By Jocelyn Adams

BC EQUESTRIAN TRAILS FUND 2020 RESULTS

In 2020, the British Columbia Equestrian Trails Fund (BCETF) provided $36,649 to five clubs with a wide variety of trail projects around the province.

The clubs awarded funding in 2020, and their projects, were:

• Back Country Horsemen of BC – Robson Valley Chapter: Belle Mtn Multi-use Trails Rehabilitation
• Back Country Horsemen of BC – Yarrow Chapter: Nesakwatch Bridge Repair
• Back Country Horsemen of BC – Provincial: Kane Valley Equestrian Campground
• Back Country Horsemen of BC – N. Vancouver Island Chapter: Memekay Manure Containment
• Back Country Horsemen of BC – Shuswap Chapter: Skimikin Trails Signage and Mapping

Horse Council BC is pleased to be able to assist in trail building and improvements by providing funding and support. Good luck to all with these projects!

UPCOMING ENGLISH INSTRUCTOR AND COMPETITION COACH EVALUATIONS

English Instructor and Competition Coach Evaluation (Abbotsford) will be September 29 and 30, 2020.

Western Instructor Evaluation (Langley) will be September 19, 2020.

COVID-19 guidelines will be followed. Candidates will be contacted with the guidelines that will apply to these events when their application documents are uploaded. The evaluations will be cancelled or delayed should there be any negative change in the virus numbers and transmissions.

The application portals are on the HCBC Events calendar. All requirements must be uploaded to the portal a minimum of 30 days before the set evaluation date.

EQUESTRIAN CANADA LEARN TO RIDE/DRIVE PROGRAM FEATURES 

Have you participated in the Equestrian Canada Learn to Ride program? Whether you are a coach who has facilitated the Learn to Ride program, or a student who has progressed through the program, we would like to hear from you! Drop us a line at info@hcbc.ca and we will send you the details on how to be featured in one of our monthly E-Newsletters.

HCBC YOUTUBE CHANNEL

If you have not visited the HCBC YouTube page recently, you may want to check it out. Many recent webinars have been recorded and posted to watch or re-watch. Included is our recent Community Talks Not-So-Travelling Road Show 3-Part Webinar Series on Equine Wellness, sponsored by Zoetis Inc.

Trails Database Geo-Referencing Project Ongoing

Geo-referencing: Aligning geographic data to a known coordinate system so it can be viewed, queried, and analyzed with other geographic data.

Phase 2 of the HCBC Trails Database Upgrade involves:

1. Ensuring trail information provided on the database is as current as possible, and
2. Geo-referencing the trails on the database.

Using GPX tracks supplied by trail riders using GPS devices, we’ll be creating maps and posting them on each trail’s page for any trail user to download free of charge, plus making them available (also free of charge) in the app of Avenza Maps, our mapping partners.

Our thanks to everyone participating in this project and keep up the excellent work — don’t forget HCBC is loaning GPS devices. Contact recreation@hcbc.ca to arrange for the use of a brand new Garmin GPSMAP 64st, including batteries and charger.

HCBC EVENT DIRECTORY

We know this year hasn’t gone according to the plan, so we want to give BC clubs the opportunity to raise awareness about your educational events or schooling days on the HCBC Event Directory. Email communication@hcbc.ca for more information.

PONY TAILS KIDS CLUB

Join Alice the Pony and her friends in the Pony Tails Kids Club! It is FREE and open to all kids. Join Pony Tails today!

Alice the Pony will send you lots of horsey fun and help you learn about the awesome world of horses and ponies. Alice the Pony has all sorts of fun information, games, and contests for you to take part in.

You do not have to be a Horse Council BC Member to join the Pony Tails Club, but we would love to have you join us one day.

More information at www.hcbc.ca.