope with extremely scary weather conditions, on top of concerns about the health and wellness of their equines and the land they lived on. Foothills communities were cut off and experienced extensive damage. Emergency evacuations were ongoing over the course of several days. Sitting above the floods at an elevation of 9,000 feet, the hilltop pasture at Broken Arrow Ranch provided an impromptu helicopter landing area for crews performing

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BCHA Gallops Toward 50: 2000 – 2009 in Boulder County

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Against all odds—or so it seemed at the time—the Boulder County Horsemen’s Association (BCHA) survived Y2K. BCHA delivered itself safely into the first decade of a new millennium as a freshly minted 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Shortly thereafter, in a nod to more progressive times ahead, a minor name change reflected major cultural shifts when the organization’s name was changed to Boulder County Horse Association. The new millennium launched with a standing room only crowd at the BCHA’s annual meeting in February 2000. At that time 17 members graced the board. Suzanne Webel was at the helm as President, with Judd Adams, Margaret Lewis and Cathy Swanson in various VP roles. At the meeting: Mary Midkiff and Margot Nacey presented Fit to Ride: Body & Mind The annual achievement award was presented to local equine veterinarian Dr. Nancy Loving The gorgeously glossy millennium edition of the BCHA Horse Services Directory was distributed Notable trends of the BCHA Horse Services Directory showed: 9 listings for acupuncture/herbal medicine/massage and chiropractic 9 listings for Natural Horsemanship (including Tai Chi for Horsemen) 5 listings for equine supplements and vitamins A whopping 10 listings for ‘horse therapy’ Horses and the New Millennium in Boulder County In the years 2000–2003: The  Colorado Horse Rescue moved to its current location on 65th Street in Longmont Local hay cost only $4/bale (but the price was beginning to be unsustainable for some farmers growing and harvesting it) Mounted Search & Rescue was in full swing in collaboration with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office BCHA launched its

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BCHA Gallops Toward 50: The 1990s in Boulder County

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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 was clearly a dynamic, productive and energizing time for the Boulder County Horse Association, and horse folks throughout Boulder County. The BCHA archives for the 1990s provided me with huge stacks of material. In the BCHA Horse Services Directory from that era it lists: a bale of brome grass/alfalfa mix hay for $4.00 a annual BCHA individual membership for $5.00 horse boarding near Rabbit Mountain for $40/month ($50 in winter including hay)! In the early 90s, Randy Winter was at the helm as President of BCHA. He was followed by Creighton Stewart. After his stint as president, Randy continued to write articles with a philosophical bent for the BCHA newsletter. He cleverly titled his column Centered Writing, a nod to famed New England horsewoman of the time, Sally Swift. For example, in February 1990 Randy wrote: Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. There must have been something over there it wanted. Why does my horse, Gus, move on down the road? Usually it’s because he wants to get home quicker. Why do a group of dedicated people continue to travel the road? It’s to get to meetings….to discuss the future of a bunch of

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The 1980s: Article No. 4 — BCHA Gallops Towards 50

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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 was in school throughout the 1980s, it represents the transition from analog to digital. The 1980s were a decade of acceleration, but nowhere near the pace of how things zip along today with smartphones and ubiquitous internet connections. In some odd, quirky, time-warp way the culture of the 1980s seems the mirror opposite of our culture today during this pandemic time. While the 1980s marked a kind of technical acceleration, here we are right now forced to slow down. Perhaps a slowing down that could bring us into contact with some of the better qualities of the 1980s. As a high school student in the early 1980s my assignments were typed on an old relic of a typewriter. By senior year things were clipping along a little better on an electric typewriter with an automatic erasure key! By college I was bogged down trying to learn MS DOS on the very first publicly available personal computers. Yes, computers were invented by then, but they were so much less efficient than the modes of communication I knew. Supposedly there was some form of e-mail, but most of us kids of the 80s still plugged along slowly to communicate. I wrote longhand letters

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The 1970s: Article No. 3 — BCHA Gallops Towards 50

