-An expert in anything was once a beginner. This statement rings true to the Bismarck Horse Club (BHC) organization, and they take pride in welcoming beginners to the horse world.

The Bismarck Horse Club holds four play days a summer, all taking place at the Walt Neunes Memorial Horse Park in Bismarck. BHC was established in 1947 and has hosted decades of community involvement and evolution from a group of trail riders to its now flourishing family play days.

“We’ve had people on our board that have been members for 40 or 50 years. The history and stories these people can share are amazing,” stated Bismarck Horse Club President Keyera Papka.

“We have four play dates a year which are very family orientated. Whether it’s someone that knows what they are doing with a horse or just learning, everyone is welcome. As a club, we really try to have a lot of fun with it. In fact, next weekend we are hosting a costume competition with the horses,” explained Papka.

Emma McKenzie [Photo: KMV Photography]

Austin Scholl of Scholl’s Performance Horses said, “It was fun going back to my roots and showing at BHC. I go to a lot of horse shows in a year and getting to see everyone from around here is great. Going out in the arena and showing with no pressure and to just get some practice was good. I was also super proud of my horse, because he completed a maneuver that he had never done in a show setting. It was the perfect environment to let loose and just go for it.”

Show and speed rider Mila Oakland, 8, of Bismarck, said that she sure likes getting in the show ring with her horse after working all week on connection and collection.

Papka added, “We kind of changed up the play days this year. The individual days were getting full of a lot of events on the schedule, so we switched to two days. The speed events take place on Friday evenings, and Saturday is the show events.”

An annual BHC banquet takes place in the fall. “It’s a time to get together and hold the annual meeting with members invited to be there. We give away prizes and reward people for success,” Papka added. “With right under a 100 active members and open to everyone, we have a lot of riders travel across the state of North Dakota involved with BHC.”

Rider and first-time attendee at BHC Kynslee Steckler, 9, of Bismarck, said, “I thought this was so fun. I just was able to do all these different things on my horse and even two more events than I planned. I saw friends from 4-H, and they were all cheering for me in the barrels and poles. My horse and I will be going back.”

From western pleasure, hunter seat equitation to an adult senior spur race, the BHC show bill offers an average of 50 different events each weekend of play days.

Papkra also said, “I think it’s been a really good learning experience, and [we] are doing news things to keep riders coming.”

Hannah St. Peter [Photo: KMV Photography]

“It is a lot of hours in the saddle and hard work, but I get to share it all with my 1200-pound teammate. I can’t think of a better way to spend my weekend,” said Hannah St. Peter, BHC member and competitor.

For more information, visit bismarckhorseclub.com.