Equestrians not horsing around
Riders want to be allowed on trail that connects Essex, Amherstburg
Pressure to allow horseback riding on the Essex County greenway trail system is growing, thanks to a 735-name petition.
“It’s kind of not fair,” Essex horseback rider Tanya Harrison said of not allowing horses on the newer Essex to Amherstburg trail. “If you look at trail systems all throughout Canada, the trail systems in agricultural areas, they are very welcoming for horses.” Harrison, who lives next to the new Essex to Amherstburg Cypher Systems Group Greenway Trail, started the petition. It asks for a greater use of the Chrysler Canada Greenway trail system, including allowing horseback riding on the Essex to Amherstburg portion, which opened last year. Harrison had been using the undeveloped grassy corridor from Essex to Amherstburg with her horse but when the 26-km trail was developed, the conservation authority put up signs banning horse riding. She said the equestrian community was upset it wasn’t even consulted.
“It’s an agricultural area and horses were always here,” Harrison said.
“And now we’re being disallowed use of the trails we’ve been using as a community for many, many years.”
Essex Region Conservation Authority officials said they were waiting for the trail bed to be packed down in its first year of use and wanted to look into the liability and safety of having horses, cyclists and walkers on the narrower trail to Amherstburg. Part of a staff study of the issue includes giving the public a say in an online survey announced this week.
Horses and riders are already allowed on the grassy side of some rural sections of the Chrysler Canada Greenway, which stretches from Windsor to Leamington. But there isn’t that extra grass strip at the side of the Amherstburg to Essex link.
“Some equestrians have approached ERCA about expanding the sections of trail upon which horses are permitted,” director of conservation services Kevin Money said this week.
“We want to hear from all user groups in order to ensure we are making a balanced decision.” Harrison said there isn’t much of the trail that can be used with horses so the sections that are used can get taxed.
She said it would be better to spread out that use along the trail for both riders and the trail. There is limited parking for the greenway.
Parking a horse trailer means riders have to use the road to get to the areas where horseback riding is allowed and the equestrian community is looking for more safe spots for adults and children to ride.
“We can ride down the roads but that’s a danger,” Harrison said. The conservation authority has had complaints about manure and ruts from horse hoofs in the past. Don’t punish all horse riders because of a few who don’t dismount and get rid of or kick away the manure so it can’t be seen by trail users, Harrison said.
“We’ve been doing our best to get the word out to our fellow horse riders.”
There isn’t 100 per cent compliance with dog walkers who don’t pick up after their pets or cyclists who make ruts in the trail when the ground is wet, she said. The equestrian community would agree not to use the trail in the spring when the ground is soft, Harrison said.
Meira Champagne, another horseback rider involved in the petition who lives near the Amherstburg to Essex trail, said people don’t want to ride their horses on the road because it’s not safe. There are few opportunities to ride safely in the area other than their own property, she said. Champagne said the trail width shouldn’t be an issue if people are considerate.
“I think they could coexist,” she said of the multi-use trail. “Some people love it. They see the horses.
“They stop to pet them. It’s just a matter of respect, like respecting the bicyclists, respecting the pedestrian. It’s respecting other people.”
I think they could coexist . ... It’s just a matter of respect, like respecting the bicyclists, respecting the pedestrian.
The survey asks trail users to rate their concerns and if they would agree to horses using the trail system if the use were limited to summer and fall to minimize damage when the trail is wet in the spring. A report on the horseback riding issue is expected in September. The survey is available online at www.essexregionconservation.ca.