Welcome!

NATRC Region 1 consists of Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia, Alaska and part of Nevada. So, if you love trail riding, would like to meet more people who share your passion, and you live in Region 1, or are within commuting distance - come join us!

Harvey Bear at Calero NATRC

Our goals for our website are to keep our members informed about NATRC Region 1 activities, and to keep us all motivated to get out and ride. So, if you're looking for the next NATRC ride, go to the Ride Schedule page, where our 2012 rides are listed along with contact information to get signed up. If you're stuck at the office and trying to remember how you feel when you're riding, check out our Stories & Articles page, where we have links to

  • Region 1 ride stories,
  • "reprints" of interesting articles,
  • tips for first time riders,
  • archives of Leadline, the Region 1 newsletter, and
  • pdfs of NATRC documents that riders might want to refer to, such as the Rule Book.
The Judge's Corner is an opportunity for our Region 1 judges to explain mystery rules, answer questions we forgot to ask at the rides, discuss concerns about current horse/horsemanship trends, offer praise, and generally share their expertise to better care for our mounts. The Photo Gallery has pictures from rides over the past couple of years. And the Links page provides links to the NATRC National website and the sites of the other regions, as well as to the sites of our sponsors. Finally, if there's something that we didn't cover, please contact us!

And if you've just discovered NATRC riding, and are wondering if it's the right thing for you, check out our Stories & Articles page where there's a "New Riders" section to provide answers to some questions, links to information for first time riders, and first-ride stories on the web.

Region 1 News

CMDTRA Mt Diablo Ride is History

If you weren't at Mt Diablo on May 5, you missed the first ride of the season - but 38 riders made it, including 10 first time riders and 9 juniors! As usual, the route was gorgeous and challenging - but all the teams seemed up to it, and finished looking tired but ready for the traditional tri-tip dinner and crazy raffle. We have a boatload of Jamie Dieterich's photos from the ride here. Your next opportunity to ride with us is the Region 1 Benefit Ride at Cowboy Camp on June 2 - 3. See you there?

How is a horse like a car?

Two of our Region 1 juniors, Karlie Johnson and Jodie Nelson, have evidently been giving some thought to this problem and have published their results in an article called Horses and Cars - take a look and learn a few things.

The Convention is over, and Region 1 won!

Well, Vicki Boicelli, a Region 1 rider, won a trip to Machu Pichu, in Peru, in the national raffle. Congratulations, Vicki! All the convention photos are on line in the Region 1 Gallery - Convention. See if you're in there.

The ride season is about to start . . .

with the Mt Diablo Ride on May 5. Kay Liebernicht has written an intro and "review" of the ride - read it here.

Emma McCrary

Emma McCrary, a legendary Region 1 NATRC rider, ride manager, and trail blazer (both figuratively and literally), died recently. Information about her ongoing legacy, as well as some photos of Emma are on Emma's Page.

See you on the trail!