Jamie Wilson, DVM

Email: bchc_vp1@bchcalifornia.org

(559) 202-7216

Jamie went on her first pack trip at age 13 with her mom, a member of the High Sierra Stock Users. Since then Jamie has found time for trips in the central Sierras, squeezing them in college and vet school at UC Davis and owning a veterinary practice in Porterville. A charter member of the Sequoia Unit of BCHC, Jamie has been a State Director since 2015 and is currently serving as the BCHC 1st Vice President (Insurance). She is committed to keeping trails and wilderness open for stock.

Email: bchc_secretary@bchcalifornia.org

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 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 and Susie have been married over 50 years and have one son, 4 granddaughters, 2 great-granddaughters, and 2 great-grandsons.

Susie has served as a BCHC Unit Secretary, Treasurer and Public Lands Chair. 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, Eastern Sierra.

Email: bchc_publiclands1@bchcalifornia.org

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 age 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.

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

Email: bchc_education2@bchcalifornia.org

Hello, everyone, I am Denise Robinson. I am a wife, a mother and a grandmother. I have also been involved in Backcountry Horsemen of California for over 20 years. I am a member of the Sierra Freepackers Unit in Oakhurst, Eastern Madera County, California. I am their Unit Education chair but have served as President as well as Secretary of this unit in the past. I am a Wilderness Rider Class of 2001.

My horse and I have travelled most of the Ansel Adams Wilderness and she knows it like the back of her hoof. Now that she is retired, I am riding a mule and look forward to taking her to those favorite places I miss.

For 10 years I was a Campground Host for Granite Creek Horse Camp until the Creek Fire of 2020. That fire squashed a lot of plans for backcountry travel, things are changing. This summer I will be a Ranger Station Host at Clover Meadow and looking forward to again helping visitors, hikers and equestrians enjoy what is available to them.

As Co-VP of Education on the State Board I look forward to encouraging and involving our state units in the Education aspects of BCHC. We are a service organization and as such we need to be informed and to educate all. I believe Education, Public Lands and Service are what BCHC is all about. We are going to encourage ALL units to have an Education Chair and we will be inviting that person to attend State meetings and to be involved in our State Education Committee. We need to know that the Education needs are being met and we can do it as a TEAM.

Email: bchc_youthed2@bchcalifornia.org

I am a life-long resident of the Springville area. Although I was born in Sacramento, California, my father who grew up in the area, returned here with his family when I was young. My father loved this area and everything outdoors, especially the backcountry, animals, and gardening, and he instilled the love of the nature and public lands in me.

I have three children who I am very proud of, and they all love the out of doors as much as I do. My daughter recently resided in Ghana for a few years and flew back in the summers to participate in our annual pack trips into the Golden Trout Wilderness.

I love children and was fortunate to work for Porterville Unified School District for 46 years, with the last twenty plus years at the District Office. Upon retirement, I worked for 2 years at Lowes in their nursery as the Plant Merchandiser, passing on my love of plants and gardening to their customers. I worked as a Veterinary Assistant briefly for a local Veterinarian surrounded by another love of mine, animals. I currently am employed by the US Forest Service at the Sequoia National Forest Supervisor’s Office. I am the Central California Regional Coordinator for IMPS (Internet Miniature Pinscher Services) a national Miniature Pinscher rescue group and foster for that organization on a regular basis. I am the outgoing President of 8 years of Backcountry Horsemen of California – Sequoia Unit and am the Secretary of the Springville Rodeo Board of Directors.

My life has not always gone smoothly, but getting out, volunteering, and helping others has put my problems in perspective since there are many people whose circumstances make mine look insignificant. The rewards I have experienced from giving are numerous and I will continue to assist where I can for as long as I am able.

I am enthusiastic about our nation’s public lands, packing and camping on them, and am looking forward to helping youth become as addicted to the peace and beauty of nature and to the personal rewards of volunteering as I am.

Email: bchc_natdir1@bchcalifornia.org

Randy Hackbarth grew up in the Sacramento area and moved to the Placerville area in 1975 with her husband and two sons.

Randy 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. Randy retired from the company as an Area Manager for Technical Support – Transport and Network Operations.

Randy has worked on Public Lands issues for equestrians locally with the Action Coalition for Equestrians (ACE), organized in 2003 until 2020.  Randy was a member of the El Dorado County Search and Rescue unit for 20 years. She did a few years of endurance riding, completing the TEVIS CUP 100-mile endurance ride twice. Randy joined Sweep Riders of the Sierras (SOS) 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 Randy worked for Horse Expo, setting up trail symposium speakers and assisting with the BCHC Mother Lode Unit gentle use camp at the Sacramento Horse Expo.  Around 2004, Randy became a member of BCHC Mother Lode Unit to support trail politics at the national level in Washington, D.C.

