INDOOR RIDING?

Dunmore Equestrian Centre eyeing new build

The Dunmore Equestrian Centre has its sights set on an indoor arena — and it’s just a matter of when it will happen.

The group is doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work, is slowly working on grant applications and did some soil testing recently all with the goal of bringing an indoor riding arena to the area.

“There’s a lot going on right now and there’s just a lot of work happening to try to make this project happen,” said board member Cathy Schnell. “We’re just continuing to work to make the indoor arena happen.”

Schnell says there is no firm date or timeline on when the group will be able to officially break ground on the project and added that the group will not be sharing a timeline until everything is set in stone.

The group hosts events whenever it can during the warm months and Schnell says an indoor arena, when it comes, will mean the world to riders in the area.

“Once we have the indoor arena — it’ll just be the best thing,” said Schnell. “The indoor arena will allow us to do so much more and it will give riders and area somewhere locally to work out of — instead of having to travel elsewhere.”

Schnell says one of the biggest strengths of an indoor riding facility is the ability to work around poor weather conditions — during the hot and cold months of the year.

“We can’t book anything and give people any sort of guarantee that it will happen when we only have an outdoor facility,” she said. “With the weather — it’s out of our hands when it comes down to it.

“This summer it was really hot and we had a lot of smoke in the air, meaning we had to cancel some programs because it just wasn’t safe for people to be out and riding in that environment — with the indoor facility, there’s no problems there.”

Schnell says the indoor arena will also open up new opportunities for the area.

“This would really allow us to expand on our therapy programs for both physical and mental health,” she said. “We have board members getting trained right now for those programs in anticipation of getting our facility.

“The facility will give local riders a priority location that they can use and will do a lot of really good things for the economy as well.”

For more information on the group go to — www.dunmoreequestriancenter.com

NEWS FILE PHOTO Nine-year-old Joe Vansandt hangs on for a steer ride during the Little Britches Rodeo in September at the Dunmore Equestrian Centre. Representatives from the centre say they are working towards building an indoor arena, but there is still no timetable for when it will come to life.