Lynsey Cook (L) and Natalie O’Connell flying free on the beach. Photo by Joe Gall Photography.
Oct. 18 is deadline to apply
By Kevin Howell
OCEANA COUNTY – Imagine riding the beach on horseback, wind in your hair, water slapping the sand, and gulls rising to make way for you as you feel a new freedom along the lakeshore.
That experience may become available to more horse lovers if a Nov. 1-14 Michigan Shoreline Horseback Riding Pilot Season at Silver Lake State Park goes as planned.
Spots are still available in the pilot program. For the two-week season, each participant rides their own horse. A $20 individual ($30 family) Michigan Horse Council membership fee is required to help offset insurance costs.
There will be two, three-hour rides a day, morning and afternoon, with 30 horses and riders during each session. Participants are limited to one ride per season.
Volunteers will be collecting manure in buckets after the rides.
The trial season is made possible by the Michigan Horse Council in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Equine Trails Subcommittee of the Michigan Trails Advisory Council, and volunteer groups.
Jenny Cook, southwest Michigan representative of the MTAC, helped develop the idea of bringing shoreline rides to Michigan shores.
“I’ve always loved horses and loved the shoreline,” Cook explained. “I’ve been a Michigander all my life, so I always wanted to ride horses on the Lake Michigan shoreline because it’s sandy and beautiful.”
A Kalamazoo area resident, Cook said she experienced riding along shorelines in Mexico and decided to research the possibilities in Michigan.
“I started working with the DNR, had a meeting, asked questions, and there were other people there who were interested, so we started a pilot ride,” she said.
Initially, pilot rides were offered at Muskegon and Silver Lake state parks. Those were special events, but the idea grew into the possibility of developing a special season, much like the ORV season.
“So, we just started the pilot rides and kind of graduated to larger rides, and now we’re trying our first pilot season,” Cook said.
Elissa Buck, MDNR event coordinator, developed certain criteria to determine which state park properties would be suitable for shoreline horseback riding.
“When we first started looking at the pilot, one of my first jobs was to figure out criteria for what would work and what wouldn’t work,” Buck explained. “There (were) criteria equestrian groups gave us ⸺ which is, they want at least a mile of shoreline to make the rides an enjoyable experience, they wanted it to be more of a sandy coastline, or at least a foundation appropriate for horses, and then we’re looking at other things, like adequate parking and maneuverability for the trailers, that sort of thing.”
Additional issues had to be addressed, including any endangered species that might be affected and other environmental issues. And then there was the matter of horse droppings.
“At first we had to get approval from the EPA and ensure them we were picking up the horse manure, which we are, and keeping the beaches barefoot friendly,” Buck said. “That’s important.”
Liability was another issue, and for this pilot season the Michigan Horse Council is serving as host and providing insurance for the rides.
Potential future rides and a permanent shoreline riding season will be determined later.
According to Buck: “As of right now (Oct.12), reservations are fluctuating, but we’re currently at 760 tickets sold out of 810 available…we do expect to get a few more reservations in by Oct. 18.”
For information, contact MDNR Event Coordinator and Analyst Elissa Buck at 989-313-0000, or email BuckE1@michigan.gov, or visit the Michigan Horse Council website HERE.
For this season’s updates, text “TROT” to 80888.
Kevin Howell lives in Mason County. He loves the Michigan woods, lakes, people and, especially, Michigan craft beers – not necessarily in that order.
Read more stories by Kevin Howell HERE.
