The Pacific Spirit Trail Riders and their horses are of all ages, both sexes, and represent every equine discipline practiced in Southlands. This includes Hunter-Jumpers, dressage, eventing, Western, driving and recreational riding.
From young Pony Club members to Grand Prix competitors, riders appreciate the trails as a place to take a break and de-stress from training regimens in contained areas. Our horses hugely value that change too, as can be seen by their spontaneous “giving” of a pace such as extended trot which may not be easily achieved in the ring or arena. Most horses perk up in the natural environment with fresh scents and sights around every corner, and space to stretch their legs. As well, the harder-surfaced trails build horses’ bone density and connective-tissue fitness.
Southlands Riding Club members are almost all Trail Riders members, and other area riders also join us in our promotion of continued safe riding on City and Park multi-use trails.
Lots of us have known our first riding thrills at the walk as we were taken on a first short ride up the trails. Many experienced riders do their best to take their horses some distance on trails each week to cash in on the mental and physical health benefits for them both, as well as the fun. Another big plus is the opportunity to observe and come to know the park itself, from the trees above and the ground under our feet to the whole trail system of our unique urban wilderness. Horses have a large area of their brain devoted to mapping skills!
The Trail Riders who volunteer time to the organization help by establishing communication with all area riders so our safety and PR goals are known and by liaising with community and governmental groups to ensure cooperation and communication between those bodies and the horse community.
Initiatives such as the bulletin board at the start of the River Trail, this website and our “How to Meet a Horse” activities at SRC’s Country Fair aim to raise Horse Sense in the wider community. We think the world is much richer for our equine friends and the joy they spread – we’d like you to be a part of that good feeling!