TETRA offers variety of activities to riders and wagoneers who enjoy the outdoors activity

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas

August 30 -- Organized in November of 1997, the Texas Equestrian Trail Riders Association (TETRA) has a mission. According to their literature, TETRA is putting a new face on trail rides, one of the activities sponsored by the 2200 member association.

Too many citizens associate trail riders with drinking, beer cans thrown on public and private property and obnoxious behavior says Marion (Jack) Borchers of New Braunfels, president of the association. This association includes people from all walks of life, not just "cowboys and cowgirls."

This group is changing that mind set and is intent on leaving things better than they find them for all citizens to enjoy.

"TETRA is a statewide organization and is organized along district lines. The (12) districts are on the lines of the Extension Service...just for a convenient way to divide up the state," said Borchers.

Each district has a director, and as long as the basic principles of TETRA are followed and enforced, the director has control of what types of activities are held in his/her district, he added.

Activities usually include...but are not limited to...trail rides, clinics, training by the United Mounted Police Officers Association to help, as a volunteer, with search and rescue missions when someone is missing and desensitization clinics for equine, as well as various equine specialists' demonstrations, said Borchers.

"We encourage them to do something that creates membership and revenue for the organization because we have a couple of major projects that we're doing right now," he said.

One event, the annual TETRA Convention, was held in June in Bell County and offered clinics, seminars, demonstrations, panel discussions, exhibits, the latest in equine products and apparel as well as entertainment.

"We have what we call the 'Mane Event' on Saturday night. It's a series of performances, such as precision riding with miniature horses and donkeys and little two-wheel gigs," said Borchers.

"We had a Lipizzan stallion performance with music and everything and drill team competition...a youth group came in and put on a good show."

In September, the second big event will be the TETRA/Texas Parks and Wildlife EXPO 2001 Outreach Trail Ride. It will start in Bandera on September 28, and end up in Austin on October 5 at the TPW headquarters, for the opening of this year's EXPO.

According to Borchers, they are hoping to have as many as 50 wagons and 100-200 riders in the trail ride. The outreach is to get children from various locations...mostly middle school age...to come out and ride a half day in the wagons. During the rest breaks, riders let the children ride on their horses as they lead the horses around.

The TERTA literature identifies several goals for the association and they include "promoting all phases of trail riding as a family activity, educating the public as to the care and conditioning of equine for trail activities, environmental responsibilities of equine, trail etiquette and safety, establish, improve and maintain trails for equestrian use, preserve the love of equine in Texas and identify and improve equestrian facilities in existing Texas Parks and promote expansion in new areas."

Also, "to open new trails on public lands, develop equestrian use arrangements with private landowners, create a communication network to develop equestrian public awareness, establish credibility and rapport with local, state and federal trail management groups or agencies, educate public agencies and private landowners about economic and environmental impacts of equestrian activities and provide the documentation of existing equestrian trails in Texas."

"We work very closely with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Our regional directors find a park that's not developed...trails are not developed...trails are not cut out for riding horses. There may be some hiking trails and may be some bike trails.

"A man/woman riding a horse can't always get through where a biker can go," said Borchers.

"The idea is to open these areas and keep them open for all types of hiking. Needless to say, if a trail is open high enough for me to ride through on a 15 plus hand horse, certainly the hikers/bikers will find it easier to walk or ride through, because there will be more air circulation and everything."

The groups are working with ranchers, helping clear paths on their property and have even built small, overnight holding pens for the animals used on trail rides, according to Borchers.

"Sometimes, the hikers and bikers think our horse droppings are an impediment or whatever, but we're learning by education of each other to work together."