Email: bchc_altnatdir@bchcalifornia.org

Terry Jorgensen joined the San Diego unit of BCHC in the early 1990s, shortly after moving to Ramona with her human and equine family.  Within the first year or two, at the annual election of officers, it was clear her unit needed someone in the Public Lands position. While she had no real idea of what that entailed, Terry volunteered and served in that role for about 20 years, thanks to wonderful mentors in BCHC.  She is now president of the Manzanita Riders Unit and looking forward to the next 20 years.

Email: bchc_secretary@bchcalifornia.org

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 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 and Susie have been married over 50 years and have one son,  4 granddaughters, 2 great-granddaughters, and 2 great-grandsons.

Susie has served as a BCHC Unit Secretary, Treasurer and Public Lands Chair.  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, Eastern Sierra.

Jamie Wilson, DVM

Email: bchc_vp1@bchcalifornia.org

(559) 202-7216

Jamie went on her first pack trip at age 13 with her mom, a member of the High Sierra Stock Users. Since then Jamie has found time for trips in the central Sierras, squeezing them in college and vet school at UC Davis and owning a veterinary practice in Porterville. A charter member of the Sequoia Unit of BCHC, Jamie has been a State Director since 2015 and is currently serving as the BCHC 1st Vice President (Insurance). She is committed to keeping trails and wilderness open for stock.

Email: bchc_newsletter@bchcalifornia.org

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 2020, 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, and participate in a local book club.

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.

Email: bchc_sawcoord@bchcalifornia.org

Mike was born overseas but grew up on a small farm in northeast Ohio. He got his first pony at age nine that started the path his life would take. As a teenager Mike moved west to Utah, Colorado, and finally Wyoming where he worked as a cowboy, breaking mules and horses for a living. In the mid 1980s he made his way down to sunny Southern California where he met and married his wife of 39 years. In 2008, Mike began packing in trail crews for the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) and soon after that joined his 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. Mike currently holds the position of BCHC Saw Program Manager and serves as President of his BCHC unit.

Email: bchc_vp2@bchcalifornia.org

As a lifelong lover of horses and intrepid explorer of our vast wilderness areas, when I heard about Backcountry Horsemen I thought, this is a great fit for me. Unfortunately, my job made it almost impossible for me to join this organization. Within days of my retirement, I became a member of the High Country Unit in northeastern California. 

I volunteered to fill our unit's Public Lands position thinking it was a good way for me to learn what Backcountry Horsemen was all about and, boy, did I get an education! 

Recently, I filled the position of 2nd Vice President of Service and Volunteer Hours Reporting. I relinquished that position on the state board and have been focusing on our local unit for the last two to three years. I was asked if I would fill the position again for this election cycle and agreed that I could help out. 

If you have any questions about how to fill out your volunteer hours work sheets or any other questions, such as what you should be documenting, please contact me. I will gladly help you in any way I can. 

Remember, your service counts and is important for preserving equestrian’s right to access our public lands. Happy trails and thank you for your service,

Cindy McMurry

Email: bchc_youthed1@bchcalifornia.org

I started packing into the Sierra on hunting trips in about 1995. I became a member of BCHC’s Kern Sierra Unit more than 20 years ago. They had their spring ride on a private ranch and you had to be a member to ride. I had no idea what BCHC was at the time. Since then, I have held many leadership positions in my unit including President, Vice President and Education chair (forever!). At the State BCHC level I have served as 1 st VP (Insurance), 2 nd VP (Volunteer Hours), and am currently the Co-VP of Youth Education and the Custodian of Records.

I was born in California and have lived in Colorado, Texas, and Missouri. Since 1991, I have been the owner operator of Spa Shiners, a spa service company. My husband Nate and I have been married 22 years. We got engaged on a Kern Sierra Unit work party in Kern Flats on the Kern River. We currently reside on a small ranch in Caliente, California. I am a mother/stepmother to five children, the grandmother of 10, and have one great grandchild (so far). I am blessed with a beautiful family, wonderful friends and good health.

I have many hobbies (truly too many to mention!)

Through the years my involvement in Backcountry Horsemen has helped me grow as a person. I used to be shy (shocking, I know!) I am very excited about the development of the Youth Achievement Program, designed to uplift our youth with fun and exciting activities.