Trail riders seek rights to Ruckle Park areas
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Members of a local horse riding group want the provincial government to loosen restrictions that prohibit horses from Ruckle Park.
“There seems to be the unstated philosophical perspective that horses add a complexity to Ruckle Park that [management plan coordinators] would rather not deal with,” said Catherine McEwen, a member of the Back Country Horsemen Society of B.C.’s Salt Spring chapter who addressed provincial government representatives at an open house event held at the Lions Hall last week.
Thanks to McEwen and a strong contingent of island riders, the Ruckle Park Management Plan’s authors agreed to have an area supervisor tour the trails with members of the horse-riding community.
Although representation at Wednesday’s meeting marked a step in the right direction, McEwen said, further effort is needed to sway the powers that be to give horse riders access to the park.
She urged group members and supportive islanders to have their say about the management plan before the public input stage ends on Nov. 20.
McEwen said she is open to restrictions that prohibit horses from riding on sensitive trails and at times when wet conditions make trails more susceptible to damage.
She called requirements limiting horses to trail wider than three metres appear “arbitrary.” Given the costs of transporting horses to the island, McEwen added, the vast majority of people who would ride on the trails would be island residents.
According to draft management plans for Salt Spring’s four provincial parks and two ecological reserves, only Burgoyne Bay Provincial Park permits horse back riding on designated trails.
Under the current proposal, McEwen added, even the horses used for the popular Ruckle Park Family Fun Day every spring would be prohibited or need a special permit.
A spokesperson for BC Parks was not available for comment.
For more information about the management plan process, visit www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks.
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