A Letter To The Editor Of The Corral:
 
To Corral Readers,
I want to thank all the OHC members and  horse owners for all the signatures you solicited and sent to me in 1998 in support of the Heritage Rail Bridle Trail in Hilliard, Ohio. The trail was originally purchased by the Heritage Rail Trail Coalition and given to Metro Parks in 2000. It took four years and although it was not in the original plans, the Rail Bridle Trail is now built and opened in September 2002 for use. It is great to see that we can make a difference by members of OHC and horse lovers getting involved!
 
The bridle path Metro Parks constructed at the Heritage Rail Trail (Northwest of Columbus in Hilliard) is especially great due to the fact that the trail is solid under our horse’s feet and with all the sand they added, it is also very soft on the horse’s legs. The way the trail is made on high ground and on top of gravel bed makes it ideal for staying dry.  
 
Most bridle trails are very soggy and muddy during the winter months making them unusable, and it is very hard to find a place to exercise our horses during that time. Now, we have a place to ride during the winter and wet weather. They also built a great arena, parking lot, and pond for water. The bridle portion of the trail extends from the parking lot north four miles one way and dead ends four miles back. The paved portion extends south of Hayden Run Road also, but is closed to horses.
 
We also have another new bridle trail from Metro Parks in Dublin, Ohio, called Glacier Ridge and hopefully soon, one at Prairie Oaks Park between West Jefferson and Hilliard. The new trail at Glacier Ridge is nice and wide with both open terrain and woods. It is also about four miles long (soon to be eight miles long) and is a loop. Parking for horse trailers is off of Brock Road. Please do not park in the main lot off of Hyland Croy.
 
Take advantage of these great trails and please write a letter to our Metro Park thanking them for a great job and encourage them to lengthen the trails at both Heritage Rail Trail and Glacier Ridge, and to install the bridle trail at Prairie Oaks. Let them know the horse community is very grateful for allowing horses to be a part of their park system and users of the trail. It is so wonderful for us to have a safe place to ride our horses in our own community, and the community seems very happy to see us out there.
 
Write to: Metro Parks, c/o Larry Peck, 1069 West Main Street, Westerville, Ohio 43081; phone 614/891-0700.
 
If you would like more details, please feel free to call me, Veronica Boysel at 614/777-0773. Thank you so much for all your support. Let’s keep up the good work!
 
  Sincerely,
  Veronica Boysel
  614/777-0773