Ironically, Hamsterley Riding Association, which once boasted hundreds among its ranks, started losing members precisely because of open access to the forest through the Countryside Rights of Way Act. The association now has only 13 members, despite hundreds of riders still taking their horses along the trails.
Prior to the act riders needed a permit to enter the forest.
The association was formed to manage the permits and anyone who signed up was given free rein in the forest. But along with the horses, walkers and cyclists were also allowed in.
Committee member Tricia Snaith said: “Therefore everyone could go in the forest, so the Forestry Commission changed how it was run due to open access.
“That’s when the change happened and why membership dropped.”
Caroline Foster, also a committee member, added: “At our highest we had 200 to 300 members.”
Ms Snaith said: “It reduced our voice and influence in the forest. We are a small association trying to give a voice.
“There are a lot of people riding in the forest – we would like them to let us know if they have positive suggestions and ideas.”
Ms Snaith said the decline in membership and the dominance of mountain bikes in the forest, meant that horse riders are losing some of their trails.
She added: “Quite a few of those tracks are where we were riding before. They put their jumps on them and put up signs saying no horses.”
Founder member Carol Atkinson said many of the horse trails she had created in the forest were never officially registered, whereas the mountain-bikers had received planning permission for their tracks.”
She said: “I have been pony-trekking for 33 years and there fewer areas where we can go.”
However, association chairwoman Helen Kirby believes growing membership is not all that is needed to ensure the longevity of horse-riding in the forest.
She said: “We need support. Being just a member is not enough, we need to know what they (riders) want and for them to join work parties.”
Ms Snaith added: “We are willing to put the money in, but we need a guarantee there will be manpower to help and mountain bikes will not use the pathways.”
Work simply involves laying hardcore and covering it with wood-chippings.
The committee has two trails it wants to improve and possible plans to create a new one as well.
There are also proposals to link up trails.
Ms Snaith said: “There is a lot of work to be done to get more rider-friendly routes.
“There are other tracks that we need to improve because they are too muddy. We have to make connection routes to the wider routes that are for horses. There are some fantastic tracks but they are 20 miles to get around – so it is to get those links in.”
Despite their small numbers, the association is still able to organise two large rides each year, an Easter bunny ride and a Halloween ride, both of which involve many riders wearing fancy dress.
The aim of the rides is to raise the profile of the association in the forest, and it is one of the few occasions when riders outnumber cyclists.
The primary objective is to inform cyclists of how easily horses are startled and some simple steps that could prevent accidents from happening.
Ms Snaith said: “Simple things like saying ‘bike behind you’. It makes the horse aware and it is not just a mountain bike wooshing past.”
Another problem is cyclists using paths that are dedicated to horses.
She said: “These don’t tend to be members of the Trailblazers [the forest’s resident mountain bike club].”
The annual rides, along with a regular ceilidh dance are also used by the association to support charities.
Some that have benefitted in the past have Beating Bowl Cancer, Butterwick Hospice, Brooke horse and donkey charity and World Horse Welfare. For more information or to get involved in work parties visit Hamsterley Riding Association on Facebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.