Annual Gathering Offers Enjoyment and Learning for Northwest Trail Riders
by Nicole Sedgwick, Rendezvous Chair
Fifty years ago Congress passed the National Trails System Act that protects many of our trails that we enjoy today. Come to Rendezvous to celebrate! Rendezvous, which is held Friday through Sunday, March 16 to 18, is all about our members and nonmembers coming together to visit old and new friends and to learn about exciting places to ride. Come join us at the Kittitas Valley Event Center in Ellensburg, Washington.
Friday night is our potluck dinner. Bring food and drink to share and join in the fun. Saturday night we offer a nice catered dinner. Be sure and register for this dinner at www.bchw.org. We will have a live auction and music to dance to.
Check out the many clinics offered to help you build your skills for backcountry riding. Bill Holmes, Taylor Gordon, and Kyle Churchill (winner of the 2017 Extreme Mustang Makeover) will train stock to work around obstacles on the trail. Andy Breland will talk about how to camp with horses. Dani Gamble is joining us with lessons on how to handle difficult stock. Robert Eversole, The Trailmeister, will be discussing lessons learned from emergencies on the trail. Dr. Gillett will be teaching clinics on Cushing’s disease and dentistry. Marty Bjornstad will be teaching trailering 101 and knot tying. Ed Haefliger will be covering trail safety. Jason Ridlon will be holding an annual meeting for independent BCHW members and a Statewide Work Party meeting.
BCHW will be hosting the public lands day on Friday. We will have training on how to apply for grants. Tony Karniss is teaching a ladies crosscut-saw class. We will have packing and Leave No Trace clinics, too. And make sure you join in the fun with the Crosscut Competition and the Truck & Trailer Rodeo!
Make sure to clean out your tack rooms for the used tack sale. Also, make a list of what to buy at the used tack sale. The BCHW store will be full of new products to come and get. We have been working on getting a nice variety of vendors, so be sure to stop in and visit their booths. BCHW will also have silent and bucket auctions going on too.
Chapters, make sure you get your displays spruced up and ready for the competition. Don’t forget to go through your pictures of the year and enter them in the photo contest. Decorate that hard hat of yours and get it into the Hard Hat Competition!
Sunday morning will be Cowboy Church, donuts and coffee social, and BCHW’s annual general meeting with awards. Come and celebrate with us!
Check out www.bchw.org for the updated schedule. If you would like to camp at the event center, please visit the website to register for either a dry or electrical campsite. All horse/mule owners in Washington state should be in Ellensburg at Rendezvous. We look forward to seeing you there!
Originally Published February 2018 Issue
Back Country Horsemen of Washington (BCHW), is a 501 (c) (3) organization with 32 chapters across the state dedicated to: keeping trails open for all users; educating horse users in Leave-No-Trace practices; and providing volunteer service to resource agencies.
