BCHC Mid Valley Unit President's Monthly Message

Howdy, members.

My prayer is that all of you are healthy, and life is treating you well. At our meeting last Tuesday, we covered a lot of items that you all need to be aware of.

Our Unit website has, for a long me, been somewhat neglected. I have had some people call me who were interested in some information about our Unit. They called because when they looked at our website, it was not able to answer their questions. Our website is difficult to navigate and desperately needs to be updated or even overhauled. Carl Perry and Crystal Dalby have volunteered to give our website the overhaul so that it shows current information and activities that folks are interested in.

As I have shared in a previous letter, Steve Tucker has been helping out with the water tank at our Pine Valley Horse Camp. Steve fills the water tank by pumping water from Bell Creek up to the tank. He also has repaired some faucets at the camp and this last weekend he has emptied the tank for winter.

Jerrie Ann Thomas has served as our merchandise chairperson for as long as I can remember. She has carted around our hats, sweaters, emblems, shirts, and whatever else she has to sell to whomever is interested. Jerrie Ann is going to retire as of January 1, 2024. Stephanie Stott has shown some interest in picking up the baton and running with it. Thanks to Jerrie Ann for the years of service and dedication to our Unit.

Barbara Savery, Deb Lewis, and Steve Bauhr have stepped up to the plate and have volunteered to continue with the Columbia All Equestrian Christmas Parade. This has been a Mid Valley Unit parade for somewhere around 20 years. Cathy and I, after doing the parade for about eight years, are happy that it will continue with the tradition of a small equine parade in the beautiful gold rush town of Columbia.

The word "Rendezvous" is a French word that means meeting or date. BCHC is going to have our own Rendezvous in March 2024, on the 22nd and 23, at the Diamond Bar Arena in Ceres, CA. Our own members, Lloyd Erlandson and Michael King, are the brave souls who have taken charge of this fun and informative two- day event. This Rendezvous is still in the development stages but should prove to be a complete success. If you have any interest in helping with this event, email Lloyd at lloyd.erlandson0@gmail.com or let me know. Stay tuned for more information!

We horse folk tend to feel neglected and unimportant when it comes to non-horse folks camping in our horse designated campgrounds. Our Mid Valley Unit cares for and maintains three of these horse camps: Kerrick Coral, Pine Valley, and Clark Fork. BCHA has developed a form that we can get off the website to fill out when we see these invaders in our horse camps. I have taken pictures and filled out the one-page form and it is not difficult. This documented proof of non-equestrian use of horse camps is helpful at the national level to help our lobbyist, Randy Rasmusson, move forward to put a stop to these marauders.

In closing, I think this is the longest Presidents message I have written. Keep in mind that we need to use our Horse Camps often to let the Forest Service know that we don't want non- equestrians taking over our camps. We maintain these sites for horse people with stock, not regular campers.

Blessings,

Doug Dollarhide, President

(Our President writes a message every month for the newsletter.)