Work Days At The Park, 2002. . . .

Starting in December of 1998 the Shelby Farms Equestrian Alliance has worked with the Shelby Farms Board and the Shelby Farms Park Administrator to develop a trail around the north side of Shelby Farms for horseback riders. On March 9th volunteers from the Alliance and the City Slicker Endurance ride finished the last phase.

The last section of the new trail begins at the entrance road off of Mullins Station. Riders, can park at Gate 13 at Trinity and Raleigh LaGrange and ride over or at Gate 11 (with the arch). Gate 13 is shaded throughout the day while Gate 11 is out in the sun. To access the new trail you must go to the northwest corner of the cross-country next to the road and ride the 100 foot wide corridor to the entrance road at Mullins Station. There you will find posts with white tops and a green horse logo directing you through the pines and over to the north east side of the park.

The new trail winds its way through pine and hardwoods and across existing park trails. Once through the pines the trail crosses the north orchard area and makes its way through hardwoods to Chickasaw Lake. At Chickasaw Lake the rider once again enters an area of open fields where he may ride freely. This trail from Gate 11 is approximately a two hour ride at a walk. Because of the amount of use by other park goers in the middle area of the park riders will be required to stay on the designated trail while passing through this area. Failure to stay on the trail in this area may result in your being asked to leave the park.

The Shelby Farms Alliance wants to thank Jerry Rhodes, Brynda and Ron Read, John Barber, Debra Lacomette, Rudy Watkins, Dolly Gibbons, Ranger Mike Tate, Nathan Lubin and Peggy Hart for all of their hard work in getting this trail completed. The Alliance also wants to thank the Shelby Farms Board and Steve Satterfield, Park Administrator, for their support.

Riders wishing to ride at Shelby Farms need to stop by the Visitors Center off of Farm Road to pick up a permit. They must show a current negative coggins. The permit is free and is good for one year from the date of their coggins. Because of limited space around the VisitorÕs Center it is suggested that you not bring your horse trailer to pick up your permit. The Visitor Center office is not open on the weekends.

The Alliance is back working on the white trail that has been so often flooded this past winter.Ê Vandalized signs will be replaced and the wash out at Meander Lake should be bypassed.Ê For anyone wanting to ride this trail you need to know that one of the blue trail bridges connecting to the white trail is not safe for horses. You will need to use the yellow trail from Germantown Parkway to the white trail connection.

Once the White trail is up and running again our intrepid trail riders will be working on the trail from Walnut Grove to Summer.Ê This area has never had equestrian trails and so much mapping and trail blazing will have to be done before it is available.

We want to thank Debbie Thompson, Ken Sprague, Jerry Rhodes, Brynda Read and Peggy Hart for all of their hard work on a very hot June day for getting out and putting up the signs and making the bypass trail. Remember this trail is for experienced horses and riders because of the narrowness of the trail and the amount of jogger and bike traffic on it.

In December of 1998 the Alliance went before the Board with a plan to open a corridor and trail around the north side of Shelby Farms that would allow riders to go from the current equestrian riding area to the fields bordering Farm Road. Phase I was the corridor that was approved a year later and put in last spring. In March Phase II and III of the trail will be completed in time for the 7th annual City Slicker Endurance Ride. Starting where the corridor stops at the entrance road to Shelby Farms at Mullins Station the trail winds through the pine forest across the orchard area and around to Chickasaw Lake. From that point you may ride where ever you like until you start your ride back to your trailer. Because of the large amount of park users in the middle area of the park the trail from the corridor will be designated and riders must stay on it until they get to the fields on the west side of the park and they must return on it to their trailers. The trail will be marked with 4x4 posts with white tops and a horse and rider painted on it. Riders who leave the trail will be asked to leave the park. Be assured, however, that once you have traversed the pine forest and gotten to the north west side of the park there will be nice large fields to ride in. Eventually we will be able to cross Farm Road and access trails along the river. Jerry Rhodes, Dolly Gibbons, and Peggy Hart working with Park Ranger Mike Tate are to be thanked for laying out the trail and doing a lot of the cutting. Special thanks to Nathan Lubin for his assistance with an erosion problem. Trail workdays will be listed in the calendar of events so why not make plans to come out and help finish this great new trail.

DecemberÕs (2001) flooding did a lot of damage to the trails along the river at Shelby Farms. We have walked the trails recently and they are now passable for horses. However, the bridges on the blue trail leading to the white trail from the Germantown Trailhead are unsafe and riders should not use the blue trail but stay on the yellow trail at that end of the park. Remember these trails are heavily used by joggers, hikers and bikers so keep a sharp look out. For more information contact Jerry Rhodes at 861-1970. We will be working with Shelby Farms to try to raise money to repair these bridges in the near future. We are also still planning on developing trails from Walnut Grove to Summer and hope to begin this spring to explore our options there before the foliage gets so thick it will be hard to see where to get through.