News

February 16 - The Adopt a Trail Committee has made it down to the Lower Beaver Dam Sanctuary, off of Beaver Dam Road. They are working on jumps, and cleaning things up in general as they go. They will continue to make their way south. They have been unusually lucky with the weather, as you can see in their latest photo. Between all of their hard work and that of our trail man, Scott, we look forward to great conditions and beautiful jumps this spring. Please report any problems you see to our hotline, 914-234-BRLA. With such a large network of trails we need as many eyes as possible alerting us to problems as they arise.

         

  

The Adopt a Trail committee is hard at work building jumps. This natural log jump replaces the old coop in the Upper Beaver Dam Saunctuary. The crew has been able to get out weekly during the mild weather we have been having. We thank them for their enthusiasm and persistance1 Our organization benefits greatly from the work of these devoted volunteers.

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The Adopt a Trail committee was out on January 25th for their weekly volunteer mission of helping to improve our trails. They have been lucky this year to have a lot of good days to go out. They focused this time on the Upper Beaver Dam Sanctuary, which is across Rt. 22 from Harvey. They were able to cut back a lot of branches, cut up two fallen trees blocking the trail and fix some jumps. The jump in the picture is a coop that has been there for over 30 years that we have repaired extensively over time. However,  the decision to retire the jump we have always referred to as "the big coop" or the "the ugly coop" has been made. You can see it in the photo below. Sometime over the next months Scott and the volunteers will take it down and replace it with some natural logs. When the Memorial Day pace comes in May, we should have some great new and restored jumps over there! Thank you Adopt a Trail committee (and Scott).

                  

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BRLA First Annual Tag Sale
Saturday, March 3rd

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For the past two Wednesdays in January, the Adopt A Trail crew has been out in the Piney Woods. The crew worked to repair the jumps in the "bowl". This property was the gift of Laurence and Mindy Friedman, who acquired the land so that it would not be developed. A decade ago a number of jumps were erected there, and the crew is working to put them back into tip-top shape. The following week, when I could not be there, the group continued on through Piney Woods using their many talents to repair and replace jumps throughout. We are very grateful to this energetic group of volunteers who love and appreciate the trails and go out whenever possible with Scott, with the goal of maintaining and improving our remarkable and historic trail system. A huge thank you to these wonderful members! Anyone wishing to join the group, contact Marian Torre at MBT88@aol.com.

Adopt-a-Trail crew at work in Westmoreland Sanctuary!

L-R Betsy Perreten, Marian Torre, Gail Gilcher, Klaus Selmayr  and Cindy Feureisen

The picture was taken last week in Westmoreland Sanctuary when a group of us went in to reroute some areas that are having erosion problems, plus put in erosion bars. Scott, Cindy F., Gail G., Klaus S., Betsy P and I were the merry group of workers. It had just poured the night before so the ground was easy to dig in. We will continue to build erosion bars until the ground gets too hard, and then we will move on to building jumps.   This work is not for everybody, but you can't believe how rewarding it is to outsmart the water run-off with the natural look of limbs we find in the woods. To make it more permanent, we stake it in four spots to stabilize the log. It has truly made a difference in many areas of our trail system. With time, we hope people will adopt what we have corrected by learning how to maintain a small section that they will check after a heavy rain.

We all benefit from this project and the sanctuaries are grateful for our help, plus it is terrific exercise. For the riders, you do get a different perspective and appreciation for what our landowners have given to us, and how large an area our trail system covers. Anybody who would like to join us, just e-mail me and l will add you to our list of volunteers. A huge thank you to all who have helped so far. 

Marian Torre mbt88@aol.com 

"Adopt a Trail" volunteers were out 1/5/12 to begin repairing jumps along Kathonah's Wood Road.

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Associated Bridle Trails Association 2011 Pace Results

Hunt:
Shari Rossi & Sara Eastright               40 pts
Dave & Mindy Dybas & Kylie Miller    35 pts  

Pleasure:
Vevette Greenberg & Marylou Kennedy  27 pts
Karen Asselin                                           19 pts  

Junior:
Amanda Sullivan & Mark Martinez     19 pts
Lara Brown & Morgan LeBrun            13 pts  

Western:
Amy Deutermann       36 pts
Viola Powrie              29 pts

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The Hole has been fixed!

