P.E.I. horse riders' group hopes to use more of Confederation Trail

Horses are back on designated sections of the Confederation Trail, and riders are hopingthey'll eventually have access to even more ofthe Prince Edward Island-wide system.

Dr. Sylvia Hall Andrews is a veterinarian and an avid trail riderwho spends summers in the province,and is also the secretary ofP.E.I. Trail Riders.

She said trail riding with horses is anaccepted activity in other parts of Canada, so it makes sense to expand the options for ithere on the Island.

"We would like to see an expansion of trail access over time.... The government is well aware our goal is to slowly increase the accessibility,"said Hall Andrews.

"We feel that horses are safe on the trail, belong on the trail."

Should horseback riders have more access to P.E.I.'s Confederation Trail?

3 months ago

Duration 2:29

Horses have returned to designated sections of the Confederation Trail, and riders are hoping for expanded access to other parts of the provincewide system in the future. CBCs Laura Meader talked to Sylvia Hall Andrews, secretary of P.E.I. Trail Riders, and Cycling P.E.I. executive director Jordan Bober about the pros and cons of horses on the trail.

She said thegroup has hundreds of members who would like to be able to travel longer distances via the trail system, which isbuilt where railway tracksoncecriss-crossed the province.

A pilot programallowing horses on parts of the Confederation Trail began in 2021. Now, a total of 66kilometres are open to horses as well as the walkers, wheelchair users, runners and bicyclists who have always been allowed to use the system.

There are sections of trail allowing equestrians in all three of P.E.I.'s counties.

This year, horses are being allowed on those designatedportions fromJuly 1 to Oct.31.

Hall Andrews said it's been a long pilot project and it's time to allow horses on the trail permanently.

She points out thereare manyparts of the trail through rural parts of the province that aren't very busy that could also be opened up to horses.

At the moment, she said,some people have to drive long distances with their animals in trailers to access the horse-friendly sections.

"It's a very, very small piece of the overall trail pie," said Hall Andrews."We appreciate there's still some trepidation amongsome other users, but horses share trails successfully in other parts of Canada."

'We don't think there's capacity'

Cycling P.E.I. doesn't like the idea of horses on the Confederation Trail system, though.

Jordan Bober, the executive director of that group, said some cyclistscontinue to have concerns about what horses do to the trail.

"We don't think there is the capacity right now,"he said.

"We are concerned about the impact on the trail bed, we're concerned about the impact on other users, the potential safety issues if there are too many users of different kinds."

Bober said the trail bed was built with cyclists and pedestrians in mind, not large animals.

Cycling P.E.I. would like to see more data on how many horses are usingthe trails and how activities are being monitored incuding whether riders are staying off the trail when it's wet.

Province waiting on report

StephenSzwarc is the province's director of highway maintenance, whichoversees useof the Confederation Trail.

He said there's been positive feedback about horses being allowed on the trail, and that overall "the interactions have been good."

Szwarc said staff are monitoring damagefrom all users, but he said there has been nothing major reported during the several years of allowing horses.

His department is awaiting afinal consultant's report based on public meetings and online surveys. That report isexpected sometime in July or August, at which point there will be more consultations with all user groups, including horseriders.

The province says it costs about $1.3 million each season to maintain the Confederation Trail.