President 

Email: 4hranch@earthlink.net

Mike Hughes, elected October of 2021

      I originally got into horses in 1985 and joined BCHC in the mid 1990’s. I learned to pack early in my membership from Dud and Ann Lange. Having been around good packers I don’t profess to be one however good friends and I try to ride, pack and clear trails in the high, wide and front country multiple times per year. 

     I have been married to my wife Susan for 47 years and we have two children who fortunately take after their mom. 

     As your President I have a philosophy of utilizing best practices while constantly trying to improve on past practices. 

     We are now in an era, where as stock users we are under constant pressure from multiple sources. Therefore, your participation and support is vital to keep public lands open to all of us. With your help we can succeed at this very important and shared mission. 

God Bless

Mike Hughes 

President BCHC

1st Vice President: Insurance Coordinator

drjamie91@gmail.com

Volunteer Hour Coordinator

Email: bchc.coordinator@gmail.com

Alyssa Alvarez is a long-time resident of Humboldt County, CA with a passion for volunteering and public service. When she found the Backcountry Horsemen organization in 2019, she felt that she had found “her people.” In her current appointed position, she strives to bolster the organization’s volunteer hours reporting in order to obtain more grants and funding to keep public trails open and accessible for all. Her hobbies include kayaking, aerial acrobatics, riding her thoroughbred Gozo and training her baby mule Boone.

State Secretary

Email: bludog46@gmail.com

Susie Patton is a California native and lifelong horse and mule owner.  She comes from a rodeo background and traveled that circuit as a child with her parents and brother.  She met her husband Troy as a kid, working around the rodeo.  Her father was a rodeo clown and bullfighter and later produced rodeos.   She worked as a rodeo secretary for for 15 years. 

Susie later worked as a school secretary for 30 years and upon their retirement Troy and Susie moved to the Eastern Sierra.  She is still involved with schools as the President of her local School Board.  Troy & Susie have been married over 50 years and have one son,  4 granddaughters, 2 great-granddaughters, and 2 great-grandsons. 

She has served as a BCHC Unit Secretary, Treasurer and Public Lands.  At the State level she was Public Lands VP before taking the job of State Secretary.  She is also currently Secretary/Treasurer of her unit.

State Treasurer

Email: lynnjoiner7@gmail.com

Lynn Joiner was at the first meeting in Tulare when we formed High Sierra Stock Users. Back in 1981.  She served as State Secretary while we were HSSU.  When we became Backcountry Horsemen of California. She was State President in the early 90’s.

She has served as State Treasurer for over twenty years.

Vice President Public Lands

Email: outdoortroy46@gmail.com

Troy Patton is a California native.  He grew up in Long Beach at his Dad’s roping arena.  Horses have always been part of his life. He started participating in rodeos at the age of 16, where he rode bulls, team roped and calf roped.  At 19 he went into the U.S. Army and served a tour of duty in Vietnam.  He left that war-torn country on Friday the 13^th,  and after crossing the International Dateline, was released from the U.S. Army on Friday the 13^th.  He considers it his lucky day.  

He started back into rodeo and began dating his wife to be,  Susie.   Troy worked as a truck driver and eventually went on to operate large cranes throughout the State of California.  He retired from the Operating Engineers after 35 years.

He has been involved with BCHC since 1997 when there was a dispute with the Forest Service over a favorite horse/cow camp in the Sierras where he met Ann Lange.   He has served as Public Lands for two Units and, is now President/Director/Public Lands for the Eastern Sierra Unit.

VP of Education

Email: stacykuhns@aol.com

Stacy Kuhns has been involved in the agriculture industry since 1978. Stacy has enjoyed being a 4H leader in Riverside County and teaching the new generation about the care and feeding of animals. She has worked for a local family-owned Feed manufacturer since 1992 as a territory sales rep. She has also been involved with CSHA Trail Trial Program and ACTHA American Competitive Trail Horse Association.

She is very involved as the education chair at her local unit and loves to pack in work crews. She is a Master Educator Instructor for the Leave No Trace Program (LNT) and a Backcountry Horseman Wilderness Rider. She has been involved with Backcountry Horsemen for 20 years.

Stacy is currently the VP of Education on the executive board of Backcountry Horseman of California where she is working to help educate and help keep trails open to all stock users.

VP of Youth Education

spashiners@yahoo.com

Custodian of Records

bchc_cor@yahoo.com

BCHA National Director Larry Shuman

Email: ishuman62@gmail.com

Larry has been an active member of BCHC Shasta Trinity Unit for 25 years. He has served on the Shasta Trinity Unit board 20 years. In those years he has been our Unit President 3 times totaling 9 years, Unit representative to the state board 7 years plus served many other functions for the Unit board

Larry has also served on the State board for as 1st VP for Insurance and as State President. During that time, he also was chairman of 3 rendezvous. Now he has the privilege of serving the State BCHC as National Representative.

