We Ride Sport and Trail Magazine June 2019 | Page 36

Pilot Beach Ride

Sponsored by Back Country Horsemen Michigan

B

36 / Sport and Trail Magazine

Loess Hills State Forest Public Ride 2018

Loess Hills State Forest Work Day after Public Ride

Muskegon State Park

By Dick Kleinhardt, President, BCHMI, PR&B

ack Country Horsemen of Michigan, Pigeon River and Beyond hosted a very successful event partnering with the Michigan DNR this past September. There has been considerable interest from Michigan equestrians to ride the shoreline of our Great Lakes. Through the efforts of our State Equine Trails Subcommittee and promotion by BCHMI we convinced our DNR to sponsor a “Pilot Ride” to see if this was an acceptable activity in the eyes of the public and for equestrians. Two small scale private pilot rides took place last year and now this year the DNR was willing to see if the logistics would work on a much larger scale. On September 22nd the event took place. We couldn’t have ordered a more perfect day. Temperatures were in the mid 60’s, light winds and blue skies. The event took place at Muskegon State Park on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Much planning and preparation was involved in order to impress the DNR and the 69 riders that were involved with the ride. There were three different groups ranging in 20 to 25 horses per group. Departure times were 9 am, noon, and 3 pm. One of the requirements of the DNR was that each rider had to be insured. The solution to that very requirement was simple; just join up with BCHMI. As a result we gained 57 new members. New members were given BCHA handbooks and were all very grateful for this opportunity and thanked us many times over. Many of our board members and members volunteered their time to host this event without even bringing their own horses. Many thanks to them for their sacrifice of time and energy. The Michigan DNR also did surveys throughout the day with riders and general public. Early indications are that it was well received. As the horses were riding down the beach in their groups many people drove in and parked to watch this event. Boats that were already out in Lake Michigan came in closer to shore to view the spectacle. The riders were all smiles commenting that “I never thought that this would ever be allowed or ever even happen”. There were also other horse people who dropped in to view this event and picked up applications for membership stating that they want to be involved next time this happens. We also brought in a trailer dedicated to be the “chuck wagon” where we had food and drinks for the participants. A professional photographer was there to photograph this event. This was a huge opportunity to showcase what Back Country is all about; and yes implementing “leave no trace” was certainly being practiced with the cleanup detail in action! It truly was a great day and event!

Sincerely, Dick Kleinhardt

President, BCHMI,PR&B

the DNR and the 69 riders that were involved with the ride. There were three different groups ranging in 20 to 25 horses per group. Departure times were 9 am, noon, and 3 pm. One of the requirements of the DNR was that each rider had to be insured. The solution to that very requirement was simple; just join up with BCHMI. As a result we gained 57 new members.

New members were given BCHA handbooks and were all very grateful for this opportunity and thanked us many times over. Many of our board members and members volunteered their time to host this event without even bringing their own horses. Many thanks to them for their sacrifice of time and energy.

The Michigan DNR also did surveys throughout the day with riders and general public. Early indications are that it was well received. As the horses were riding down the beach in their groups many people drove in and parked to watch this event. Boats that were already out in Lake Michigan came in closer to shore to view the spectacle. The riders were all smiles commenting that “I never thought that this would ever be allowed or ever even happen”. There were also other horse people who dropped in to view this event and picked up applications for membership stating that they want to be involved next time this happens. We also brought in a trailer dedicated to be the “chuck wagon” where we had food and drinks for the participants. A professional photographer was there to photograph this event. This was a huge opportunity to showcase what Back Country is all about; and yes implementing “leave no trace” was certainly being practiced with the cleanup detail in action! It truly was a great day and event!

Sincerely, Dick Kleinhardt

President, BCHMI,PR&B

efforts of our State Equine Trails Subcommittee and

promotion by BCHMI we convinced our DNR to sponsor a

“Pilot Ride” to see if this was an acceptable activity in the

eyes of the public and for equestrians. Two small scale

private pilot rides took place last year and now this year

the DNR was willing to see if the logistics would work on a

much larger scale.

On September 22nd the event took place. We couldn’t have

ordered a more perfect day. Temperatures were in the mid

60’s, light winds and blue skies. The event took place at

Muskegon State Park on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Much

planning and preparation was involved in order to impress

the DNR and the 69 riders that were involved with the ride. There were three different groups ranging in 20 to 25 horses per group. Departure times were 9 am, noon, and 3 pm. One of the requirements of the DNR was that each rider had to be insured. The solution to that very requirement was simple; just join up with BCHMI. As a result we gained 57 new members. New members were given BCHA handbooks and were all very grateful for this opportunity and thanked us many times over. Many of our board members and members volunteered their time to host this event without even bringing their own horses. Many thanks to them for their sacrifice of time and energy. The Michigan DNR also did surveys throughout the day with riders and general public. Early indications are that it was well received. As the horses were riding down the beach in their groups many people drove in and parked to watch this event. Boats that were already out in Lake Michigan came in closer to shore to view the spectacle. The riders were all smiles commenting that “I never thought that this would ever be allowed or ever even happen”. There were also other horse people who dropped in to view this event and picked up applications for membership stating that they want to be involved next time this happens. We also brought in a trailer dedicated to be the “chuck wagon” where we had food and drinks for the participants. A professional photographer was there to photograph this event. This was a huge opportunity to showcase what Back Country is all about; and yes implementing “leave no trace” was certainly being practiced with the cleanup detail in action! It truly was a great day and event!

Sincerely, Dick Kleinhardt

President, BCHMI,PR&B