Volunteers are needed to help the 100 Mile and District Outriders prepare for their summer season.
On Sunday, May 4, the Outriders are welcoming community members to join them for a work bee to clean up the 100 Mile and District Outriders Arena. Danita McLaren, president of the Outriders, said they plan to clean up the arena, repair parts of the concession and secure the facility. She noted there are also further upgrades the Outriders plan to make later this year.
"We could use a dump trailer to haul everything away because there is some stuff that has been accumulating over the years. Then we could use some carpentry help with kind of securing part of the concession to get it critter-proofed. We've got the supplies, we just need the man-power to do that," McLaren remarked. "The more the merrier. We're working on a list so people don't show up and find nothing to do."
The work bee will get underway at 10 a.m. on Sunday and run until all the work is completed. McLaren noted that the more people they get, the faster the work will go. She added that people who want to help can contact her ahead of time so she can assign them jobs and ensure they aren't wasting anyone's time. McLaren can be reached at 100mileoutriders@gmail.com or 250-644-5686.
Tasks include cleaning out the grounds, levelling the riding arena and fixing up the concession stand. McLaren explained that in addition to making it harder for animals to get in, they would like to paint the exterior if they have time. She also hopes to set up a few new pens for cattle they've purchased thanks to funding from Horse Council B.C.
Out of an abundance of caution, McLaren said this event will only be open to adults. This is because they have found evidence that someone was living in the chutes of the grounds during the winter, and they want to avoid exposing children to any potentially dangerous substances.
"There has been someone living or staying at the grounds. There are some questionable items lying around, so it's a bit of a safety concern for our members and their horses," McLaren explained. "We want to make sure the place is 100 per cent safe before we go forward."
During the work bee, McLaren remarked that they also plan to work on securing the grounds. Outside of the individual camping out on the grounds, she noted that they have had several break-ins to their sea-can, where they store supplies. Due to the weak internet, she said they have been unable to install enough security cameras around the sea-cans and are considering moving them.
"(We are going to) add some more signage to deter people. People think (the grounds) are part of the dog park, and it's not. So we need to reduce traffic to only members or the public during events," McLaren explained.
During the summer, McLaren said they'll also be replacing one of the arena's sets of old wooden bleachers with new metal bleachers. She noted they received a grant to complete this project and plan to complete it sometime after the fourth annual Logan Parent Memorial Bulls and Barrels, scheduled for June 14-15.
"We're just waiting on the supplier to get us a final equipment count so we know exactly what we need. They've done a site visit, so we're just waiting on their evaluation and then hopefully right after Bulls and Barrels, we can get some help from a local business to demolish that, haul it away and then get the new ones up," McLaren explained.
McLaren said that it is important to get the arena ready due to the large number of events they have planned this year, including several gymkhanas being organized in partnership with the Interlakes Horse Club and the 70 Mile Riding Club and a few fun holiday-themed events.
This year, the Outriders are introducing a special kids program that will be "bigger and better" than anything they've done in the past, according to McLaren. This is to encourage more youth to get into equestrian events and will serve as a replacement for the 100 Mile House Little Britches Rodeo, which has been cancelled for this year.
"Last year, if it wasn't for a grant that we received, we would have lost money (doing Little Britches). It's a huge amount of work that taps out our volunteer base. So to tap out our volunteer base and lose money, it makes it kind of counterproductive," McLaren said, noting less than 10 of 100 participants last year were locals.
"We thought, why not use our funds and volunteers to do more for our local kids? It was a super hard decision because this has been going on for so many years, but we thought it would be for the best of our club this year."
