Back Country Horsemen of America (BCHA) aims to protect equestrians’ rights to ride horses on public lands by volunteering time, skills, and resources towards keeping trails open to horse use and promoting responsible recreation.

In 2014, BCHA members from coast to coast donated $14.4 million in volunteer value to this cause. The nearly 14,000 BCHA members cleared trails, restored trail treads, built bridges, educated youth and adults in horse use, spread the word about responsible “Leave No Trace” habits, attended public lands planning meetings, spoke with legislators, held food drives, cleaned up litter, and more.

Jim McGarvey, BCHA executive director, is leading by example. When his two year term as chairman ended in April 2015, he announced his commitment to fill the vacant position of executive director on a volunteer basis for up to two years. During that time, he said he hopes to raise the funds required to cover three years of salary and travel expenses for a professional executive director.

Back Country Horsemen of Virginia

In May, the Iron Mountain Chapter and the Eastern Divide Chapter teamed up for a National Trails Day project in the east¬ern end of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The work party included 14 members on foot and four on horseback with one pack horse. They were joined by U.S. Forest Service Ranger Stephen Hmur¬ciak and two American Endurance Ride Conference certified trail masters to advise on the best way to solve the problems on the trail