Plans are underway to restore 70 Mile House’s riding arena.
Located beside the 70 Mile Community Hall on Bonaparte Road, the riding arena has been largely left unmaintained for the last 20 years. This summer the 70 Mile House Community Riding Arena Committee aims to change that with a $60,000 investment.
“We’re all local horse riders and we just see that the riding arena is unusable. We have done trail rides together, and after COVID we started riding together more, so that was the inspiration,” committee lead Lori Spencer said. “We thought ‘Let’s get a spot where we can get to know each other and come together to ride.’”
So far the club has raised $30,000 for the restoration project. The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has pledged $10,000, while the Clinton and District Community Forest gave Spencer a $20,000 grant on Thursday, June 22. Spencer is confident they’ll be able to secure the rest of the funds from additional grants she and other committee members have applied for. Since they first started meeting in September last year they have applied for several grants, and have received support from TNRD Area “E” director Jim Smith and 70 Mile Community Club president Ken Huber.
The money will be used to resurface the arena and install new fencing around it. Spencer said they have received several quotes from local contractors who will do the work.
“The riding arena footing is the biggest issue. It’s not safe right now. A horse is a 1,200-pound animal, and when they’re loping there’s a lot of pressure,” Spencer explained. “So (for proper footing) you need a nice solid base and on top of it, you need a cushioning topping like sand.”
They’ll need to scrape away the currently overgrown topping and make sure the base is level and flat. Once done, Spencer said they’ll put down a fresh topping of sand, which will be an extensive process.
“Our hope is to have it done by this fall.”
Once the restoration is complete, Spencer said the riding arena will be maintained by hosting events. The committee plans to run gymkhanas, horse training clinics and other riding competitions by next spring.
Spencer added that over the last few years, she has noticed an increase in the number of equestrians moving to the 70 Mile House area.
Despite its current disrepair, Spencer describes 70 Mile’s riding grounds as beautiful. Its location gives equestrians access to hundreds of miles of local trails and the ability to camp overnight.
“Right now there’s a lot of new people moving into the area and we’re trying to get more people to come. We have such an extended horse community in this area, really, from Cache Creek all the way up to Prince George,” Spencer said. “We’ll (restore our arena) properly and have a beautiful centre for the next 20 to 30 years.”
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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