May 2008

Equestrian Trail Opens

On May 18, the 3-mile equestrian trail from Amo to Coatesville was opened for use in dry weather. Currently, it is best suited for local users, but amenities and upgrades will be added over time. For the near future, the only designated horse trailer parking area will be in the town of Amo on the gravel lot at the intersection of Pearl St and South St, in front of the Interurban Depot and grain elevators. There are no public restrooms available, yet. The area to be designated for trailer parking in Coatesville is currently occupied, but will be available later this summer.

This Spring, Karen Humphreys coordinated equestrian volunteers from Red Hats & Purple Chaps to complete the last key projects needed for opening this rustic and scenic trail. This was made possible by the significant progress made over the last two years with the strong support also of Hendricks County Parks & Recreation (www.hendrickscountyparks.org), the Indiana Horse Council (www.indianahorsecouncil.org), a generous grant from the Efroymson Fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation (www.cicf.org), and notable efforts and donated services of individual volunteers.

Of particular note was the initiative by Amy Inman and Yvette Rollins in 2006 & 2007 to obtain the DNR permit and coordinate construction of the Crittenden Creek crossing. This was the most complicated project along the entire equestrian trail.

Currently, the Vandalia Trail is the only public equestrian trail in west central Indiana and is likely to be the first equestrian trail in the state to connect two separate towns (in recent times). It is also the first section of equestrian trail to be created along the 150-mile cross-state National Road Heritage Trail initiative.