Our History

In May of 1942, a group of riders had taken a ride on what is now Fort Carson Army Base. Upon returning home they decided to form a club and call it Kit Carson in honor of the US Army base where they first rode. The first elected President was Dorothy Heller, and meetings and dances were held on the second floor of the Carpenters Hall on the corner of Tejon & Cucharras. In 1947, under the presidency of Mark Reyner, KCRC was incorporated.

Drill and Quadrille teams were formed along with a Parade Unit and were known for carrying flags for each state at various parades, fairs and rodeos including the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo. They also performed at the Penrose Stadium the first year it was built. KCRC’s uniform consisted of a white western straw hat, a gold long sleeved shirt with a club patch on each shoulder, a blue scarf tied at the left side of the neck, non faded blue jeans and western boots. KCRC supplied club chaps and saddle blankets.

In 1957, the club built its first arena on North Academy Boulevard but in 1973, due to city expansion, the property was sold and the current location on Cowpoke Road and Black Forest Road was purchased. First, two big arenas were constructed on the fenced 15 acre Cowpoke property, along with a grandstand, fully equipped rodeo chutes and a small concession stand with restrooms. All this work was done by club members who also added a storage area under the grandstand in 1975 and attached a clubhouse to the concession stand in 1976. Lights were added to the second arena in 1984 to better accommodate the Little Britches Rodeo that were held on club grounds during the summer months. A floor was raised in the clubhouse and the walls were covered in cedar siding. The following year (1985), the club got a new roof and the space was made ready to hook up the second trailer. A new well was drilled but was unsuccessful so in 1988 the third well was drilled, reaching a depth of 350 feet. That same year a patio was laid on the north and west sides of the clubhouse and sod laid on the east side. A 10,000 gallon water tank was also installed to allow for watering the arena. All these improvements are due to hard work and dedication of members.

Kit Carson Riding Club has promoted all types of horsemanship events such as cowboy polo, gymkhanas, drill teams, rodeos and 4H. Today more activities exist than several years ago. While Cowboy Polo and Drill teams have not been active for a number of years we now have parades, horse shows, clinics, trail rides, gymkhanas, dances, parties, membership, concessions , maintenance, Scrapbook, Royalty, stables and rent, scholarship fund, media, Snubbin’ Post (newsletter) and by-laws. With such a large variety of activities, the club formed committees for each event. Each committee consists of volunteers and is led by a Board Member. The newest endeavor which falls under Education, is for the club to join The Extreme Cowboy Association so KCRC can host sanctioned shows and members can enjoy improving their horsemanship by practicing on the obstacles now built on the club grounds.

Active committees are:

• CONCESSIONS
• GYMKHANAS
• PARADES – The club is represented at over eight parades around the region. The President leads the group with the American flag, followed by the Colorado State flag and the KCRC flag. We try to also fly the five flags of our military, especially at the 4th of July Parade and Veterans day. Following the flags is the KCRC Royalty and then the membership who is all dressed in the uniform of the day. For St. Patrick’s Day we are all in green, we wear Red, White and Blue for the 4th of July and Veterans Day, and the club colors of blue and gold for all other parades. Kit Carson is always well turned out and repeatedly place in the equine category of awards. Because of this we receive many invitations to participate in local and regional parades.
• TRAIL RIDES
• SCRAPBOOK
• MAINTENANCE
• PARTIES AND DANCES
• STABLES AND RENT
• ROYALTY – Kit Carson is represented by a Queen and Princess who are selected at an annual Queen Contest. The contestants are judged on three phases: 1. Horsemanship 2. Personality, appearance and poise 3. Club knowledge and interest. New Royalty is crowned at the annual Christmas party and reign for one year. Royalty duties can include, but are not limited to: attending parades, attending and speaking at membership meetings, volunteering at club activities, contacting sponsors for fund raising events, writing a letter for the Snubbin’ Post each month and helping at community events (i.e.) Street Breakfast, Grand Entries at Rodeos, etc. It is a time consuming position and requires the full support of the family. The Queen and Princess must keep in mind at all times that duty to family and school work MUST take priority over Royalty duties.
• SCHOLARSHIP
• MEDIA
• BY-LAWS
• EDUCATION

Kit Carson Riding Club is the largest riding club in the Colorado Springs region. We have a member capacity of 100 family memberships and an additional 15 Associate memberships. New members must be recommended by a member and approved by the Board of Directors. Currently membership dues are $30 per year with a one-time $10 initiation fee for new members. Membership meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month starting at 6:30pm with a Pot Luck supper with the meeting to follow at 7pm. The Snubbin’ Post is sent to each member every month to keep them informed of all upcoming events. We also have a web page where members can access information at any time.