As a horse person around our foothills community, I often get questions about where to meet other horse people and how to find people to ride with. As a member of the Intermountain Horse Association, I have found this group to be one of the most diverse groups of local men and women that are passionate about horses. People in this group are trail riders, dressage riders, barrel racers, ropers, eventers, fox hunters, ranch sorters, endurance riders and more, not to mention that many of them are active members of other horse organizations.
IHA meets from September – May on the 3rd Tuesday’s of the month in the event room (take a left before host stand) at Beau Jos in Downtown Evergreen. Come early to socialize at 6:30pm. Food and beverages available. The meeting starts at 7pm and topics include subjects such as pasture management, saddle fitting, weed management, Africa on horseback, trail riding in Colorado, the Colorado Horse Industry, joint therapies, infectious diseases and more. Plan to come out this year to these meetings and get to know others in your horse community. The IHA group is welcoming and made up of passionate horse people throughout the foothills community. See more information at intermountainhorse.org or find them on Facebook at IntermountainHorse. The meetings for this season are: October 17, November 21, December 19 (Christmas Party at The McWilliams’- not at Beau Jos!), January 16, February 20, March 20, April 17, May 15.
Ever year in the first couple of weeks of September, the IHA organizes a Poker Ride at Alderfer Three Sisters Ranch Open Space Park in Evergreen. Winning high and low hand riders split the pot with a local non-profit horse organization. This year’s ride fell on September 9th with The Westernaires as the beneficiary. This spring, The Westernaires horses suffered an outbreak of a highly infectious disease often called Strangles. This resulted in veterinary expenses and lost income due to a quarantine of the facility. The IHA Poker Ride was able to donate $1,200 to The Westernaires thanks to the participants and sponsors!
If you are new to the area, The Westernaires are a world-renowned horse program that was started in 1954 in Golden, Colorado. Because of its high standards and success, similar programs across the country have been modeled after The Westernaires. The non-profit organization is represented by over 1,000 kids from 9-19 years old. They encourage “self-respect, responsibility and leadership through horsemanship and family participation”. At its foundation, The Westernaires is a precision mounted drill team, but it is much more than that. Kids progress through levels of teams that include reenactments, Dressage teams, jumping, driving ponies and so much more. Learning proper horse care is a foundational value and the kids and families are dedicated to immersing themselves in excellence, Western heritage and values. The Westernaires organization owns over 80 horses and ponies, plus some mules and draft horses, making this a great place for horse crazy kids to get started and involved with horses.
To learn a little bit more about them, their annual show called Horsecapades is coming up at the end of this month. Please buy tickets at the grocery from these hard-working kids and take your family and friends to a performance.
Performances are: Saturday, October 28th — 10am; Saturday, October 28th — 2pm*; Saturday, October 28th — 7pm*; Sunday, October 29th — 2pm**a pre-show begins 30 minutes in advance.
Go to their website at Westernaires.org for more information on the program or Horsecapades.