This all started when his wife talked to a gentleman while waiting in line at the grocery store. He told her about Backcountry Horsemen, and she said we should join. By the next year Larry was on the local board, learning to pack while learning to ride. In one year, went from having 2 riding horses to 4 so they could pack. He currently have 2 horses and 4 mules and still love getting out to the mountains and pack each summer as much as possible.

Larry love the mountains and went to what is now the Trinity Alps Wilderness for the first time in the summer of 1964. In 1968 I spent 3and ½ months hitchhiking the west trout fishing (took the summer off) and visited many areas that would become wilderness areas. Larry has since been a bar manager, an engineering technician for the State of California and retired from the Department of Water Resources as Systems Analyst in 2007.

BCHA National Director

Email: trlryder@pacbell.net

Randy Hackbarth grew up in Sacramento area, moving to the Placerville area in 1975 with husband and 2 sons.

Worked for Pacific Bell/ AT&T for 28 years doing construction splicing then moving with technology into fiber optics and the electronics associated with it. Retiring out of the company as an Area Manager for Technical Support – Transport and Network Operations.

Randy has worked on Public lands issues for the equestrians locally with the ACE (Action Coalition for Equestrians) that was organized in 2003 till 2020.  Was a member of the El Dorado County Search and Rescue unit for 20 year. Did a few years of endurance riding, completing TEVIS CUP 100 mile endurance ride twice. Joined the SOS (Sweep Riders of the Sierras) which rode sweep for the WS 100 Mile Endurance run, Tevis Cup 100 Mile Endurance Ride and other local events giving aid and ham radio support.  For about 10 years worked for Horse Expo setting up the trail symposium speakers and assisting the BCHC MLU gentle use camp at Sacramento.  Around 2004 became a member of BCHC MLU to support trail politics at the national level in Washington DC.   

BCHA Alternate Director

Email: mgj82754@yahoo.com

Terry Jorgensen: I joined the San Diego unit of BCHC in early 1990’s shortly after moving to Ramona with my human and equine family.  Within the first year or two at the annual election of officers it was clear we needed someone in the Public Lands position. While I had no real idea of what that entailed I volunteered and served in that role for about 20 years thanks to wonderful mentors in BCHC.  Looking forward to the next 20 years. 

Past President

mickngig@sbcglobal.net

Wilderness Rider Steering Committee Chair

Email: stacykuhns@aol.com

Stacy Kuhns has been involved in the agriculture industry since 1978. Stacy has enjoyed being a 4H leader in Riverside County and teaching the new generation about the care and feeding of animals. She has worked for a local family-owned Feed manufacturer since 1992 as a territory sales rep. She has also been involved with CSHA Trail Trial Program and ACTHA American Competitive Trail Horse Association.

She is very involved as the education chair at her local unit and loves to pack in work crews. She is a Master Educator Instructor for the Leave No Trace Program (LNT) and a Backcountry Horseman Wilderness Rider. She has been involved with Backcountry Horsemen for 20 years.

Stacy is currently the VP of Education on the executive board of Backcountry Horseman of California where she is working to help educate and help keep trails open to all stock users.

5001 California Ave #102, Bakersfield, CA 93309

Annual Meeting Coordinator

Email: bludog46@gmail.com

Susie Patton is a California native and lifelong horse and mule owner.  She comes from a rodeo background and traveled that circuit as a child with her parents and brother.  She met her husband Troy as a kid, working around the rodeo.  Her father was a rodeo clown and bullfighter and later produced rodeos.   She worked as a rodeo secretary for for 15 years. 

Susie later worked as a school secretary for 30 years and upon their retirement Troy and Susie moved to the Eastern Sierra.  She is still involved with schools as the President of her local School Board.  Troy & Susie have been married over 50 years and have one son,  4 granddaughters, 2 great-granddaughters, and 2 great-grandsons. 

She has served as a BCHC Unit Secretary, Treasurer and Public Lands.  At the State level she was Public Lands VP before taking the job of State Secretary.  She is also currently Secretary/Treasurer of her unit.

Newsletter Editor, The Backcountry News

Email: BCHCNewsletter@gmail.com

Carol Jo Hargreaves

I joined Mid Valley Unit of Backcountry Horsemen of California sometime in 1989 or ‘90. At the time, I was dating a BCHC member who had a horse and riding mule and I wanted to join in on the unit’s fun-sounding work “parties” and other riding and social activities. It wasn’t long before I had my own riding mule, a truck and trailer, a ranchette for keeping it all, and had become deeply involved in administration of BCHC.

