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

Equine Educators conference - BCCTRA comments

By Nicole Vaugeois

The Equine Educators conference was held Jan 21-23 in Kelowna. Tammy Mercer, Peter Reid and I all attended from BCCTRA and were able to share some of our unique needs with respect to trail access. Peter and I participated at the Trails Roundtable on Saturday where about 20 land managers and different equine trail user groups discussed their needs or position on trail use for horses. The event was a great success as folks were able to share their perspectives in a respectful way to understand each other. I am sure that the outcomes will be positive and am hoping we can continue this sort of dialogue in years to come. Congrats to Horse Council BC for pulling this together and inviting us to participate.

I was asked to speak about the needs of competitive trail user groups, which included input from Endurance, competitive trail and TREC. The following are some comments shared:

• We have unique usage needs for trails in that we use them frequently for training and require numerous miles of varied terrain;


• We require access to trails for training and competition as we seek permission for each mile we use in competition;


• We have experienced challenges with respect to access, particularly from private forest companies where permit fees and delays in approvals has impacted events;


• We are seeking to develop stronger working relationships with land managers so that they understand our sport, our usage patterns and see us as partners in land management;


• Our competition requires travel and overnight camping. Further enhancements to travel with horses such as pull outs, ferry knowledge about horses, signage and camp facilities are needed throughout the province. Camp facilities that are accessible and accommodating of horses are needed, particularly sites that can accommodate numerous large rigs for competitions.

Since the event, I have already been communicating with Rod Bealing, who represents private timber companies in BC and he has been helpful in linking me with the right people that we can communicate with about things such as annual permits and partnership. Similarly, Connie Faulk in Barriere, who was also on the roundtable has emailed me to say she is keen to have a BCCTRA event in their region as they have the trails and facilities we need for our events. Similarly, Chilko Ranch is keen to have a BCCTRA event this year and there is some interest in having a schooling ride on the Sunshine Coast.

All in all, this type of exposure for our sport was invaluable. We need to be understood with other horse groups and with land managers in order to move toward the goals in our strategic plan. I believe this event helped and we can build upon it by using the contacts made.

Welcome to Miles of Smiles!

On behalf of BCCTRA, welcome to our new blog - Miles of Smiles.  This blog will be used to provide a venue for our members and those interested in the long distance equestrian sport of competitive trail to learn and share with other like minded folks.  Our website is currently being redesigned as well, and between the two platforms, we will be able to provide more in time, up to date and interactive ways for you to get information for training or to plan your season.

As PR director, I will be contributing regular thoughts but all of the BCCTRA directors can also contribute to the blog, so you can hear more about what is going on in your own region.

We are always keen to hear your ideas on events for the season, topics you want to learn more about, and potential ride sites. 

The 2011 calender of events is currently being developed and will be posted and shared with folks soon. In the meantime, it is time to renew those memberships (and get your HCBC done while you are at it!).

Cheers
Nicole Vaugeois - PR Director