archives

Pre 2022 material from the old website

In The Time Before BCHA

archives, Archives-BCHA history /

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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Baby it’s Goin, Goin, Gone—a spectacular landscape soon to be was!

archives, Archives-Advocacy & public lands /

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 hard to believe the above description from my current visit to this open space. Here we go again with another public hearing on the Gunbarrel Hill Integrated Site Project on February 13th. Last week I loaded up my horse and met two friends at Gunbarrel Hill. We tacked up and went to take a look at the current conditions. As we rode all our familiar trails (trails ridden for more than 20 years) we found that the four—North, South, East, West prairie dogs (PDs) colonies have exploded and are quickly coming together. The marvel of the 30-year grassland restoration is turning into a wasteland—just another badly managed City of Boulder Open Space property. Like a swarm of locusts, PDs are devouring everything. We silently walked past holes, so many only just recent (within the last few months). Our emotions went from anger, to a deep sense of loss, because we knew it will all be gone soon. My crystal ball says, “without immediate intervention, and yes that means lethal control, this 30-year restoration project will be gone within one to two years.” So I ask, where are all those ground nesting grassland birds going to go? How is our visitor experience

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Boulder County Launches Trails App

archives, Archives-Trails History /

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 County Open Space. ONE APP ALL THE TRAILS Provides a single source for all designated public recreation trails and trailheads in and around Boulder and Broomfield counties. REAL TIME TRAIL CLOSURES Trails closures are posted as soon as they are announced by each participating agency. OFFLINE MAPS The app will continue to work even when there is no cellular service. SET FAVORITES Select your favorite trails and trailheads for easy access. The application includes trails from 12 agencies including: Boulder County City and County of Broomfield City of Boulder City of Longmont City of Lafayette City of Louisville Rocky Mountain National Park Town of Superior Town of Erie Town of Lyons Town of Nederland USFS Download the Boulder Area Trails App For more information visit Boulder Area Trails and/or read John Spina’s article.

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The New Grindstone Quarry Trail at Heil Valley Ranch

archives, Archives-Trails History /

By Randy Winter There were lots of smiles all around at the grand opening of the Grindstone Quarry Trail at Heil Valley Ranch on October 9th. This is a 1.4 mile pedestrian/equestrian only trail beautifully winding it’s way up the east side of Geer Canyon Road. In addition, there are four horse trailer parking spaces at the new Corral Trailhead ready and waiting to be used. The Corral Trailhead is just a few tenths of a mile after you turn off Lefthand Canyon Road. My wife, Cheryl, and I checked out the trail last Sunday. The weather was perfect. Bright sunshine, cool temperature and a slight breeze at times. Saddling up, our horses were aware of the Sunday commotion of others preparing to enjoy the day as we were. We could see eyes looking our way with smiles and as Ranger Kevin Bradley passed by he shouted a “glad to see equestrians out here” greeting. The horses with their growing winter coats approached the trail with eagerness and ears pricked forward. A few well configured steps going down and up, across a dry creek bed quickly diverted our horses attention to the trail and the task ahead. We continued up a path well constructed with switchbacks supported by quarried layers of rock. Thanks to all those who volunteered and were part of the County work crew to create such a welcoming trail. A few bluebird boxes could be seen waiting for occupants next spring. Families with children were the major obstacle along the trail as we

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BCHA Awards its Two Youth Scholarships

archives, Archives-Youth /

Congratulations Maddie and Liz! When the BCHA Youth Club formed three years ago, one of its primary objectives was to raise money for two new youth equestrian scholarships. The BCHA board is pleased to announce the names of our first two recipients: Madeline “Maddie” Williams $750 Collegiate Scholarship Awardee Maddie spends almost all of her spare time either riding, training, or taking care of horses. Her special interests include natural horsemanship, ranch versatility, and reining. She has shown horses through 4-H at the Boulder County Fair and in St. Vrain shows, but she has also honed her equine evaluation skills as part of St Vrain’s Horse Judging Career Development Event Team. Her last year earning was 4th Place at the 2018 National FFA competition. Maddie also takes pride in her dairy cattle showmanship and judging skills. She will be attending Aims Community College this fall, and will graduate in two years with an Animal Science Associates Degree, after which she intends to transfer to CSU in Ft. Collins, to study Equine Veterinary Sciences. “I plan to beome a holistic equine veterinarian,” says Maddie, explaining that she wants to help horses using all kinds of healing techniques, including acupuncture, equine dentistry, farriering, chiropractic treatment, herbal remedies, and laser therapy. Liz French $250 Teen Scholarship Awardee Liz first sat on a horse at the tender age of two, this was also the age she first fell off a horse—she reports with a smile.From then on she was hooked. Liz recounts how her first pony, Lucky, taught her about getting back

