Would you pay to ride offroad?

J

JHC

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I've just found out that I can get a license to ride on the estates shooting tracks while shootings not on.

Would you pay £75 to do this?

Im waiting for them to email me the routes as if its only a small route I dont think its worth it
 
Yes, I used to take my horse to the beach which you needed a permit for and they only gave out a limited number each year £45. Routes were marked out, was really nice. Unfortunately my horse did his tendon last year so am only just going to start riding him again. The deep sand of the dunes is no longer an option.

But yes I would pay it to ride off road if the terain suited my horse. He's 34 but thinks he's 3 so doesn't help himself
 
I would - I have limited hacking in my village. I do box up and pay £8 to ride local farms tracks. So £75 pa would seem reasonable emough for safe off road hacking.
 
Yes. I'm sick of being target practice for yuppies who think buying a house in the country entitles you to drive along single track roads at warp speed and squeeze past horse that get in your way.
 
Depending on the amount of tracks available it works out at around £1.50 per week & that sounds pretty reasonable. Where we are we have a large park that we can ride however we have to buy a licence from the council & also have to prove we have at least £2 million third paty cover before they'll allow the licence. You can charge around on a mountain bike & run people over with no insurance cover for free though! :(
 
I have done and would do again. A group of farmers got together and allowed people to ride on all their field margins. You could ride for hours and it was c.£40 a year (but probably 10 years ago now!)
If there are enough routes you could ride on it twice (or more) a week which makes it much less than £1 a ride - something I'd be happy with to be off road, have nice canter tracks available.
 
£75 a year seems excessive - especially as it wouldn't be available at all in shooting season. I pay £35/year for a permit to a local woodland. That's as much as I'd be prepared to pay. I dont' actually use that woodland all that often now though, as all of the money us horse riders have paid for oru permits has been used to upgrade the tracks for the benefit of the pedestrians in the woods - so all the formerly nice canter tracks are now hard, gravelled and a most horrible surface for horses!
 
pansymouse said:
Yes. I'm sick of being target practice for yuppies who think buying a house in the country entitles you to drive along single track roads at warp speed and squeeze past horse that get in your way.
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Ditto! We have a small beach nearby which normally has lots of dogs running around ready to chase any poor horse that dares venture down there :( So yes I would pay for off road riding!
 
Yes I would and happily, depending on just how much riding there is. Our livery has tracks around the farm fields and a wood which is invaluable for fitting/ cantering and when the stubble fields are in, plenty of good fast gallops!
 
Definitely. I haven't cantered my horse on a hack in over three years.:( There's just nowhere to go within easy hacking distance. Can't remember the last time I galloped anywhere.
 
I pay £80/yr to ride in a local forest park. It is well worth it imo, although I'm not sure why the few of us who ride in it have to pay when all the dog walkers, runners and cyclists don't :)

Having said that, the forestry blokes really like us so nothing is too much trouble (track repairs, chopping up fallen trees, providing us with a picnic table in the box park to use as a mounting block when I told them the stile wasn't high enough :o).

It's lovely riding, various alternative routes, about 10km in all, with rivers, bridges, fords, mountains and woodland. Beautifully scenic, but great for young horses and for fitness work, and a relatively safe place to take children on ponies.

Unlike the poster above, I like the fact that the paths are all gritted as I don't want to be wallowing about in mud and sliding down the hills :)

I forgot to mention the red squirrels and the pine martens too :)
 
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yes I would pay but for that money I would want good amount of available riding.

Chestnutmarelover - are you referring to Sandbay ? used to be stabled at the priory so we went on there regularly - sunrise and sunset were lovely but did get chased (and come off as a result) on that beach ! If you have transport Brean is much bigger so you can stay out of the way off mutleys and there is some nice big driftwood to jump !
 
If you want to investigate putting in local routes for payment contact TROT, which is a charity which helps riders set up their own routes over farmland. The money the riders pay goes to the farmer(s), but if you are a member you can ride on any of the routes, not just one local ones.

www.tollrides.org.uk
 
Yes - I pay £180 to ride in Windsor Great Park - we get to ride in the Park all year, although a couple of months a year it is restricted to roads and tracks. However, you can go anywhere - it's not unusual for us to be out 3-4 hours on long hacks - we stop at the pub in the village for a quick drink or the shop for a lolly if it is hot!

We have direct access to the Park from our yard, so don't have to do roadwork in the summer, it takes about 7 mins and in the winter as it gets a bit muddy out the back, we hack round the roads - takes about 15 mins.

It is definitely worth the money.
 
Our local riding club was originally started to provide off road routes in what was becoming busy for traffic due to houses encroaching the countryside. Is getting worse as we truly are becoming suburbia, but we do have the benefit of some lovely landowners and the council who give us permissive use - we have hatbands to wear, and it's inclusive as part of our £25/year club membership. As a club we are also working towards opening up more routes, and to link up with existing bridleway networks in neighbouring areas. We also campaign for new routes to be created as the planners get to grips with the last remaining fields.....sadly there are so many huge developments planned in the central Berkshire area it's getting difficult to keep track of and attend all the meetings to have our say!
 
There is a similar scheme, localish to us and we are considering it, when the wagon is sorted. I do think that these schemes are worth encouraging, as it seems that money is the only way we are going to get access, as more and more countryside is built on :(
 
I would be delighted to pay up to £100 a year for access to offroad riding. I have access to a local offroad Sustrans track, but only walk and trot really possible (sneaky canters on the verge possible but not approved of). I wish the local farmers would allow us to ride on field margins, and I would be happy to pay them for the privilege (and towards any upkeep they had to do to make this possible).
 
Our nearest National Trust property charges £75 to ride around its grounds, I used to pay a half year just to use it in the summer, was well worth it!
 
I would pay, and indeed have in the past. One of our local farmers opened up some "non bridlepath" tracks for us years ago and I think we paid about £5/month then so I would say that £75 per year is a good deal if the tracks are good. At least you will be safe from the idiots that seem to be on all of the roads, all of the time! ;)
 
Yes I would. Even if it was only a couple of routes that would be okay with me, if they linked in with existing brideways or quiet roads then even better.

My dad tried to do a scheme like this about 20 years ago but noone (riders) in the area was really interested so he never pursued it.
 
I would. Already pay to ride in Forestry commision land that's about a 30 minute trailer ride away. Would jump at the chance for more local off-road hacking!
 
Gleeful Imp said:
Yes absolutely. Apart from when I have gone to places like Somerford park or on fun rides, I have not cantered on a hack in over 10 years.
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OMG! I can't imagine not cantering on a hack!

If we walk and trot round it's only to teach my girl a lesson in manners, we always seem to slip into a canter even if it's only a short one. In fact the last time I fell off proper, we were with an eight year old girl on her pony, my girl didn't like being held up and put in the most enormous buck!!

I really need to behave like a 50+:rolleyes: and I guess we are really lucky.
 
Yes and I do.

£280 a year for TROT for me and another as have 2 horses;
£140 for local riding club membership so have access to fantastic off road facilities

I am debating whether to add local estate too but that's £400 a year for 2 people which is excessive in addition to above!

I keep horses at home so no livery costs ;)
 
No, unless there were loads of different routes and it was very local. I'd rather pay X amount per ride or car parking because I like going different places all the time and would feel like I always had to ride there to get my money's worth.
 
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