Back Country Horsemen of British Columbia

This year's Auction at Rendezvous is not to be missed!    The Saturday night Auction raises funds for the Back Country Horsemen's education and trail grant funds, and BCHBC projects across the Province.     An impressive number of terrific items and getway adventures have been donated by Chapters and Sponsors, including:    Wine Tour & Accommodation, Guest Ranch stays, guided horse rides, multi-day packing trips, tickets for Hell's Gate, Kettle River Rail, Vedder River rafting, and MORE!   Check out details here!  

Just out for Spring time! Spring 2017 Back Country Horsemen of BC Catalogue. Show your support for BCHBC by while wearing logo items!  Supplies are limited, so get your order in early. Spring 2017 Logo Catalogue    

BCHBC Volunteer of the Year Award & BCHBC Award of Excellence for an Outstanding ProjectThe BCHBC is reminding members that there are two new awards this year to recognize our volunteers and our projects. The BCHBC Volunteer of the Year Award will be given to an individual who makes an outstanding contribution to the BCHBC through their time, dedication, leadership and exemplification of the spirit of the BCHBC. The plaque shown is the perpetual trophy plaque which will have the winner’s name and date of award engraved on it. As well, the winner will receive a smaller version of the plaque for theirs to keep. The BCHBC Award of Excellence for an Outstanding Project will be awarded to a project  that makes an impact on the BCHBC, the area where it has been completed and is, as the title suggests – outstanding. It will not necessarily be awarded annually should…

Back Country Horsemen Members:With the rising temperatures in some parts of the province we ask our members to consider where they ride.  Trails are easily damaged.........here's what you can do: Choose your trails carefully (until BCHBC approves our own "Wet Weather Riding Guidelines you can refer to the wet weather riding guide developed by a mtn bike group) Opt for a hike instead of a ride, and clear out some drains and pick up some debris off the trail kick rocks! Identify places that need maintenance.  Within a week of the melt, everything should be back to normal. Thanks in advance for being considerate and helping to protect our Right To Ride.The Provincial Trails Committee will be presenting a draft "Wet Weather Riding Policy" at the Spring Board of Directors Meeting (April 22/23 2017).If you have any comments to share please send them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. BCHBC Provincial Trails Committee

Volunteers Wanted When:  March 16 – 19, 2017 Where:  Kamloops, BCThe Kamloops Cowboy Heritage Festival is an exciting weekend of celebrating the western country and ranching way of life through music, Cowboy Poetry, socializing, entertainment and a Trade show.  http://www.bcchs.com/festival.html This year, for the first time, Back Country Horsemen of BC have reserved a booth at the Trade Show to introduce ourselves to the public and what we are all about.  To that end, much like we do at the Mane Event, we need to man it with volunteers from as many chapters as possible.  What will I do: To Volunteer means you will receive a ‘Badge” that will get you entrance into the event to cover your allotted 2 hour shift or shifts plus another possible two hours to just look around the venue before you pass your badge onto the next volunteers all for free! We’re looking for enthusiastic…

CANADA 1867 THEME INTER CHAPTER RIDE   When:  JULY 14, 15 AND 16, 2017 Where: CLEARWATER B.C. Host: NORTH THOMPSON CHAPTER Challenge:  Another chapter host next year    Location and camping of this ride will be at the Wells Gray Golf course. Day rides will be into beautiful Wells Gray Park. Rides can vary between 3 hours and 10 hours, your choice, with stunning scenery along and above Clearwater River. For those in your group that would like to partake in a game of golf, we will be immediately adjacent the golf course. Camping is in a large 8-10 acre mowed field with flush toilets and hot showers available at no charge for registered participants. Also there are a couple of cabins available but would require booking immediately through the golf course (250-674-0009). A larger creek flows along one side and a large pond opposite, just in case a serious cooling is…

Story by Birgit Stutz, originally published in The Valley Sentinel The Great Divide Trail (GDT) is a wilderness trail in the Canadian Rockies, which closely follows the Continental Divide between Alberta and British Columbia, crossing the divide no fewer than 30 times. It begins in Waterton Lakes National Park at the Canada-US border (where it connects with the Continental Divide Trail which extends from the Mexican border to the Canadian border) and ends 1,200 kilometres to the north in Kakwa Provincial Park.Every year, horse back riders and hikers from around the world travel through the mountains on the Great Divide Trail behind the Robson Valley highway corridor.  “Fires made travel very difficult through a large section of the trail within Robson Park, so travellers were challenged navigating their way with downed burned timber -like a logger’s version of ‘pick-up-sticks’-, boggy muskeg, and river crossings when the trail was elusive and…

  The Back Country Horsemen of BC are excited to announce that there are two new awards this year to recognize our volunteers and projects. The BCHBC Volunteer of the Year Award will be given to an individual who makes an outstanding contribution to the BCHBC through their time, dedication, leadership and exemplification of the spirit of the BCHBC. The plaque shown is the perpetual trophy plaque which will have the winner’s name and date of award engraved on it as well, the winner will receive a smaller version of the plaque for theirs to keep. The BCHBC Award of Excellence for an Outstanding Project will be awarded to a project (will not necessarily be awarded annually should there not be a project that meets the requirements that year) that makes an impact on the BCHBC, the area where it has been completed and is as the title suggests –…

Article by Mary Huntington, BCHBC Vice President -  Rendezvous 2016, our 25th Anniversary Celebration!  Well it really is Hoofprints in History now, but what fun we had turning it into history with 242 registrants and about 165 horses.  Our venue, the Princeton Exhibition grounds proved very capable of handling all the people, rigs, horses and mules that arrived.  Excitement was high right from the start, when the pack trippers arrived to settle in the only treed area of the grounds and set up a real packing camp that was worth walking up to, to look at and admire.  Upon entering the Exhibition grounds, people quickly located their friends and chapters and settled in encircling the grounds in a sea of white rigs.  As quickly as camps were set up, horses were unloaded, tacked up and ridden out to start exploring the fabulous trail systems. Friday was an early start with…

A Tribute to John Story By Gene Peters  with Photos By Kelly Hawes, Back Country Horsemen of BC  - Yarrow chapter. Backcountry Horsemen has lost one of it’s biggest fans and most tireless workers. John Gardner, known to all and loved by many, succumbed to a heart attack while attending to his mules after a long day on the trail.  He died with his boots on, doing what he loved, as all of us wish for and only the lucky few will achieve. At 80 years of age he regularly would go out trail riding the trails alone if need be, or with company if someone, preferably female, was available.  If anyone had reported a tree down, he would pack a chain saw to clear the way before the club could organize a work-bee to accomplish the task. In the Yarrow Chapter he was always at the head table serving, at…