Trail Rides
Please come out to enjoy a TROT trail ride and consider leading a ride yourself! TROT trail rides are fun and a great opportunity to learn new trails, meet other TROT members, and find a new trail riding buddy. To lead a ride, contact our trail ride coordinator, Barbara Sollner-Webb.
To participate in a scheduled ride:
- Contact the ride leader to sign-up and learn the ride’s starting time and other details.
- If a ride is postponed or cancelled, the ride leader will notify you.
- Check the TROT website and TROT and Maryland Trail Riders listservs for the most current ride information.
- All ride participants:
- Must wear helmets
- Provide appropriate documentation of current negative Coggins test for the horse, in compliance with Maryland state law.
- Be a TROT member – One-day TROT memberships are available at the ride for $5
If you need a ride to the event or can offer one, please email Barbara Sollner-Webb, so that this information can be included in an upcoming newsletter, or contact the ride leader.
Trail Maintenance
Anytime you are on a trail ride and if safe to do so, you can perform trail maintenance by clipping branches that impede passageway along a trail. In addition, you can participate in scheduled trail maintenance days.
Amy Kimble is the TROT Adopt-A-Trail coordinator and she has challenged all TROT members to perform two hours of trail maintenance a year. Please contact Amy for additional information about participating in trail maintenance activities. She can be reached at 301-748-8310 or amyhkimble@aol.com.
Please report your trail work hours to Amy, who tracks this information for the state; these hours also help assess park usage.
Calendar
Trail Work Day on horseback or on foot. Patrick’s Day theme. Light trail lunch provided and a prize for the person or horse wearing the most green.
Trail Ride. If you haven’t ridden this quaint area, you are missing out. Parking is limited, so sign up early to reserve your spot. Piney Run Park encompasses 550 acres with a 300 acre lake. Prior to being a park, this land was a private farm.
Ride with the wild ponies! This ride has been on my bucket list, and I invite you to join me. Day use horseback riding is permitted in Maryland from October 9 through May 14. An entrance fee is required for all vehicles entering the park. Sign up now to ensure your space. I am contemplating camping there for those who might also be interested. It is highly suggested that you check with your vet before attending this ride as many of the Assateague horses are positive for Equine Infectious Anemia.
Trail Work Day. Show up and make your presence known. Together we can help this area become a safe haven for our trail riders, hikers, and bikers.
Trail Ride. Gillis Falls is also known as Woodbrook CWMA in Woodbine. Veteran Gillis Falls trail rider Tracy Loppatto with show us around this area which boasts miles of trails, arenas, and cross country jumps. Show some love to the Carroll County Equestrian Council and the Gillis Falls trails surrounding their awesome venue.
Trail Ride. Veteran Morgan Run trail rider, Debbie Mullinix, will lead us on this trail ride. Morgan Run is a 1,336 acre environmental nature area featuring miles of equestrian trails in both open fields and woodlands. Only a few sections are somewhat rocky, but the vast majority of the trails have footing that is easy on horses’ feet. There is plenty of parking at Morgan Run. As always, plan to stay for the potluck after the ride.
Thanks to the feedback received at the Carroll County end of the riding season luncheon, we have added a new adventure to the 2019 list, the Underground Rail Road trail! The trail is located in the northeastern portion of the county in the community of Sandy Spring. The Underground Railroad Experience Trail is part of the National Park Service National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. It is also one segment of the Rachel Carson Greenway Trail Corridor, a 25-mile trail corridor that will one day connect Patuxent River State Park to Prince George’s County. Be sure to stick around and hitch your horse to your trailer for lunch and a stroll through Woodlawn Manor. It is going to be a great time.
Trail Work Day on horseback or on foot. You may have seen, or heard the destruction of trails that took place in 2018. Help restore the Union Mills equestrian trails back to its former glory.
Trail Ride. Welcome back to TROT Ivy Smink! Even though Ivy showed us around Union Mills last year as a non-member, let’s really welcome her back to TROT on this trail ride. Union Mills features miles of wooded equestrian trails. The trails are easy on horses’ feet, with only a few sections that are rocky. There are also a few spots were small streams cross the trails, and areas can be muddy in wet weather. The parking is limited, so sign up early to enjoy this ride.