Ted Spears and Terry Bell ride towards the Lockheed barn in the Ponca Wilderness. The Buffalo River Back Country Horseman participate in a group ride on the Buffalo National River near Compton, Arkansas, USA. The Buffalo River Chapter of the Back Country Horsemen of America (BCHA) was started in the early 1980s about a decade after the Park was established as the nation's first National River. Local horse and mule riders saw a need for organized trail maintenance and clean up that would protect the trails for years to come so that their children and grandchildren could enjoy them the same as they do. The Buffalo BCHA gathers often to ride the varying stretches of trail along the 130mile river, and always totes clean up bags, clippers and saws to keep the trail maintained for all. They've been successful in winning several grants to fund the trail work they've done to curb erosion into the creeks and river. The group mostly consists of older generation Ozarks horsemen and horsewomen who have a desire to keep the experience of riding the pristine river alive for future generations.