RDA COLERAINE has been funded to create a trail ride, which will start at the new arena, and follow on the surrounding Farmland being identified as the site as it is located adjacent to the centre. The trail system will be developed on the adjacent estate which both supports the RDA facility and serves as a British Horse Society toll ride.
The landowner is very supportive of the project.
The rationale for this development is:
It will allow high quality one off events to be held which will attract visitors to the area,
It will attract more day trippers to the area,
With good management it can be used at different times for different sports e.g. running and mountain biking.
It would improve the offer available to existing clients,
RDA can link with existing tourism providers to attract more overnight tourists with equestrian packages,
It will provide another source of income for the Club (through memberships, stabling and car parking) contributing to sustainability,
The development of the toll ride centres on establishing routes and trails, solely within the boundaries of the estate, which can be accessed by permit for recreational riding by Gold members of the British Horse Society, members of the Riding for the Disabled (RDA) organisation and day visitors.
The land will remain in the ownership of the farm, the British Horse Society will promote the trail and provide insurance. People using the trail can either pay RDA COLERAINE for a day ticket or buy an annual membership of BHS which allows them to use any participating trail ride all year.
RDA COLERAINE commissioned Daffyd Davies (North Wales) to do an initial site assessment of the estate.
His criteria in developing the trails were:
The trail system must be commercially viable
The trail system must not impact negatively on land use
The trail system must not impact negatively on the site owners/tenants use or operation of the site
The trail system must not require ongoing active management
The trail system must not require ongoing hard maintenance
The day to day operation or running of the site must not impact negatively on the trail system
The map above shows the location of the farm and the proposed trails.
