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Many Thanks!        SETC 2005 SPONSORS

GOLD $1,000

Trail Blazer Magazine www.horsetrails.com 

North American Trail Riders Conference with Region Five     www.NATRC.com 

South Carolina Horseman's Council www.SCHorseCouncil.org

Chattahoochee Trail Horse Association      www.ride-ctha.org

SILVER $500

American Endurance Ride Conference

Southeast Endurance Riders Association

Georgia Horse Council

Georgia Endurance Riders Association, Inc.

MEAL SPONSORS

Florence Horse Center

LOOK FOR SETC 2006 to be hosted by the Virginia Horse Council in Roanoke, VA, Summer of 2006.

CLICK HERE TO SETC 2005 Power Point Slide Show

A CONFERENCE 

FOR ALL 

TRAIL USERS!

SOUTHEASTERN EQUESTRIAN TRAILS CONFERENCE 2005

July 14-16, 2005  

By: Clare Reese-Glore     NCHC Trails Committee Chair

In July, the North Carolina Horse Council Trails Committee in partnership with N.C. State Parks, hosted the Southeastern Equestrian Trails Conference. More than 130 participants from 14 different states met in High Point for a program which included a hands-on workshop, seminars and visits to area trail projects. SETC, which has been held each year since 2000, is hosted each year by a new state or association. Dr. Gene Wood from Clemson University started the conference to bring trail users, equestrian or not, together in the name of protecting, preserving and building new trails. This year’s conference was able to be held at a nominal cost to the attendees because of a generous grant from Federal Highway Administration and the N.C. Department of Environmental and Natural Resources.

Each year the host state picks a focus for the Conference. The theme of this year’s conference was Working with Volunteers. Program speakers and conference participants included federal, state and private land managers, trails specialists, private citizens, State Parks, State Forests , National Parks, and US Forest Service representatives from 13 southeastern states. In addition, five members of the Wisconsin Horse Council came because of an ad they saw in Trailblazer magazine. We also welcomed guests from Illinois and New Mexico . Attendees were greeted with a program book filled with info rmation and a goody bag filled with treats and small gifts.

Thursday a pre-conference field trip was held for 40 attendees. The bus took them to the Uwharrie National Forest . Here a hands-on field workshop was taught by Mike Ritter, Georgia Trails Specialist. The 4B Campground hosted the group for some class room time and lunch. The group arrived back at the hotel for an evening of drinks and hors d’oeuvres to welcome the people to the conference.

Friday, July 15 started with a welcome from Mr. Lewis Ledford, NC State Parks Superintendent. Workshops on volunteerism and grant seeking filled the rest of the morning.  We moved to the highlight of this conference. Three large tour buses took all the participants to see Pilot Mountain State Park and the incredible Sauratown Mountain Trails. Participants saw good and poor trail conditions by walking the trails and talking to the people who have built and rebuilt them.

During the bus ride, the group heard the wonderful story of how the Sauratown Trails Association was put together and saw a slide show while traveling. The Sauratown Trail System is twenty-one miles of trails build on private land, with lots of hard work. Over the years they have worked to maintain this trail even through the sale of land and developments being built. The Sauratown Trail group hosted the SETC conference attendees at a barbecue dinner with a bluegrass band, which was excellent!

Saturday was a full day spent in the conference room. Subjects included Equestrian Tourism, Fundraising, Youth Involvement and Trail Event Organization.

Simply put, North Carolina raised the bar for the creativity, presentation and depth of information for this conference's program. Our Horse Council staff, Darryl McBane and his staff from State Parks, Jim Hallsey our Trails Consultant for NCHC, all our Trails Committee members, the Sauratown Trails group, and several REINS volunteers, worked together for a year to achieve this. We can't thank them enough!!

Now we are going to take a breath or two and get back to our work of preserving and adding trails for all of us here in NC. Next year the Southeastern Equestrian Trail Conference will be hosted by The Virginia Horse Council, August 2006, in Roanoke , Virginia .