Equestrian Trails Where will we Ride Tomorrow?

1. Equestrian TrailsWhere will we Ride Tomorrow? Riders, Runners, Bikers on Marjorie Harris Carr – Cross Florida Greenway

2. HORSE TRAIL INFORMATION • OVER 120 MILES OF PUBLIC ACCESSIBLE HORSE TRAILS IN SC • MANY MORE PRIVATE HORSEBACK AREAS • FEDERAL, STATE, PRIVATE FOR PROFIT, AND PRIVATE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS ALL PROVIDE EQUESTRIAN TRAILS

3. CLOUDY SKIES ON THE HORIZON • LAND FOR HORSE RELATED ACTIVITIES IS DISAPPEARING AT THE RATE OF 6,000 ACRES PER DAY (WWW.ELCR.ORG) • HORSEMEN ARE LOSING TRAIL ACCESS ON PUBLIC LANDS • LIABILITY CONCERNS ARE LIMITING OUR ABILITY TO RIDE ON OTHERS’ PRIVATE LAND

4. EFFORTS TO REMEDY THE RESTRAINTS • EQUESTRIAN LAND CONSERVATION RESOURCE (ELCR)-ONLY NATIONAL ORGANIZATION DEVOTED TO SAVING LAND FOR HORSES • SOUTHEASTERN EQUESTRIAN TRAILS CONFERENCE (SETC)-CONSISTS OF 14 SOUTHEASTERN STATES WORKING TOGETHER TO SAVE LAND FOR EQUESTRIAN USE • OHIO VALLEY EQUESTRIAN TRAILS SYMPOSIUM (OVETS)

5. SETC AND OVETS • PRIMARY BENEFIT IS THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LAND MANAGERS AND LAND USERS THAT ARE DEVELOPED DURING THE ACTIVITIES OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS • Aldo Leopold quote: “A thing is right if it tends to preserve the stability, integrity and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong if it tends otherwise.”

6. GREENWAYS-A VIABLE POSSIBILITY? • IN SOUTH CAROLINA TODAY, THERE ARE BUT TWO EQUESTRIAN TRAILS LISTED UNDER “GREENWAY” CLASSIFICATIONS ON THE VARIOUS TRAILS LISTINGS: • ANNE SPRINGS CLOSE GREENWAY • MULLET HALL EQUESTRIAN TRAILS SYSTEM* • MAJOR PARTNER AT SETC 2008 IN CHARLESTON, SC

7. GREENWAY Defined • A greenway is a long, narrow piece of land, often used for recreation and pedestrian and bicycle traffic and sometimes including multiple transportation (streetcar, light rail) or retail uses. Wikipedia

8. GREENWAY-Characteristics • Greenways are often defined by municipal governments as having the following characteristics: vegetated, linear, and multi-purpose. Flink, Charles A. and Searns, Robert M. (1993), Greenways A Guide to Planning, design and Development, Island Press

9. GREENWAYS: Practical Considerations • What the above definition and characteristics do not mention is the use of the linear parcel of land by horses. • WHY NOT?: • Its location • Its length • Its purpose

10. GREENWAYS-Are they for horses? • They can be, but not in all instances. • When should they be permitted? • When Greenway is, or physically can be, a connector to another horse trail, facility, etc. • When Greenway is in close proximity to horse properties. • When horse use does not conflict with the other uses of the Greenway.

11. ARGUMENTS FOR HORSE USE OF GREENWAY • Economic advantage of horse presence • Historic and/or cultural reasons for their being there • When the use of horses for recreational purposes is compatible with the ecological integrity of the Greenway and surrounding area • Aiken, S.C. Example

12. $ IMPACT OF HORSES IN SOUTH CAROLINA • $332 MILLION WAS THE ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE 84,000 EQUINES ESTIMATED TO BE IN SOUTH CAROLINA IN THE LATEST CENSUS • EQUINE RELATED ASSETS WERE VALUED AT $2.98 BILLION (2004) • $332 MILLION + $2.98 BILLION = $3.3 BILLION FOR THE EQUINE INDUSTRY IN SOUTH CAROLINA (2004)

13. Horses Mean Business • 424 horse organizations are listed by the American Horse Council • 261 horse-related media are published • The largest US horse populations are in the SE • Each horse supports at least 3 professionals • 9.2 million horses live in the US

14. And More Business • In 2007 horses contributed $39 Billion in direct economic impact • Horses support 1.4 Million FTEs (jobs) • Horses contribute $112.1 Billion to the GDP of the US (2007) • 114 breed registries exist in the US

15. TOP 10 “EQUINE” COUNTIES • AIKEN • ANDERSON • GREENVILLE • SPARTANBURG • LEXINGTON • KERSHAW • YORK • LAURENS • HORRY • PICKENS