Volunteers taking a break.
The Central Vancouver Island (CVI) Chapter has anywhere between 70 to over 100 members and serves the central part of Vancouver Island. Members who join come from as far as Sooke to the south, Courtenay to the north and Port Alberni to the west. The CVI Chapter was formed in 2012 by a strong group of BCHBC enthusiasts who wanted to apply the BCHBC mission to their geographic area. This would ensure a voice was present during the development and protection of equine accessible trails and the need to identify and access areas for safe trailer parking on public lands and trails. This included the collaboration and development of partnerships with the large Regional District of Nanaimo’s Parks andTrails, the BC Ministry of Forests, Crown Lands, local multi-user groups, and North Cowichan Forest Land Management.
Jim Fiddick is a driving force for trail creation and maintenance.
West of Nanaimo sat a large tract of “crown land” with access to potential trails, roads, and the Trans Canada Trail. The key initiative was to secure some of this area for safe trailer parking usage. Members applied for and secured a Section 56 agreement with BC Rec Sites and Trails .
In 2014, the site now fondly named the “Spruston Staging Area”, had flourished through the hard work of the chapter to a large parking and picnic area, complete with 17 plus corrals and two pit toilets. This area has a vast trails net work and is enjoyed by many BCHBC horse riding enthusiasts from all over B.C. A georeferenced trail map is also available at the site.
In 2022, the land holder for the Spruston Staging Area lands (formerly BC Crown land) was transferred to the Snuneymuxw First Nation. As a result of the land changes, CVI has been working collaboratively with this First Nation, the Provincial Government, and Mosaic Forest Management to manage the authorized use of the area. Through this effort, an access gate was installed to the Spruston staging site in 2022 (thanks to Mosaic).
Due to the land transfer, Spruston now operates as a private site, managed by the Central Vancouver Island Chapter on lands now held by the Snuneymuxw First Nations.
Lots of room for rigs.
Corrals at Spruston.
Spruston is open to BCHBC members from all chapters who must contact CVI for the access code to the gate. There is no cost!
CVI has also been successful in collaboration with the Regional District of Nanaimo for the installation of a large, designated horse trailer parking area off of Timberlands Road. This area is part of the Trans Canada Trail, and provides extensive trail riding just south and east of Spruston on the south side of the Haslam River.
So many trails and views at Spruston.
Submitted by Lynn deVries of Central Vancouver Island Chapter.
BCHBC is privileged to have Saddle Up Magazine as ‘the official voice’ of our province-wide organization. We value this partnership and encourage you to check out Saddle Up magazine online and consider supporting this BC-based publication by purchasing a subscription. You may also pick up printed copies of Saddle Up in 156 cities/towns with 340 outlets, mainly in BC and Alberta, as well as other parts of Canada and the US. It’s free!
Read the August issue of Saddle Up, including the BCHBC story. Or enjoy our feature story right here.