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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 for a buck fifty. Rent averaged $150 per month nationally. A gallon of gas cost 40 cents. This was the year the Boulder County Horsemen’s Association (BCHA) was formed, and the first BCHA president, Judith (Judy) Lilly* was elected to the Board of Directors (Photo A). Text from the undated Boulder Daily Camera article states “A Horseman’s Association is being formed in Boulder County and all interested persons are asked to attend the initial meeting Tuesday, February 9th in the Bureau of Standards auditorium… First objective of the organization will be to work with various city, county and private interests to provide a network of bridle trails for Boulder County.” By April, 1971, articles of incorporation were signed and by-laws published for Boulder County Horsemen’s Association, a non-profit corporation: …This corporation is formed to provide an organization and association, not for profit; to stabilise and standardise and stimulate the horsemen of Boulder County…. Even in 1971 the bike vs. horse dilemma was a ‘thing’ in Boulder County. This photograph (Photo B) from the May 4th edition of The Boulder Camera features the 13-year-old son of BCHA president Judy Lilly on horseback next to a cyclist. Notice the external frame backpack on

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In The Time Before BCHA

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Article No. 2: of the BCHA History Series “Galloping Toward 50!” [blockquote quote=”History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside.” source=”John F. Kennedy” align=”left”] 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 and cultural heritage enough to make the mind spin. This heritage sets the stage for all that has and will happen since. To trace the arc of history here is to look through a lens at the interconnected history of horses and agriculture in order to better understand our place now and to create a future worthy of the inheritance of all that has come before. Before white settlers, farmers, and gold miners arrived to create Colorado Territory there were centuries of habitation in this area by native peoples. By the middle of the 1500s the Rocky Mountains of today’s Colorado had already been occupied by Ute peoples for nearly a century. Several distinct Ute bands roamed the Front Range in what would become Boulder County. Following the pattern of the seasons, summer was spent at higher elevations while autumn and winter encouraged migration to lower altitudes, following game to those milder climates. After the 1640s when the Utes obtained Spanish horses, the river valleys became important wintering grounds. By

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BCHA Gallops Towards Its 50th Birthday

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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 stomach every time she thought about horses, which was almost every minute of every day. Across the country that same year, in a beautiful hamlet on the brink of a tumultuous transition from rural to cosmopolitan, 110 residents of Boulder County gathered on February 7th at the National Bureau of Standards to form the Boulder County Horsemen’s Association (BCHA). Perhaps it was no fluke that BCHA came into being in what is known today as The National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST on South Broadway in Boulder. This is the place that houses the clock by which all clocks in the country are set. A clock that has ticked just shy of 1,576,800,000 times to mark the near fifty years BCHA has done its important work of promoting, protecting and unifying the equestrian community of Boulder County through education, recreation and legislation. Fast forward to 2020 and that little girl is now 53. She can’t help but imagine back to February 7th, 1971 wistfully, picturing 110 people gathered at NIST dressed in flowing flower-patterned shirts and high-waisted bell bottom jeans nearly obscuring dusty cowboy boots. Although her imagination has always run a little wild she knows one thing for sure: If it weren’t

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It was a beautiful day at the membership ride

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It turned out to be a lovely day at the BCHA Membership and Volunteer Appreciation Ride on May 18th, at the Beech Pavilion. Riders arrived, we tacked up, then rode South to the Boulder Valley Ranch Open Space. We joined up with two riders who were riding out on the trail from Good Reception Barn in Erie. They had never heard about our Association and stopped in for a cool drink before heading back to their barn. The complimentary lunch was delicious with a selection of sandwiches, fruit, chips, brownies and macaroons, and cool drinks. After lunch a dear friend Patricia Logan presented a wonderful and informative hands-on equine massage. The lucky horse, Spear, owned by Mary Cook, happily volunteered. Patricia’s presentation gave us take-home techniques we could use on our own equine friends. Thank you Patti for volunteering your time, and all those who came out to be appreciated, we all so enjoyed visiting with you—I know Spear did! Linda P BCHA Board Member

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