Backcountry Horsemen of California
BCHC is an all-volunteer organization. People volunteer because they believe in the organization’s mission and they want to help and make a difference. The BCHC Special Awards Program recognizes members for their efforts, time and contributions to the organization. Awards encourage future effort, increase members’ sense of belonging and feeling of accomplishment. Special recognition is also given to members who donate money over and above their annual dues. BCHC appreciates their monetary contributions.
This award is presented as determined by accomplishments to the member who, in the
eyes of the judges (BCHC Past Presidents), blazed new trails in some facet of the
operations of the organization. Any member may nominate, by letter, anyone he or she
feels has demonstrated qualities of a “trail blazer”.
The award was created in honor of Dr. Ben York, Jr., DVM, who rode the entire length
of the Pacific Crest Trail in the spring, summer and fall of 1992. His ride took place
during the last year of his BCHC Presidency. Dr. York rode the PCT to promote trail
riding and the goals and purposes of Backcountry Horsemen.
Nominations for this award are due to the VP of Public Lands no later than February 1.
The award is presented at Rendezvous.
The winner of the 2022 Ben York Trailblazer Award was Lynn Joiner, Kern Sierra Unit.
Anne Lange was a founding member of BCHC. Her focus was always on trails and
maintaining them for pack stock use. She was a powerful voice with BCHC, BCHA and
in Washington, D.C. - always advocating for trails and to keep them open.
This award is presented annually to a unit member who goes above and beyond in the
Public Lands arena, and has consistently worked in Public Lands, improving trails,
meeting with agencies, and advocating for trail improvement. The nominee should have
a true passion for preserving Public Lands.
The awards selection process is as follows:
A letter and the nominating form will go to all Unit Presidents and Public Lands Chairs
two months prior to Rendezvous. The form will be due February 1 to BCHC VP of Public
Lands and Award will be given at Rendezvous. A committee headed by the VP of
Public Lands and two other members will review the nominations and chose the
recipient. The specially selected, personalized award will be presented at that year’s
Rendezvous.
The winner of the 2022 Ann Lange Award was Marily Reese, High Sierra Unit.
This award is presented to the unit that completed the most outstanding service record
for the year. Each unit prepares a complete report of the year’s activities, using the
Volunteer Service Hours Report form. Highest Dollar Value Per Capita and Highest
Dollar Value are the two awards given.
Unit Volunteer Service Hours Reports are due to BCHC 2 nd Vice President (Service) by
February 1.
Awards are presented at Rendezvous.
2023 Highest Dollar Value Per Capita Award - Sequoia Unit
2023 Highest Dollar Value Award - Redshank Riders Unit
The unit and its newsletter editor are selected for the quality of their newsletter based
on the following criteria: Content 70%, Appearance 20%, Consistency 10%. Content
includes Substance, Interest, Variety, Completeness (Unit’s name, Issue month/year,
list of Officers, a calendar, etc.), Timeliness, and Accuracy. Appearance includes
Overall, Format, and Type. Consistency includes Frequency (monthly quarterly other).
All units are invited to send copies (paper or digital) of their year’s newsletters to the
BCHC Newsletter by the established deadline. A panel of judges reviews each paper
and scores the newsletters.
Entries for 2024 newsletters are due to the BCHC Editor by February 5, 2025.
First, second and third place awards are presented at Rendezvous.
The winners of the 2023 Max and Irene Cochran Journalism Award were:
1st Place – Kathy Zumbrunn, Vicki Morales, and Gail
Jamieson, Mid Valley Unit
2nd Place – Michele Machado, Top of the State Unit
3rd Place - Laura Rodger, Shasta Trinity Unit
The education efforts of individuals and units throughout the state are deserving of
special recognition. Education is a cornerstone and integral part of the organization’s
purpose.
Individuals and units who go the extra mile in their education efforts should be
rewarded. The Backcountry Horsemen of California are proud to sponsor annual
awards given to the outstanding individual and the outstanding unit for their education
programs. The awards program is as follows:
• A letter and the nominating form will be sent to all Unit Presidents and Education
Chairs two months prior to Rendezvous along with the nominating form.
• An awards committee will make the selection. This committee will be made up of three
individuals from the BCHC Education Committee, selected at random.
• The nominations will be submitted to the Education Steering Committee by February 1st.
The awards will be presented at the Rendezvous.
The Selection Criteria for the awards is:
The 2022 Individual Education Award Winner was Anna Baglione, Eastern Sierra Unit.
The awards selection committee will evaluate the nominating forms, as well as review the
Education Summary Reports, which are submitted in March and October.
Nominations forms must be submitted to the VP of Education no later than February 1st.
There were no nominations for the 2022 Unit Education Award.
The Wilderness Rider program is a partnership between Backcountry Horsemen of California,
the National Park Service, the USDA Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
Wilderness Riders are trained stock users who have made a commitment to educating others
about the value of wild lands and the importance of Gentle Use / Leave No Trace Skills.
The 2022 Wilderness Rider of the Year was Patricia Vallentyne, Sierra Freepackers Unit.
When a BCHC youth completes an activity/project, a Project Completion Form is submitted to
the unit’s Youth Program Leader. Each month these forms are compiled and sent to the BCHC
VP of Youth Education to receive achievement medallions for that unit’s participants.
