Jefferson County Horse Council

02/28/2025

Friday, March 1 is National Horse Protection Day.
•Share stories, facts, or resources about horses on social media
•Visting a Horse Sanctuary (Wild Animal Sanctuary speaker at our April 7th meeting!)
•Share stories, facts or resources about horses on social media
•Share stories, facts, or resources about horses on social media
•Orgnize a fundraiser or community event to support a local horse rescue
•Hug your rescue horse & share the photo with us

02/26/2025

Ready to get out for a trail ride and wondering about trail conditions? We’ve got a link to Jeffco Open Space, CO trail alerts on our website:

Trail closure and condition information is provided by Jefferson County Open Space as a service to our community. We thank them for their partnership. To subscribe to email or text notifications relating to Open Space or any other Jeffco agency, click here.

02/26/2025

The February Newsletter will soon be posted on our website for your enjoyment.
Members receive the latest news in their email, another reason to join!

“I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the paperwork.” -Peter DeVries Download Previous Newsletter Editions Here:December, 2024November, 2024September, 2024August, 2024

02/23/2025

Jefferson County is seeing feedback on the Jeffco Open Space's Five-Year Master Plan. There are Five drop-in open houses throughout Jefferson County. Please take time to attend an open house and participate in the future of Jeffco Open Space.

See the plans and projects for the Open Space Department.

02/21/2025

We Need YOU!
Please help our horse community with representation and participation. Join JCJC today! We're stronger together~
https://www.jeffcohorse.com/store

02/20/2025

Open Space Trails Volunteer Recruitment Open House!
The recruitment fair is on Feb. 27th, from 4:30-7:00pm at the Jefferson County Open Space office at 700 Jefferson County Pkwy, #100, Golden.
https://www.jeffco.us/1567/Volunteer
The volunteers needed include Park Patrollers. This is a great way to get outside with your equine partner and "Enhance visitors’ experience by providing stewardship education, first aid, and information in JCOS Parks. Patrollers use common modes of non-motorized travel such as hiking, mountain biking, trail running, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, etc. Dogs are not allowed on patrol unless specially trained in the Bark Patroller Program."

See information on how to volunteer with the Open Space Department.

02/20/2025

JCHC Emergency Evacuation Team receives 2025 Equine Welfare Assistance Grant!

This is one of ten such grants that were awarded to various organizations to improve the welfare of Colorado equines. The JCHC grant will support training of volunteers to handle equines and other large animals during disaster evacuations.
Volunteer organizations help to evacuate and care for animals in Colorado. These volunteer organizations are collectively known as County Animal Response Teams (CARTs), and they operate under the terms of formal agreements with their counties. These agreements require that the volunteers be trained to do their jobs safely and well in the unpredictable circumstances of an emergency. The JCHC CART was most recently involved in the Jefferson County Quarry Fire evacuations during July and August of 2024 when we cared for nearly three hundred animals over ten days.

The JCHC Equine Welfare Assistance Grant will provide eight high-quality training classes from Code 3 Associates. These classes are also approved by Colorado State University. This grant will benefit JCHC CART volunteers as well as other CART volunteers in the Front Range Area with free training. All successfully completed classes will be documented with certificates of completion from Code 3 Associates. These classes can also be beneficial in building a career in animal welfare or emergency management.

Thank you to the Colorado Department of Agriculture for making these training classes available!

Anyone wanting more information on the training classes or this grant can contact us at: [email protected].

Here’s the latest news from Jefferson County Horse Council. Equestrian Protection Bill Advances to State Senate FloorAs Colorado grows, equestrians must be part of the community to prevent roadway accidents like the one in Arvada that killed Griffin and injured his rider. Many equestrians have com...

02/19/2025

Land Use Update, from your JCHC:
Did you know that the JCHC keeps an eye on, and participates in what is occurring to our open space, horse facilities, and horse trails in Jefferson County?
In the January update: The Equestrian Zone Bill, Together JeffCo, Table Mt. Ranch, 5950 McIntyre Logistics Center, Acme Clay Mine, and RTD's Regional Train Station plans. While the information, links, and monthly updates are too lengthy to add as a FB post, please go to: https://www.jeffcohorse.com click on the lssues & News tab and scroll to Land, Trails & Safety to see the past and current Land Use updates.

Join JCHC today, and become a committee member on your topic of interest!

Our mission is to promote and protect equine welfare and equine activities in Jefferson County, Colorado The Importance of Horses in Jefferson County, Colorado Below is a presentation prepared by Officers of JCHC and submitted to Together Jeffco, a two year process which combines efforts to update t...

