Trail Info

2010 Trail Ride info can be found on the Calendar - Green for State Rides, Blue for Regional Rides.

Best of America by Horseback - Cuyahoga County OHC is hosting Best of America by Horseback June 4, 5 & 6 at Cleveland Metro Parks. This is first come registration and we have a special permit for camping which is not usually allowed. We would love to see lots of OHC Chapters represented to show national TV audiences how important trails are here in Ohio. We will ride three different Reservations in the park - Brecksville on Friday then head to South Chagrin to camp and enjoy clinics, shopping, demos, trailability course challenge, and lots more! Saturday we will ride South Chagrin Reservation and Sunday will head to Bedford to ride the rim of the gorge. Fun for all. More information and reservation form at www.cuyahogacountyohc.com contact Ken Skoczen 216-225-0223 or email

Trail Rider Hall of Fame - Congratulations to the 2009 inductees Nancy Huffman and Wendy Metzler! Check out all the members on the new Hall of Fame page.

The Gibby Memorial Ride 2009 was a huge success. there were 18 counties represented plus a few at-large members.

There were about 100 people for dinner. It was the best potluck I have ever seen. The State provided hamburgers, brats and assorted hot dogs. The Gibby Award winner was Anne and Troy Lindimore. Past winners who were present were Neil Shaw, Larry Matthews and Mike Gerard. Gibby's daughter and some of her family were also present.

There was a lot of trail work done on Thursday. Friday was slowed down by rain. The Silver, White, Green and Purple trails were cleared of downed trees and worked over with the DR mowers. They are now in great shape. Some downed trees were also removed from the Red and Yellow trails. The DR mowers are worth their weight in gold. Thanks to everyone who helped make the ride successful

State Trail Rides - Would your chapter like to host one? If so get all the info you need on the Forms & Info page.

ODNR Press Release - Volunteers Make Vital Investments in Mohican-Memorial State Forest read more

Self defense tips for Trail Riders - While we would all hope to never be in a compromising situation, personal vigilance and awareness can help keep you out of potentially dangerous situations. View a short video clip produced by Scot Hansen (retired mounted police officer) for self-defense tips which can be used when trail riding at www.horsethink.com (posted 1/14/08)

Info on Ohio's Bridle Trails - We would like to add trail and facility descriptions to our Trail Map page including type of terrain, width of trails, obstacles, etc. so that equine users can identify trails that are suitable to their needs. For example, participants used to riding on flat land may want to know that there are steep slopes on particular trails or riders of horses that have never made a water crossing might want to know that a particular trail crosses a 5 foot wide river several times. We hope that descriptions would include identification trail facilities that are handicap accessible, trails that would be suitable for carriage driving, etc. For example, at the present time, horse and carriages are permitted on all bridle trails in the Ohio State Parks but due to the narrow nature of many of these trails, they may not be physically accessible. We would like to add sufficient descriptions so that trail users know what to expect before they arrive. Please submit info to webmaster and we will add to our trail map database.

Moving gravel in the Back Country - The March 2007 OTP work weekend allowed us to get some experience in packing gravel into areas inaccessible by motor vehicle. Believe it or not you can actually haul gravel with a simple system of haynets and feed bags. Go to Packsystems for pictures of our "haynet" system or a detailed article written by the USDF on how to construct more sophisticated Gravel Bags for Packstock

Ohio Department of Natural Resources - Camelids gain access to Equine Trails - While we don't think that we'll be running into too many camels on the trails, we have been recently informed by Karen Smith (Clark County OHC), that ODNR has granted camelid owners the right to use equestrian trails in Ohio's state parks. LLamas and alpacas are also part of the camelid family and some llama and alpaca owners enjoy hiking with their animals. Be aware that it is now quite possible that you might encounter a hiker walking an alpaca while you are riding. Please be considerate and keep the safety of all those involved in mind. County chapters might consider seeking out camelid owners in your area and sponsor a training "meet and greet" for both equines and camelids. (posted 8.23.07)