Held on August 23 - 25 2024, at the Coombs Fairgrounds, Coastal Jamboree was a grand success.

This event was co-sponsored by Silver Spur Riding Club and Back Country Horsemen of BC, CVI Chapter.

Here’s some of what we experienced . . .

Trail obstacle course: Tabatha Hepworth, newfoundationnaturalhorsemanship.com, wase available for 2 hours each Sat & Sun to help us help our horses tackle the kind of challenges we find on the trail AND in our urban environments. Dig into her expertise and take advantage of this opportunity.

Pacific Equine Bodyworks: Elisha Anderson, a certified deep tissue equine sports massage therapist and functional equine osteopath, presented her treatment process and benefits to the horse through a demonstration. She also showed us some hands-on techniques to use on our own equine partners.

Dutch Oven: Our SVI guru, Eleanor Elston, set up a tantalizing demo to become part of our Friday evening pot-luck.

Poetry Sharing: This is a Back Country Horsemen time-honoured tradition.

Hoof boot forum – Farriers remark that a high percentage of “Islanders” use hoof boots compared to other regions. Must be part of the “granola” vibe here. We brought boots and gave a quick talk on why we choose them, how to put them on, and what the advantages and pitfalls are. We’ll also explored some new glue-on products.

Digital Mapping – Lynn Devries  showed us step-by-step some tools we can use to navigate our way around trails, map our route, and share it with others. Smart phone based.

Finding your horse’s vital signs – Cheryl Oickle, a registered nurse, took hands-on through a typical “vet check” where we found and measured our equine’s heart rate, gut sounds, temperature, and capillary refill, to get familiar with “normal” so you’ll know when something’s not right.

Silver Spur games – The Silver Spur Riding club gymkhana games are a favourite local activity. Saturday afternoon we played 5 “regular” and very “irregular” and skill-testing games on horseback and on foot!

Catered Dinner

Equine & Canine Chiropractic Demo – Dr Kevin Keller DVM, demonstrated his technique for helping our furry friends feel and perform their best.

Gina Allan – took us through a post-pancake breakfast “equifit” workout.

Dr. Bettina Bobsien DVM, presented a talk “Live Long and Prosper - caring for the aging equine”. The south coast has the highest percentage of horses over 20 years old in the country! Dr Bettina discussed how we and our horses can enjoy their senior years to the fullest.

Trails!! – There are up to 3 hours of gorgeous trails right off the fairgrounds. Please kick poop off the RDN Rail Trail portion. In addition, there are “twelve trailheads” in Oceanside where you can park and enjoy several hours of great riding. Geo-referenced maps provided.