Mid-Valley Chapter

About Our Chapter

Mid-Valley OET chapter meets the second Wednesday of each month in Albany at the Sizzler Restaurant on Santiam Highway. Members and guests start arriving at 6 pm for a no-host dinner and at 7 pm our business meeting starts. This allows time to visit, talk about horses and plan informal rides before the meeting starts. Often there is an informative speaker or demonstration before the meeting. We are always excited to welcome new people to our group, we pride ourselves on being a diverse and fun chapter. We have campouts, fun rides and work parties throughout the seasons. We have had a knott clinic and some other specialized training that you may really enjoy!

The Mid Valley Chapter has been around for many years and has enjoyed an active membership of men and women willing to work hard in any kind of weather. Our projects cover local areas like McDonald Forest and Ball Hill Park in Corvallis as well as farther reaching areas like Sevenmile Horse camp and the Santiam Wagon Road in the Willamette National Forest and Cultus Corral in the Deschutes National Forest. We have an annual poker ride that is one of the oldest around. It is hosted on beautiful private property and everyone is welcome to attend. The Jokers Wild Poker Ride provides the funds to keep our tool trailer full of the needed tools to support any trail project big or small. In addition, the Poker Ride proceeds covers materials like gravel and poles needed for trail work and horse camp maintenance. Jokers Wild Poker Ride June 23, 2024!  Save the Date!

Chapter Officers

• Chapter Chair: Mark Lehnert
• Vice-Chair: Joe Taylor
• Treasurer: Rosemarie Mahoney
• Secretary: Rosemarie Mahoney
• Field Service Representative: OPEN MacDonald Forest
• Field Service Representative: Jodi Knutson – Willamette NF, Deschutes NF, PCT

Annual Event

• Annual Joker’s Wild Poker Ride flyer

Joker’s Wild Poker Ride

The Mid Valley Chapter puts on the Jokers’ Wild Poker Ride on the last Sunday in June every year. The poker ride is at the fantastic TE Ranch near Philomath, Oregon. The ride lasts 2-4 hours and goes over hills and through creeks. The scenery is fabulous on the hill tops looking at the mountains of the coast range and the surrounding communities. The chapter gets together the Saturday before to ride and mark the route. Members can camp overnight at the TE camp facilities. On Sunday, Mid Valley OET members volunteer their time to make this ride a fun event for other equestrians. We have raised money with this event to build trails and horse facilities and to stock our equipment trailer with the tools needed for these work parties.

Chapter Resources

•  Full Page Chapter Calendar
•  Subscribe to our calendar.
•  Chapter Facebook Page

Horse Camp Projects

The Mid Valley Chapter has recently  built two horse camps. Both of these offer great camping and riding opportunities that aren’t used as often as they should be. Next time you plan a horse trip, visit one of these camps. They both do not require reservations and the only charge is for parking your rig

Seven Mile Horse Camp

This camp is located near milepost 59 on Hwy 20 out of Sweet Home. It is located on the Old Santiam Wagon Road, where wagon ruts can still be seen from when the wagons crossed the Cascades. There is a pioneer tombstone near the Wagon Road. We have gotten a grant and installed a cement pit toilet at the camp. There are several campsites with corrals and fire pits. We have built a water source for horses from a nearby spring. Riding west on the trail leads to Mountain. Riding east on the trail leads to the bridge we built with the assistance of the OSU College of Engineering students in May of 2003. If you continue east, you can almost ride to Sisters. Plans are in the works to actually continue the trail all the way to Sisters in the future.  This spring, we will begin work on the loop trail which will connect the camp to the Wagon Road.

  Met Win to Bear Valley Forest Service Rd1216 trail help: April 28th call Jodi to verify-see below.

Cultus Horse Camp ****Trail Help Needed:  June 8-9, 2024 and July 26-28,2024 Elk Lake to Quinn Meadows! Contact Jodi 503-551-8779

We are very proud of our work and accomplishments at this camp. This camp is located off Century Drive east from Mount Bachelor out of Bend. Cultus has several corrals and a water pump for horse water. Mid Valley chapter has partnered with a youth work crew to maintain the horse corrals and trails at Cultus Horse Camp. The camp is close to the Pacific Crest Trail. It is also only about a 15-minute drive from Quinn Meadows Horse Camp. If you can’t get a reservation at Quinn, which can be difficult during the summer months, you almost surely can find an open spot at Cultus, and it does not require a reservation. There are trails to ride out of Cultus to reach the PCT, or you can trailer to the many other riding opportunities in the area.