About Our Chapter
Please welcome the rebooting of our OET chapter covering the South Coast region of Oregon.
Our Meetings are held the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 6pm ~
Back Alley Pub 1225 Virginia Avenue North Bend, OR. Join us!
We are off to a great start and have elected our officers for the coming year. More details to come.
Chapter Officers
- Chapter Chair: Donna Corum – southcoast@oregonequestriantrails.org
- Secretary: Michelle Frost
- Treasurer: Sandy Dexter
- Public Lands: Tom Dexter
- Outreach: Valerie Lantz
Volunteer Positions
- Trail Boss: Open
Chapter Beginning:
The original chapter began in 1997 and deactivated in 2009 for lack of younger, new members.
South Coast Chapter was reactivated in May 2023 because of all the trail closures during April 2023 on the North Spit south of Wild Mare Horse Camp. There was also a deep need to get a group together to take care of the Horse Camp.
Horseback riding friends began calling and emailing each other abou trails being blocked by boulders, signs, plastic construction fencing and T-post stakes on entry points to trails.
Several equestrians were told to call the US Army Corp of Engineers. There was no answer. Some equestrians eventually found the phone number for the Corps public relations office in Portland.
These soon to be OET members wanted help writing letters and adding comments…..in the meantime more people were getting involved.
It was time to get an OET Chapter going. We knew we needed to organize a larger group for a bigger impact.
The Coos County Mounted Sheriff Posse Building at Riley Arena was offered for OET meetings. Beverly Quackenbush arranged the building accomodations and spread the word through her facebook.
Flyer were posted at a few locations. Facebook was reaching a ready audience. Within a week 26 people gathered for the first OET South Chapter Meeting. Valerie Lantz, long time OET member, facilitated the meeting. Valerie presented a description of OET and the history of OET then discussed the trail closures that were affecting all the area equestrians. New members signed up and officers were elected for the newfound chapter.
A letter writing workshop was help by Bianca Chevalier
The chapter decided to have meetings every 3rd Wednesday.
To Date: Wild Mare Horse Camp has had several work parties with help from BLM and USFS recreation staff.
REAL PROGRESS: There is a meeting scheduled with the Army Corp Construction Control Representative in December which will include discussing trail reroutes and signage of the North Spit!
Congratulations to all our South Coast OET members!
