Maryland Horse Council
Trails & Greenways Committee
South Eastern Trail Conference (July 2005)
Peggy Bree and Mary Snyder attended on behalf of MHC
Maryland State Report
Peggy Bree
Co-chair Trails and Greenways Committee
Maryland Horse Council
Our Trails and Greenways Committee is starting
its 3rd year. This year we are working on strengthening our relationship with
several active trail riding clubs, including The League
of Maryland Horseman (LOMH), the Tuckahoe
Equestrian Center (TEC), and Trail Riders
of Today (TROT).
We now have an active Yahoo group to communicate with various interest groups
about trail issues. We are encouraging individual clubs to start their own Yahoo
group so they can quickly and effectively distribute trail news to their members.
Maryland equestrians are just beginning to grasp the idea that they must become
actively involved in trail preservation.
Our biggest effort this year has been to propose that the state of Maryland
staff a “State Trails Advocate.” Here are some excerpts from our
proposal.
Overview
Maryland needs to develop a comprehensive and coordinated statewide trail system
to support the rapid growth of Maryland’s horse industry, the increasing
population of pleasure horses, and the increasing popularity of trail riding.
Trails are essential to the sports of recreational, competitive, and endurance
trail riding as well as fox chasing.
In addition, trails are also used to exercise and condition horses for various
other activities and competitions including showing, fox chasing, polo, timber
racing, 3-day eventing, and dressage. All of these sports contribute significantly
to the economic health of the Maryland horse industry.
Although Maryland has some of the most extensive trail networks on the East
Coast, the State has yet to recognize the potential of tourism revenue that
can be realized from ancillary services associated with trails.
Other mid-Atlantic states are successfully attracting business by offering
extensive trail networks augmented by equestrian campgrounds and facilities,
and by effectively promoting these tourism opportunities. This is revenue that
Maryland is losing.
Current Status of Trails on Public Lands
Development is rapidly consuming trail networks on farms and private lands.
At the same time, existing equestrian trails on public lands are rapidly being
paved to create urban multi-use trails that are overcrowded with bikers, skaters,
joggers, dog walkers and baby carriages, and no longer safe or appropriate for
equestrian use. Environmentalists are excluding equestrians from trails historically
used by horses without citing any scientific justification for their decision.
There is currently no statewide focus on creating or preserving equestrian
trails. Planning is done at the county level, by planners who usually do not
have any trail riding experience. In the past, this has resulted in local trails
that are considered unsuitable or unsafe for horses, do not connect to other
trail networks, have inadequate facilities, or do not have parking lots that
can accommodate horse trailers.
The Maryland Greenways Atlas documented the major trail networks and greenways
in the state. Yet developments continue to truncate trails, and the state highway
department continues to build road embankments, sediment control areas, and
bridges that obstruct the movement of wildlife and equestrians traveling along
documented greenways.
Maryland is on the verge of permanently loosing its potential to create a large
network of trails on public lands. After property is subdivided and sold to
private individuals it will be prohibitively expensive to reclaim our trails.
Is There an Economic Justification to Focus on Equestrian Trails?
States like Florida, New York, Virginia, and North Carolina think so. They
offer well mapped public trail systems and charge user fees for public equestrian
campgrounds, rent stalls in barns, lease RV pads with water and electric hook-ups,
and sell hay and bedding. Numerous private campgrounds bordering public trail
networks provide additional revenue to the local economy, especially in depressed
rural areas.
There is definitely a need for trails and facilities in Maryland. The 80 stalls
at Maryland’s only public equestrian campground at Fair Hill W.M.A. are
booked a year in advance. The League of Maryland Horsemen, a private club adjacent
to Patapsco State Park, restricts attendance at their most popular events to
200 campers, and draws equestrians from Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia and
the Carolinas.
How Could an Equestrian Trails Advocate Help?
A Statewide Advocate could:
- Identify the Maryland Greenways that contain equestrian trails or should
be preserved to connect or expand existing trail networks.
- Coordinate with MD DOT to prevent road construction from truncating or
obstructing equestrian trails.
- Encourage and aid each county’s recreation department develop a
local Equestrian Trail Plan that would complement a statewide plan.
- Serve as a resource to local planners for information on how to develop
trails and amenities that are safe and suitable for equestrians.
- Provide a liaison to specialists who know how to apply modern technology
to equestrian trail design, development, and maintenance, with an emphasis
on reducing environmental impact and conflicts with other trail users.
- Share information with equestrian groups to help them apply for funding
to develop and maintain their trails.
- Represent Maryland at the Southeast Equestrian Trails Conference.
- Conduct an annual seminar in Maryland to train volunteers in trail maintenance.
- Serve as liaison between government land managers and the equestrian
community.
- Encourage local equestrian groups to be responsible trail users, and to
establish some form of electronic communication with their members.
Email Trails and Green ways at mhc-tg@yahoogroups.com
Contact the Committee Co-Chairs |