(after) -- see "before" photo below

The Aftermath of the Storm This is Brian Harner helping Scott repair a HUGE hole on our trails. This is the type of damage seen folllowing Hurricane Irene and the torrential rain of the week that followed. Brian and Scott filled the hole with boulders and covered the boulders with Item 4. This is the sort of thing that needs to be attended to following the worst storm in a century. Scott, Brian and Luke Kooyman have been out there 24/7 trying to make every trail safe and passable. Please report problems you see to the hotline, (914)234-BRLA. Please be patient, as this is a long process.

(before)

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Bob Torre celebrates a major birthday and 20 years of service to BRLA. Details of a fund to honor Bob's contributions to follow soon.

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Press Release Submitted to the Record Review 3/29/2011

Horses N’ History
Study Group Announced 

The Bedford Riding Lanes Association will be holding an organizational meeting to discuss the formation of a local history study group.  The focus of this group is to provide a shared learning opportunity for those interested in learning about local history and the role horses have played through the years.

Horses have played an instrumental role in the development of Bedford for more than 400 years. The study group hopes to look at the way that role has changed over the years, within the context of the development of the community and greater society at large.

Anyone with an interest in learning about the history of Bedford and the surrounding area is asked to attend an informational meeting to be held at 4:00P on Sunday April 10^th at the Bedford Historical Society office located in the General Store at 612 Old Post Road in Bedford Village.  Read the entire article here (pdf)  For more information, call 914-232-7173.

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Memorial Day Country Pace and Luncheon

Monday May 30, 2011

This year’s Memorial Day Country Pace will mark the 25^th year we have held this event. If you’d like to ride on an exciting course through our best trails over dozens of jumps (optional) with streams and meadows to cross, this is for you. If you’d rather get up a bit later and wander over for a delicious lunch and barbeque, we’ve got something for you, too.

John Jay Homestead State Historical Site is the venue for this enjoyable day, and if you come early you will see horse trailers pulling in as early as 6:30 AM. Many riders also hack over from barns nearby.  As many as 300 horses and ponies of all descriptions and pedigrees will gather at the retirement home of John Jay, a Founding Father of our country.  Teams of riders will head out at two minute intervals over the carefully prepared pace course. The ride usually takes 1 to 2 hours, depending on the “pace” each team chooses. Excessive speed is penalized, and teams must request permission to pass other teams. All riders must wear safety helmets and proper riding boots. Horses should be in regular work so they have the condition necessary to complete the course. Walking areas along the route must be observed.

By 11:30 the big tent outside of the beautiful Jay family home will be filling up with all those settling in to enjoy a terrific lunch with great companionship. There will be an amazing raffle and ribbons and trophies for the riders. Fashionable and fun BRLA hats and shirts will be available for purchase. It is a great celebration of all the things we love about the trails, the Homestead and the BRLA, and all are welcome.  If you would like to ride, please register in advance. You can download an entry form from our website, www.bedfordridinglanes.com.  You can also register for lunch, or buy a lunch ticket the day of the event. We look forward to seeing you there.

BRLA ANNUAL RAFFLE

TAKE A CHANCE AND HELP PRESERVE OUR TRAILS

$5 PER TICKET/$25 BOOK OF SIX

Click her for the list of items for raffle
(PDF)
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BRLA Receives Four New Jumps; New Bridge finally in!
by Terry Bancel

       BRLA Chairman Bob Torre is always on the lookout for any new talent that can help the BRLA. 

        So recently when he visited BRLA landowner Scott Devine, he discovered that Scott enjoys doing some woodworking as a hobby. Quickly the two put it together that this could help the trails. Scott agreed to build us four new jumps, with lumber supplied by Torre Lumber at cost. So with Scott's donated time and skill, we now possess four beautiful roll top-style jumps, 24"-30 in height. Riders and pacers will enjoy these jumps immensely, as they are wide and welcoming. You will find them in the upper and lower Beaver Dam Sanctuaries.