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Maria Wasson of West Winds Farm

archives, Archives-education, Archives-Our Community /

By Ann Hayes Photos by: Pat Jarvis ©2019 How do posture and balance contribute to excellence in horsemanship? Ask Maria Wasson who, with her husband Stephen Miller, built West Winds Farm in Longmont on 40 magnificent acres at the base of the Colorado Rockies. West Winds Farm is not only Maria and Stephen’s home but  also a productive hay farm. Moreover it is home to “West Winds Center for Equestrian Arts” which comprises a large central barn and two full-sized riding arenas. There are pastures, ponds and satellite sheds for the horses that live on the property. This is Maria’s domain. Here she trains horses and educates riders in a unique style—a style that draws on many disciplines but is very much her own. Maria grew up in the Denver area and was drawn to horses early in life. A whiz-bang rider from the get-go, she became an A-rated United States Pony Club (USPC) rider, the highest rank attainable in that program. During a year abroad in college, she attended the University of Sevilla in Southern Spain learning Spanish and riding a multitude of horses in different disciplines from Grand Prix Dressage and Doma Vaquera to race horses and parade horses. Returning home, she undertook serious dressage competition, winning RMDS and FEI championships on her own horses Andiamo and Orcas. A strong mastery of principles of dressage underlies her riding and teaching. Maria has a passion for understanding how learning happens in herself and others. Armed with a graduate degree in Education from the University of

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A Call to Action: Prairie Dog Management Practices

archives, Archives-Advocacy & public lands /

On Tuesday May 7th at 6:00 PM the City of Boulder Open Space Board of Trustees will be presenting their recommendations to Boulder City Council on prairie dog (PD) management. We are asking our members to please consider taking the time to attend this meeting, or to write a letter to all City Council members (e-mails below), and to support the OSBT’s recommendations (see attached). Boulder County has a rich agricultural heritage, which began in the late 1860s and the future of agriculture in Boulder County and the health of our grasslands should be of concern for all citizens. The mission of Boulder County Open Space is to preserve and protect the natural environment and land resources that characterize Boulder. We foster appreciation and uses that sustain the natural values of the land for current and future generations. The proper stewardship of our grasslands, includes maintaining a healthy balance for all species and should not favor one component to the detriment of others. Continuing to protect agriculture as way of life, and the farmers that lease and care for the open space agricultural properties also needs to be protected. The voice of private property owners and the concerns they have about adjoining open space land management practices also needs to be heard as escalating numbers of colonies are destroying their lands. No one denies that prairie dogs (PD) are important to the ecosystem, but when one species numbers causes the destruction of another through lack of natural predation, and destroys grasslands then they must be managed, and all

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What is Happening to Our OSMP Agricultural Lands and Open Space

archives, Archives-Advocacy & public lands /

All Boulder County Horse Owners, Agricultural Property Owners and Lease Holders, and Open Space and Mountain Parks Users should be concerned about the detrimental effects of having too many prairie dogs on our Open Space properties. We encourage you to get active now. That means getting out to attending City Council and Open Space and Mountain Parks meetings as much as you can in the next few weeks. Decisions are now being made about the forthcoming Grassland and OSMP Agricultural Land Management Plans that will affect us all. For starters, we will be seeing a 30% decrease in funding for OSMP management over the next few years. So what is the “prairie dog problem?” Over the last few years, many of our agricultural lands and open space properties have been dramatically and negatively affected by an over population of prairie dogs, which is the result of a lack of predators, fragmented land parcels, and current management policies. Essentially, the prairie dog problem is one of density and overgrazing, which has led to destruction of our agricultural land, diminished economic value, and a decline in ecological diversity. Although Boulder County authorities once believed that, “the presence of prairie dog colonies…leads to …overall species richness in the grassland prairie,”1 today’s increased density and size of the colonies has resulted in the opposite effect. Ranchers who have been leasing and managing open space lands are pulling out of their leases. Why? Because production yields of hay and grazing acres have been so depleted by the over grazing of prairie dogs. This

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The 2019 BCHA Youth Scholarships

archives, Archives-Youth /

The Boulder County Horse Association is pleased to announce that we are offering, two new youth scholarships for  Boulder County youth equestrians. Our equestrian scholarships are awarded to applicants who demonstrate the highest standards of character in community support, educational achievements and equestrian dedication. There are two scholarships for which you can apply: Collegiate $750 and/or Teen Scholarship $250. Both scholarships require the applicant to be a resident of Boulder County. You may apply for both scholarships if you meet the individual requirements; however, you can only be awarded one scholarship. For more information and to download the 2019 Youth Scholarship Application, please visit our Youth Scholarships page. Good Luck!

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