It all began at Columbia Falls, Montana on January 17, 1973.
At least that was when Back Country Horsemen was
officially organized. Actually, the seed was planted a year
or more previous to that when four friends began to talk about
the need for an organization of horsemen that would specifically
meet the needs and interests of back country stock users. There
were lots of horse organizations, but none that they were aware
of that showed any interest in back country horse use. Those
four friends were Roland Cheek, Ken Ausk, Dennis Swift and Dulane
Fulton.
A great deal of credit should be given to those four men
and the others that joined them that first year in charting
the course that this new organization would follow. They
developed a program and philosophy that has withstood the test
of time.
The Founders of Back Country Horsemen