A venue for BC equestrians involved in long distance trail riding to learn, share, and contribute to the sport of competitive trail.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Training begins!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Call for spring newsletter submissions - March 31 deadline
It is time to think about our spring newsletter. The deadline for submissions is March 31st - to Nicole Vaugeois at nicoleathome(at)shaw(dot)ca
Not sure what to submit? How about some of these ideas?
1. A photo of your horse(s) - in their winter woolies, out on your property, doing something new, sporting some new tack, or introduce your new horse to the members with a brief description of them!
2. A profile of you as a rider - tell us about yourself, when you started to ride, who you ride, where you ride, how you ride and what you love about CTR.
3. A description of your favorite trail - describe it, where is it, why do you like it, how far can someone go on the trails, are there access points, maps or issues with access?
4. An article - help educate the membership about anything related to CTR - horse health, how you train and condition your horse, tips on how to prepare for CTR, travel or camping tips, or the latest gear.
5. Gear and Gadgets - take a photo or give us a link on a new gadget that would benefit a CTR rider - why is it helpful and for what?
6. An advertisement - BCCTRA has a strong and loyal readership - consider submitting an advertisement to help raise money for the club while gaining exposure to the trail riding community on the website, blog and newsletter. Kay will send the updated rates to members soon.
7. Ride managers - submit an update on your ride to raise interest in where it will be, what will be new, updates on ride forms, etc.
8. Directors and officers - submit any news on BCCTRA for your region or area of work.
Make sure all submissions are sent ready to go. Send in a word file or in email with photos as JPEG files.
Thanks everyone,
Nicole Vaugeois
PR Director, BCCTRA
Sunday, February 19, 2012
CTR trails of the past
Ride managers workshop a success
On February 18 from 5 to 9, nine dedicated BCCTRA members met at Shelley Balme's place in Cobble Hill to discuss ride management. The group included some of the club's most experienced and new ride managers and a number of individuals that have helped out at past rides in various forms. We enjoyed the club's first great potluck of the year while we chatted about all sorts of topics.
The core of BCCTRA's activities is in the organization and hosting of competitive trail rides. Each year, a series of events is announced taking place all over the province. The willingness of ride managers to devote countless hours to host a ride is something we all need to continuously recognize. As Nancy Gourlay said at the meeting "it can be consuming"! But, as Barbara Smith pointed out very clearly at the event "there are numerous benefits to organizing a ride - it helps create and promote trails, it puts our club in the spotlight to land managers, and you get to meet and interact with so many BCCTRA members". Or as I found out when I first hosted a ride - I learned so much more about the sport as I had to study it from the inside out. It definately made me a stronger competitor. But the best part for me - was the fun of working together with people to mark trails, set up camp, put together ride packages over wine, and mingle at the site with a campfire and Dan Gogo singing to the riders.
The group at the meeting talked about lots of things like how we can promote the rides, build benefits for members, mark and map trails, take care of risk management issues, gain access to trails from property owners, secure sponsorship and come in on budget. There were plenty of great ideas shared and I am sure we will see many of these ideas put into practice this year.
This year the ride series is shaping up to look very strong - with four rides already announced for the island and two on the mainland. There are also a series of training rides to get folks out and about and to allow new members to learn more about the sport while riding. Check out the BCCTRA events calendar for more. If you ever want to learn more about what it takes to put on a ride - check out the ride manager manual on the BCCTRA site as well. And, think about getting together some of your buddies to host a new event!
And, when you are at the next ride - make sure to thank the ride managers and their volunteers for the time they put in to creating a great experience just for you. If we don't have these folks on board working hard behind the scenes - we won't have a sport and we'd lose access to the great trails they provide for equestrian users.
Thanks those who came last night and to Shelley Balme for hosting us at your place.