02/18/2025

On Saturday, Feb. 15th, JCHC and the Emergency Evacuation Team (EET) volunteers attended their first of four in-person Code3 training courses, called AFTER: Animal Fire Training Evacuation and Rescue. The training consists of four online, and four in-person classes, and was made possible through State grant monies awarded to the JCHC/EET in January, with no small effort on the part of JCHC president, Frank Blaha.
Also in attendance were folks from other horse councils, search and rescues, evacuation teams, horse rescues, clubs, departments, and societies from El Paso, Boulder, Gilpin, Jefferson, Douglas, and Elbert counties.
The AFTER class focused on the urban interface during wildland fire events and helped to expand our knowledge and skills in animal rescue and safety during fire incidents. Attendees left the Jeffco Fairgrounds classroom with new and broader insight into how their group plays an important role in animal evacuations, fire safety, fire mitigation, and how they can best prepare their teams to assist during an evacuation. A big Thank You to Garret Leonard and Jim Boller over at Code3 for putting together and teaching this important information, and thank you to those who attended this class, making us all better together.
https://code3associates.org

02/18/2025

Learn more about the Equestrian Protection Bill at our next general membership meeting on March 3rd, 6-7:30PM, at Lakewood Public Library.

Here’s the latest news from Jefferson County Horse Council. Equestrian Protection Bill Advances to State Senate FloorAs Colorado grows, equestrians must be part of the community to prevent roadway accidents like the one in Arvada that killed Griffin and injured his rider. Many equestrians have com...

02/18/2025

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02/08/2025

As Colorado grows, equestrians must be part of the community to prevent roadway accidents like the one in Arvada that killed Griffin and injured his rider. Many equestrians have come together to make a difference. We’re excited to announce the Colorado Equestrian Protection Bill SB25-147!

Several folks from your Horse Council and other equestrian community members have been working very hard on this the past few months. And now we need your help to get it passed! Please follow the link to read more!

Here’s the latest news from Jefferson County Horse Council. Equestrian Protection Bill Advances to State Senate FloorAs Colorado grows, equestrians must be part of the community to prevent roadway accidents like the one in Arvada that killed Griffin and injured his rider. Many equestrians have com...

02/05/2025

Some excellent information in this article on emergency preparedness.
What are you doing to be ready when disaster strikes?

When we rounded the bend of the reservoir and saw that plume of smoke, I can't describe my thoughts and feelings knowing that I had ensured that my horses

02/03/2025

Reminder! You're invited to our monthly general membership meeting tonight.
•Time: 6:30 - 7:45
•Location: Golden Public Library, 1019 10th St, Golden CO
•Guest Speaker: Dr. Debbie O'Reilly, Animal Chiropractor

Dr. Deb will do a chiropractic demonstration on a canine tonight.
Bring your curiosity and your questions!

Want to know more? Learn about our licensed professional Chiropractor in Littleton, CO. Call us today at (303) 979-5736 for an appointment!

01/31/2025

⚠️ NOTICE: The majority of Centennial Cone Park opens February 1 after the recent hunting closure. Elk Range Trail, including the interior of the park, remains closed till mid-June to protect elk during their calving season. All other trails are open.

https://www.jeffco.us/1192/Centennial-Cone-Park

Please observe alternating use schedule.

01/29/2025

❗️Muddy trail season is upon us yet again, as warm temps follow snowy days.

First and foremost, try not to hike, run, or bike when you know that trails are muddy. Use during muddy times causes trail rutting, widening, and maintenance headaches. When you come across a muddy or icy section of a trail, please hike, run, or bike right through the middle of the muddy section. Sure, we all want to take the inviting (and dry) side of the trail, but doing that creates serious erosion that leads to more damage and problems. Please stay on the trail and if you leave tracks, turn back! 🥾🚵‍♀️ 🏃‍♀️

01/21/2025

Come on in out of the cold and check out our Jeffcohorse.com webpage!
Click on the "Issues & News" tab and keep up on Jeffco Open Space Alerts, the happenings related to Jeffco's Land, Trails, and Safety, and peruse the January 2025 Newsletter!

Please consider joining the JCHC! We need volunteers in all areas and welcome new members and business members.
We invite you to attend our general meetings on the first Monday of every month.
Our next General Meeting is 2/3/35 at 6:30 @ the Golden Public Library. Our guest speaker is Dr. Debbie O'Reilly, an equine/canine chiropractor, and more!
Find more information at: https://www.jeffcohorse.com/events

01/16/2025

Event!
March 2nd and April 6th at the Westernaires Indoor (Volunteer) Arena.
The JeffCo 4-H would like to invite you to participate in their Winter Classic Pleasure Show Buckle Series for English and Western riding. This event is open to the public and anyone 8 years old an up can participate. For more information on the classes available, and to register for the event, go to:
https://sites.google.com/view/jeffco-4h-winter-series/home