The Equestrian Land Conservation Resource (ELCR) is pleased to welcome four new members to its Equestrian Partners program. The diversity of these organizations demonstrates that all horse enthusiasts, despite their geographic location, breed preference or preferred discipline, are engaging in the most critical issue facing horsemen across the country—saving land for horses and horse-related activity.
The Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) is a national organization founded for the purpose of promoting excellence in the safety and education of individuals and group riding programs in the horse industry. “CHA believes strongly in the work that ELCR is doing. Our instructors and riding stables want to support these efforts for riders to be able to have trails to ride on and pasture to turn their horses out on. It is so important to conserve land now for future generations of riders to be able to learn about horses and work with them,” said Christy Landwehr, CEO of the organization. CHA recently celebrated its 40th anniversary and re-located its headquarters to the National Horse Center in the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.
The Masterson Equestrian Trust Foundation (MET) is a non-profit 501(c) (3) corporation organized in Kentucky that works closely with the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Department of Parks and Recreation to maintain open riding areas and improve the equestrian facilities at Masterson Station Park. Ginny Howard, Vice President of MET said, “…a partnership with ELCR naturally dovetailed with our mission of preservation of space for equestrian uses. ELCR has been extremely helpful in assisting us demonstrate to local government officials the importance of dedicated space for equestrian uses and the value this city park has to Lexington, KY, the Horse Capital of the World.”
The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association is located in Lewisburg, TN. Founded in 1935, the breed registry was established to document the pedigrees of the Tennessee Walking Horse. The Association’s goals include maintaining the purity of the breed, and promoting greater awareness of the Tennessee Walking Horse and its qualities.
The Maine Equestrian Trails Alliance (META) is a newly formed group taking a unique approach to promoting horseback riding on multi-use trails through its Bridge Materials Grant Program. The program’s purpose is to encourage the construction of horse-safe trail bridges in Maine. The organization was founded in response to the need to improve the safety of trail infrastructure throughout the state. META is committed to its leadership role by actively participating in multi-use trail maintenance and serving as equestrian leaders in the multi-use trail movement.
ELCR’s Equestrian Partners program is a dues paying membership program. Our Equestrian Partners program is a rapidly growing coalition of 96 organizations from across the country that are committed to helping ELCR fulfill its mission of conserving land for horse-related activity. Despite their diverse interests and activities, our Partner members recognize the danger to the health of the horse, equestrian sport, and recreation due to the astonishing U.S. land development rate of 250 acres per hour. If your organization would like to join our national efforts to save land for horses, visit www.elcr.org, or contact ELCR at (859 455-8383.
About Equestrian Land Conservation Resource (ELCR)
ELCR is the only national not-for-profit organization assisting in the conservation of land for horses and horse-related activity. ELCR provides information, guidance and support to individuals and organizations on issues related to good land stewardship, conserving land, and preserving horse access on public and private lands. For more information, visit www.elcr.org.