Whoever said poker is an indoor game? Visit White Lake's 6,000 acre Highland Lake Recreation Area on the right day and you may encounter equestrians storming through the woods in high pursuit of a royal flush. With one hand gripping the reins and the other yanking playing cards from bushes and tree branches, these Poker Rides are among the most popular events held by Oakland County's 10-odd horseback trail riding groups.
Riding is a big bet in the state; the Michigan Horse Council reported about 130,000 members of the equine family in the state in 1996, with annual spending per horse in the $6,000 range – more than your typical car payment. Oakland County, with farms and pastures dotting its western range, has over 7,000 horses – the highest concentration in Michigan, according to the Highland Equestrian Conservancy (HEC), a unique land conservancy dedicated to preserving Highland Township's rural and equestrian legacy.
Horses not only bring wealth to communities, they also spur sound land development practices. "Many of our members are not equestrians, but they want to keep the open space. Horses can be used as a tool because horse pastures physically have tree lines, small wood lots, and wildlife corridors that can be preserved and protected," explains HEC promotions director Sharon Greene, who founded the conservancy in 2002 in response to new residential development activity in Highland.
Saddle-bound
Greene, a lifelong equestrian who rode horses on tractor trails circling and linking agricultural fields, sought to apply this notion in Highland by asking developers to provide greenway and equestrian trail easements on the periphery of new subdivisions. The "Highland Model" is smart rural development – two new neighborhoods have the easements in place, with plans for a third in progress.
In another nod to open spaces, the HEC also spearheaded the new Highland Oaks county park earlier this year, a hilly 264 acre Highland parcel of wildflowers, wetlands, old pastures, and a horseback riding trail.
However, the HEC's primary push is to connect Oakland County parks and other properties via greenways and equestrian-friendly trails. Since 2002, the group has been involved with linking the county's non-motorized trail network into all possible communities. The vision is for people to walk, bike, and in many parts, ride a horse from Rochester to South Lyon, Greene says. HEC's latest contribution to the system is a five year plan to develop a trail originating in Waterford, extending west to White Lake, Highland, and Milford.
Oakland Equestrian Coalition coordinator Merle Richmond – who crossed the 230 mile Michigan Shore to Shore trail from Oscoda to Empire astride her Haflinger horse – says the equestrian advocacy group asks Oakland County to be inclusive of horses in its multi-use trail development. "Many times it's the only way for a horse person to get from their property to someplace safe to ride. If they don't, then people with these parcels of land sell them off and let developers build more houses and you lose the rural character, which is where Sharon Greene has been a visionary," she believes. "When you think about adjacent parcels being developed and connecting trails, you have this wonderful network of trails. That's what Highland's been working on and I think it's a wonderful plan."
Trotting to town
And the ride continues right into Highland's nineteenth-century downtown, complete with horse feed and equipment purveyors. "Not everything in Oakland County is Automation Alley. Horses have a huge economic impact in our township and our state," Greene says. The HEC's 2003 economic impact study and horse census found Highland has over 775 horses that generate abut $4.5 million in annual spending on things such as veterinary services, feed and tack, and its 14 indoor arenas.
These expenditures are revitalizing the town, which joined the Main Street Oakland County economic development program in 2005 - the first in the county and probably the first in the U.S. to be recognized as horse friendly, Greene says. "We've always been able to ride into town, the feed store and saddlery being right downtown. We're looking to make it not just horse friendly but easier access for people hiking, biking, and horseback riding. In the future, we're hoping it will have an Eddie Bauerish appeal and that those 250,000 yearly visitors to the Highland Recreation Area might find our local community accessible – and not just by car."
Barns are yet another mainstay of the equestrian economy; tree canopy appreciation aside, horses and their companions need a roof over their heads. To that end, HEC is partnering with the Michigan Barn Preservation Network, on an adaptive restoration of the circa 1929 Edsel Ford barn, with 15,000 square feet on three floors. Greene says it will most likely be a trail network hub and visitor center for the Highland Recreation Area.
Friends, horses, and countrymen
Jacqui McAtee, lifelong rider and vice president of the Highland Trail Riders Association, enjoys the sport's camaraderie: "We have so many different types of horse people in the area – you've got people that show horses and trail ride, people that have horses on their property almost as companion animals, and we have several horse rescues in the area. It's a way to bring everyone together, basically." The group maintains the 11 miles of trails in the Highland Recreation Area and holds stirrup socials year-round.
Milford resident Sara Rice, who started off cleaning stables in exchange for riding lessons, runs up the hours exercising her Clydesdale, Rheinlander, and spotted saddle horses in Commerce's Proud Lake and Waterford's Pontiac Lake Recreation Areas, among others. The Proud Lake Trail Riders member says everyone meets at other groups' events – competitive mounted orienteering, which outfits riders with clues and compasses, is tops. She figures there are three to four thousand equestrians in the Milford area alone. "I've got at least three neighbors with horses just on my block. Down the block there's a bunch more. If you head west, there are five or six more farms; they're everywhere," she says, adding, "You either get horse-crazy when you start riding and you love it or you don't …. It's spending the time with your horse and enjoying the peace and quiet outside and sort of leaving the modern day behind."
And the horse parade keeps marching. The Michigan Interscholastic Horsemanship Association, says the state, whose Milford high school boasts the first varsity equestrian program in the nation, now has 343 varsity teams with over 2,100 riders. In 2003, the junior division, which is unique to Michigan, formed with 12 middle schoolers. Membership stands at 900 today and Greene expects it to double within the next three years.
Horsemanship is pure sport and game that also betters communities by fostering desirable natural environments. "We are looking at our parks and our greenways and looking at the trails that can link, and link to hubs – our parks, our school systems, our downtown areas so when you're taking that trail, you're going through these greenways and going through our park system and linking to these hubs that are where the development and recreation are," Greene explains. "It's all part of the big picture and I think Michigan is an incredible place, especially Oakland County …. It has one of the best trail and greenway plans in the country."
Want to learn more about riding groups, riding trails or riding schools in southeast Michigan? Check out our handy-dandy Galloping Guide.
Tanya Muzumdar is a regular contributor to metromode. Read her previous article Double Lives.
Photographs:
Nelson's Ranch - White Lake Township
Sharon Greene - Highland
Merle Richmond and Foxy at Nelson's Ranch - White Lake Township
Cowboy duds -Highland Station Saddlery - Highland
Jacqui McAtee in front of Edsel Ford Barn - Highland
Sara Rice - Milford
Kelly Latham rides and works at Monticello Riding Facility, located in the heart of Highland Recreational Area - Highland
Photographs by Marvin Shaouni
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