The Northwest Gaited Horse Club’s Trail Ride Program is a great way to have fun on horseback, and meet people from all aspects of the equine industry who love horses and riding. Rider's explore parks, evergreen forests, beautiful beaches and some of the northwest’s most scenic public lands.

Trail Riding Program - Incentives/Awards
As a way to encourage recreational riders and recognize participants who attend more than one trail ride a year, NGHC will present awards at the end of the year to the rider having the most logged trail hours. With the Hourly Log Incentive, NGHC members can earn awards by attending NGHC trail rides or going on your own trail ride. All gaited horse enthusiasts are welcome to participate; however, you need to be a NGHC club member to receive the awards. In January of the next year, awards for most hours ridden will be presented. Riders must submit logs by December 31 of the current year showing how many hours ridden to qualify.

Hourly Log Sheet
Simply complete the log after each trail ride and include: date, number of trail hours, location of trail, name of trail and city, state or province. The hourly log needs to be returned to the NGHC by December 31 of the current year. [Download log sheet]

Trail Riding Tip Sheet
See our tip sheet for planning your trail rides and we hope you enjoy the Northwest Gaited Horse Club Trail Ride Program. As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Trail Committee
Volunteers are the heart of the Northwest Gaited Horse Club and contribute the energy and enthusiasm that keep the activities fun, new, and educational. We are currently looking for volunteers to form a Trail Committee. The Trail Committee duties are:

• Select, review, and rate locations for trail rides
• Schedule dates and times for trail rides
• Tabulate hours ridden by club members at end of year, utilizing an hourly log, and award members with the most hours ridden for the current year.
• Ensure information regarding trail rides is disseminated to the Club membership in a timely manner.

There is also interest in attending competitive trail rides. To learn more about competitive trail rides, please review the Washington State Horsemen Competitive Trail Division Rulebook and their "what is a competitive trail ride?" article.

Trail Rating System for Trail Committee

	= Easy - less than 2 hours to complete, little or no incline, no water crossing.
	= Somewhat easy - 2-3 hours to complete with some incline.
	= Moderate - 3-4 hours to complete, incline.
	= Difficult - over 4 hours to complete, water crossing and steep incline.

This is a great opportunity to meet trail riding enthusiasts and help others learn to enjoy the great places to ride in the Northwest. For more information on becoming a Trail Committee member, please contact the club at info@nwgaitedhorse.com.