Volunteer

Would you like to get involved and meet new people? Riders, non-riders, friends, family members, and all BCHA members are welcome to participate in helping BCHA help you and your horse. BCHA is an all-volunteer organization. Listed below are many exciting opportunities for our member-volunteers to pitch in. Our membership application provides you the opportunity to indicate which activities are of interest to you. Stay tuned for more opportunities to volunteer!

Once again we are announcing a bunch of excellent openings for talented, dedicated BCHA volunteers. BCHA has several positions and projects that need YOU!

• Newsletter Editor
• Horse Services Directory (online and print), Chair and committee members
• Trail Committee Chair
• Ambassador/Liaison with Other Horse Groups
• Board Member
• Horse Lovers’ Fling Chair and committee members
• Public Lands Appreciation Day Organizer
• Membership Drive Coordinator
• Liaison with Public Land Managers all over the County on equestrian issues

Is there a talented newsletter editor locked inside you just waiting to be asked? Are you a trail rider looking to give back something to the community for all the pleasure you and your horse have derived from Boulder’s trail system? Less outdoorsy but really up on internet technology? How about a committee chair position? A doer but not necessarily a leader? — then how about serving on a committee? Don’t know what you might like to do but want to contribute somehow? Read on.

For more information contact Suzanne Webel at 303-485-2162 or send us a message.

ONGOING BCHA VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Listed below are some of our on-going volunteer opportunities.

Park Patrollers Wanted! Sign up today!
You can make a difference as a Boulder County Parks & Open Space Park Host while riding some of the most beautiful open spaces in the west.  Give back to the trails you love while patrolling, being a uniformed presence, and answering visitor’s questions. Contact: Michael Bauer, mbauer@bouldercounty.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ,  303-678-6219

Emergency Evacuation Plan
Help establish evacuation plans for the county – involving developing lists of trailer owners willing to respond, people who can help with horses in stressful situations, and places that will take horses and horse people until the emergency is resolved.

Special Events
BCHA runs several events every year. Each of these events need volunteers to plan, setup, decorate, and otherwise ‘run the show’. We’re also eager to get new ideas about what events would attract our members.

Please look around this website to find additional volunteer needs, including

• The Annual Horse Lovers’ Fling This is our big social and fund raising event of the year (see Archive Page for details on previous Flings). Volunteers are always welcome to help with the auction, decorating, registration, or other responsibility.
• Public Lands Appreciation Day (PLAD).  Volunteers will be needed for future Public Lands Appreciation Day events.  Date to be announced!
• Fun Show in October at the Boulder County Fairgrounds. Volunteers needed for planning & preparation. We need a judge, fun show manager, silent auction coordinator and more!!

Horse Services Directory
Approximately every 5 years BCHA produces the Boulder County Horse Services Directory, “The Ultimate Horse Resource.” This publication requires a large amount of research to locate all of the horse-related services in the county, set up distribution channels, etc. We have already “run out” of all 5,000 hard-copy directories that we printed less than one year ago!  — so we will need to raise some funds to reprint this marvel.  We’ve also pledged to start up an online version of the Horse Services Directory, which advertisers can update themselves as needed.  Volunteers needed for both?– yep, big-time.

Trails:  Building & Maintenance
Join our crews several times a year to repair trails subject to heavy use. BCHA built the Doudy Draw trail in 1986 and has maintained it as needed since then. We have adopted the Switzerland Trail across Caribou Ranch near Nederland and we are trail stewards on the Picture Rock Trail at Heil Valley Ranch in Lyons.  Watch for email announcements of other trail volunteer opportunities.

Support trails in Boulder County by attending the BCPOS Volunteer Trail Crew Leader Training.  Program objectives, volunteer responsibilities, qualifications, benefits, and other general information can be found on this PDF download. Volunteer Trail Crew Leader Training Application is available from BCPOS. Click here for PDF Application

Newsletter
BCHA’s flagship newsletter, The Horse’s Mouth, used to be published bi-monthly, keeping members informed of local events, activities and issues affecting the horse community. But…. we had to suspend its publication because it was the single most expensive project we maintained, and we need both an Editor and an Ad Manager to get it up and running again. We also need volunteers to help write articles, submit calendar items, & submit photographs.

Liaison
Spend time with other horse clubs and barns to keep BCHA visible in the horse community, to learn what they would like us to be doing for them, and to keep BCHA informed on the latest equestrian events and issues.