The achievement medallion is a two-inch leather medallion with leather cordage. Each
activity/project category has graphics representing the project and includes the recipient’s name,
unit and year. Achievement medallions are awarded to the youth at unit and/or general meetings.
At the end of each year, the unit’s Youth Program Leader submits one name and
a detailed explanation for the submission, for each of the four age groups.
Names are placed in the running for the State Top Achiever Award, presented at
Rendezvous.
Age Group Winners:
(The age is determined for the calendar year of the youth’s birthday regardless of their birth
month.)
6-9 years
10-12 years
13-15 years
16-18 years
This program is brand new. No awards have been presented to date.
Every year each unit President selects an individual that, in the President’s estimation,
provided the greatest service to the President and to his/her unit. The award itself is a
stainless-steel cup engraved with the year and name of the recipient. The selection is
not necessarily made from unit officers or Board of Directors.
Each unit President submits the selected individual’s name to the BCHC Treasurer by
February 1.
This award was first presented at the 1988 Convention and continues to be a popular
award presented at every Rendezvous.
2023 Top Hand winners were:
| Antelope Valley | Hillery Lancaster |
| Eastern Sierra | Colin Vaughan |
| High Country | Pete Jansen & Sandy Jansen |
| High Sierra | Bob Herrick |
| Kern River Valley | Pat Shreffler |
| Kern Sierra | Sylvia Chavez |
| Los Padres | John Gleason |
| Mid Valley | Kathy Zumbrunn |
| Mother Lode | Debbie Isakson |
| North Bay | James Kelley |
| Pacific Crest | Joel Sponsler |
| Redshank Riders | The Peckmans |
| Redwood | Crystal Dalton & Rene Griffith |
| San Joaquin Sierra | Doug Laber |
| Santa Ana River | Mike Williams |
| Sequoia | Lisa Gammel |
| Shasta Trinity | George Archer |
| Sierra Freepackers | Gary Bates |
| Sutter Buttes | Jacki Sandquist |
| Top of the State | Robert Robustellini |
(Lake-Mendo Unit did not submit a name)
Members who donate money over and above their annual dues are given special recognition in
appreciation of their monetary contributions to BCHC. Names of special members are
published in the quarterly Backcountry News as well as being listed on the BCHC website, and
the BCHC President sends each individual a thank you letter.
The following special members are recognized for their extra donations to BCHC:
BENEFACTOR ($100)
| Antelope Valley | Marge Biehl |
| Eastern Sierra | Bill Carter |
| Troy Patton | |
| High Sierra | Ruth Gerson |
| Nancy Hamill | |
| Kern Sierra | Mylon Filkins, DVM |
| Craig Gunderson | |
| Jynn Joiner | |
| Larry Mumford | |
| Lake-Mendo | Tim Holliday |
| Richard Knox | |
| Los Padres | Kaye Bruns |
| Robin Cederlof | |
| William Chaides | |
| Eve Devine | |
| Laura D. Wimer | |
| Manzanita Riders | Lynda & Michael Sterns |
| Mid Valley | Tony Alamo |
| Karen Barindelli | |
| Jay Barnes | |
| Gary A. Cain | |
| Bob Cooper | |
| Carol Jo Hargreaves | |
| Rian Hudson | |
| Debra Lewis | |
| Bob Magee | |
| Jennifer Marshall | |
| John V. Marshall | |
| MID VALLEY UNIT | |
| Randy Powell | |
| John Schaapman | |
| Valerie Sterling | |
| Bill Thomas | |
| Les Weidman | |
| Mother Lode | Tom Cooper |
| Donna Jones Furlow | |
| Jaede Miloslavich | |
| Annabelle Toothaker | |
| Stephanie Williams | |
| North Bay | Lynn Cominsky |
| Redshank Riders | Ron Robertson |
| Redwood | James Bitema |
| Carole & Darrel Polasek | |
| San Joaquin Sierra | Larry Nishma, Knapp-Yosemite Trls Pk Sta |
| Stephen Naylon | |
| Cathie Walker | |
| Santa Ana River | Pat Wolff |
| Sequoia | Kathryn C. Bennett |
| Jamie Wilson, DVM | |
| Shasta Trinity | Ken Hartman |
| Lori Henderson | |
| Laura Rodger |
PATRON ($250)
| High Country | Lynn Saunders |
| High Sierra | Richard Cochran |
| Jacob Hamstra | |
| Karl Pendegraft | |
| Trish Pendegraft | |
| Sonia Shepard McLellan | |
| Kern Sierra | Willi Coeler |
| Los Padres | Otis Calef |
| Manzanita Riders | Lynda & Michael Sterns |
| Mid Valley | Dennis M. Serpa |
| Sequoia | Jan Walker |
| Kathryn C. Bennett | |
| Shasta Trinity | Bruce McGowan |
| Sutter Buttes | Kay Walters |
MT. WHITNEY ($500)
| Eastern Sierra | Pamela Bartley |
| Sarah C. Sheehan | |
| Kern Sierra | Roger Whitaker |
| Mid Valley | Terri Arington |
| Lloyd Erlandson | |
| John Young | |
| Mother Lode | Catherine Godwin |
| Pacific Crest | Craig Bugajski |
| Redshank Riders | Allison Renck |
| Shasta Trinity | Dean Angelides |
| Top of the State | Sarabecca Barnett |