We had a record turnout for the ride with the parking lot and entrance packed in with horse trailers. Wendy and Arrow lead the “fast ride” that included myself on Majik, Becky on Smoke, Chris on Rose, Chris’s granddaughter, Bella, who just turned 11 years old, on Shake and some other riders. We decided to take the east side trail backwards for a change of scenery. The “slow” riders also took the east trail but went the right way. This was Bella’s first trail ride at Ft. Braden and proved to be a little challenging for her, especially at the creek crossings. But she managed to tackle the trails with her trusty steed. Halfway through the ride we ran into the other riders heading in the opposite direction. After the ride, we congregated at the Pavilion by the parking lot. STA brought sandwiches and we had plenty of side dishes and desserts. After lunch, we began our quarterly meeting and we provided some updates on the various trail projects that we have going on:
o Aenon Church Road – Wendy said the contact person for this trail is difficult to reach. Nancy Stephens will contact someone who can help. Sue and Suzanne offered to meet Wendy there to check on the current condition of this trailhead.
o Rivers Road – Sue and Ron Tuttle are working to get the sandy area under the power lines altered to prevent trucks from getting stuck.
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Fort Braden Equestrian Trails and Quarterly Meeting – April 9, 2022 (Cont.) o Ft. Braden – Leatha said that the state forestry had installed two new directional signs, but she felt they still needed some changes as nothing indicates “To Trailhead” (as she had discussed with Bin Wan). She will contact Bin and provide details of the changes requested. A workday is needed for this trail.
o Econfina River – Nancy said NFLBCHA will be meeting to discuss improvement of this trailhead.
o St. Marks Rail Trail – Joyce said we may have lost this trail due to overgrowth and non-use. The area is more industrialize since it was first created and therefore a noisy trail to ride.
o Torreya – Joyce said the State is now able to focus on this trailhead since the damage of Hurricane Michael, but it is not in their current management plan to incorporate an equestrian trail like it was before the storm.
o Wakulla Springs, Ferrell Tract – Joyce said this trail will be nice once it is established. It is in the UMP.
o Bald Point – Nancy Stephens said there are plans to install an equestrian campsite at this trailhead.
o Bluffs of St. Teresa – Nancy Stephens said there is no parking or trails at this location, but it is stated equestrians are allowed to ride there.
o L. Kirk Edwards – Linda said a marked loop will be created that crosses the river.
o Econfina Creek, Pine Ridge – Nancy Stephens said this is a nice area with 4 primitive camp sites, room for corrals and miles of trails.
We will continue to provide updates as additional information becomes available. Overall it was a beautiful day for riding and congregating with others.
Submitted by Liz R.