Spotlight on Bridleways
What kind of riding do you do on your horse? Is it mostly work in the manége, or in a covered school? Do you jump, or focus on dressage? If you hack out, where do you tend to ride? Do you explore your local bridleways network, or do you tend to stick to quiet roads?
Many of us may not be very familiar with our local bridleways – or even know how to find out about them. Jane Ridley at the North Staffordshire Bridleways Association (NSBA) would like to change that. She’s passionate about riders and their horses getting out and making the most of as many ride routes as possible in their local area. Without riders using the routes, it becomes more and more difficult for the NSBA to lobby local authorities to maintain them. All too often, Jane is finding bridleways downgraded to footpaths, or routes made impossible to use by badly installed gateways, or other hindrances. The many bridleways associations working in the area are doing their best to keep routes open for us, but unless more people use their local bridleways, and keep organisations like the NSBA informed, the danger is that many bridleways may simply disappear. It really is a case of “use it or lose it”.
NSBA had been in existence for 20 years, and has between 60 and 70 members across the three counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire. It was started simply because of the poor standard of local bridleways at the time. As well as running a variety of organised rides throughout the area (see page 4 for details) the association works on a number of initiatives to improve bridleways and access for local riders. One of their biggest projects to date is the establishment of the Potteries Bridle Ring Route, which provides a massive ride route around the perimeter of Stoke on Trent (around 60 miles in all!).
So if you’re a novice to the whole concept of bridleways, what’s Jane’s advice? Well, start by getting hold of a Ordnance Survey Explorer map which is large scale (2.5 ins per mile), and also – very importantly – includes field boundaries, so you can see which side of the hedge you should be riding! The Explorer maps will clearly show the bridleways in your area. Next get out and find them – if you’re not confident about riding them to begin with, take the dog and go out on foot (bridleways should be indicated with blue arrow markers). Once you’re happy you’ve found a good route, use it! The more riders who use the paths, the more weight organisations like NSBA will have when putting pressure on local authorities to maintain the routes. Lastly, if you come across a bridleway which is inaccessible for some reason, inform the County Council Public Rights of Way department – or an organisation such as NSBA or the BHS.
Taken from the Staffordshire Summer 2010 Newsletter
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