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Issues
By DEB BALLIET
Where Will You Rid
What if you
hooked up your
trailer and there
was nowhere to
go? Learn how
you can conserve
land for horse-
related activities
DEB BALLIET PHOTO
armland, forests,
and open space are
being developed into
residential and commercial
developments at
a rate of 6,000 acres per
day, according to the USDA.
We need 36 million acres of land just
to feed the 9-plus million horses in the
United States. Equestrians are losing
trail access on public lands, and liability
concerns are limiting our ability to ride
on others’ private land.
Once the land is gone, we can’t get
it back. Where will your grandchildren
ride, drive, compete, race, raise foals,
and grow hay?
‘The Greatest Threat’
At the 2008 Kentucky International
Equine Summit, David O’Connor,
president of the United States Equestrian
Federation and U.S. eventing gold medalist
in the 2000 Olympic Games, acknowledged
that the loss of land for horserelated
activities was the greatest threat
to horse sport, industry, and recreation in
14
the United States. (Click on the video to
watch David O’Connor’s remarks.)
Only one national organization is
devoted to saving land for horses — the
Equine Land Conservation Resource.
Our mission is to advance the conservation
of land for horse-related activity.
By educating horsepeople and
encouraging partnerships with conservationists
and other user groups at
the local level, the ELCR is mobilizing
thousands of equestrians to work for
land access and protection in their
communities. We recognize that without
such concerted efforts, the horse world
as we know it is at great risk.
Preserving Our Future
The ELCR educates horsepeople
about the crisis and brings them together
with conservationists to stem this
serious loss. Many programs include
providing information and resources to
equestrians on the following topics:
• Land conservation.
• Community land-use planning.
• Trail access, connectivity, and shared
use.
• Equine economic development.
• Land/trail stewardship-management
practices.
• Liability issues.
Click here for specific information on
each of these topics.
Equestrian Partners
The ELCR’s Equestrian Partners
program is a membership program
for equine and conservation organizations.
Our 120-member organizations,
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