I served as Mid Valley Unit’s secretary for many years, helped put together the unit’s monthly newsletter, developed curriculum for teaching packing classes, helped put on educational events, chaired the annual Columbia Christmas Parade for about 10 years, served on Rendezvous Committees for the events held in Turlock, and was elected the unit’s first (and so far, only) woman president.

My first elected position in state BCHC was as Alternate National Director to Back Country Horsemen of America for the year 2000. I never got to do anything, however, because neither of the Directors ever missed a meeting. In 2001, I was elected BCHC Secretary and served until 2005 under the leadership of BCHC Presidents Toby Horst and John Keyes. When the BCHC Newsletter Editor position became vacant, I moved to that job and served from 2005 through 2011. After a hiatus during which I edited Woodbridge LIFE, the monthly paper for the Woodbridge/Del Webb 55+ community in Manteca, as well as Renaissance, the monthly newsletter for the nonprofit Peer Recovery Art Project in Modesto, in September 2019, I again became BCHC’s Editor. In addition to editing the BCHC paper, I served on the Insurance Committee and am currently serving on the Bylaws Committee.

I was born in Seattle, Washington, earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Washington and have worked in a variety of different jobs from insurance adjuster to reference librarian to supervisor and manager. In 1980, I moved to Modesto, California, where I began working for Stanislaus County. After 30 years, I retired from county employment in 2010. I have been married to Larry Schneider since 2006. Larry’s career was as Bottling Director for Woodbridge Winery/Robert Mondavi in Lodi, California. I have one son, Andrew, who lives in Surprise, Arizona, with his wife and our two terrific teenage grandsons. Larry has two sons, one in Stockton, California, and the other in Farmington, Missouri.

I enjoy worldwide traveling, camping in our motor home (and little vintage trailer), boating and other water activities, reading and knitting. I am Recording Secretary for my P.E.O. chapter, an international women’s philanthropic and educational organization, participate in a local book club and volunteer at the food bank.

Larry and I moved to Long Lake in Olympia, Washington, in October 2019, but that doesn’t stop me from being active in BCHC. I sincerely enjoy creating The Backcountry News every quarter. I learn something new and improve my editing and pagination skills with every edition. It’s fun to be inventive and to work with members of other BCHC units, and I am proud to produce a paper that represents our organization in a professional way.

Membership

Email: chipherzig@gmail.com

Chip Herzig is Retired, US Navy. He has been a  past president of his local Backcountry Horsemen of California (BCHC) unit, and has also been involved in the State Board for BCHC, including serving as statewide president for three years. Through his involvement with BCHC, he has generated much support for volunteer packing in general and for PCT packing projects. He is retired from the U.S. Navy and, until recently, taught computer science at Riverside Community College. He also served as the computer science department chair for three years. After moving to Nevada, Chip has continued to support BCHC by serving as VP of Membership.

Saw Coordinator

Email: stumblinl55@gmail.com

Michael Lewis

Mike was born overseas but grew up on a small farm in N. East Ohio. He got his first pony at nine that started the path his life would take. As a teenager he moved west to Utah, Colorado, and finally Wyoming where he worked as a cowboy, breaking mules and horses for a living. In the mid 80’s he made his way down to sunny So. California where met and married his wife of 39 years. In 2008 he began packing in trail crews for the PCTA (Pacific Crest Trail Association) and soon after joined the local BCHC unit, Redshank Riders. He continues to pack for a number of agencies and also serves as a saw instructor for BCHC and PCTA. He currently holds the position of BCHC Saw Program Coordinator and at this time, serves as President of his BCHC unit.

Member Communications Coordinator

Email: bchc.coordinator@gmail.com

Alyssa Alvarez is a long-time resident of Humboldt County, CA with a passion for volunteering and public service. When she found the Backcountry Horsemen organization in 2019, she felt that she had found “her people.” In her current appointed position, she strives to bolster the organization’s volunteer hours reporting in order to obtain more grants and funding to keep public trails open and accessible for all. Her hobbies include kayaking, aerial acrobatics, riding her thoroughbred Gozo and training her baby mule Boone.

Webmule

Email: brennaluet@hotmail.com

Jacque Murphy is a California native. She has been a BCHC member for 20+ years. She is currently the Webmule and a Wilderness Rider. In the past, she has served as Education Steering Committee Member and VP of Youth Education. She is also a board member and the webmaster for the Redwood Unit.

Jacque volunteers for multiple public service and education organizations. She leads a Cub Scout Pack and two BSA Troops in her hometown. She and her horse are a member of California State Parks Mounted Assistance Unit.

She lives in Humboldt County with her husband and two children. Teaching her kids to be active, productive members of the community is a passion for her. The Murphy family can regularly be found volunteering at an events, working on conservation projects, and educating themselves and others.