Equestrian Park to Stay Put

It looks as if Greenville County will be keeping their one and only horse park – for now.  

The county parks department originally told the Greenville Foothills Pony Club, which operates the Riverbend Equestrian Park, that all equestrian activity would need to end by June 30th.  That's when their contract was up.  The county wanted to repurpose the 66 acre facility for something else, something that could bring more money in so that the park could pay for itself.   

Parks officials apparently changed their mind.  They made the announcement at a County Council meeting last night.  The horses will stay for now, but they still want to do something to get more people to use the park.  Riverbend currently has, besides the horses and barns, three arenas and trails for hiking and biking.  They had been talking about expanding the trails and possibly adding a dog park. 

An on line petition gathers over 2600 signatures to try to preserve the equestrian portion of the park.

Since 2011, the Greenville Foothills Pony Club has used the park in the northern part of the county near Travelers Rest as its home base, hosting monthly meetings as well as several public riding shows and clinics each year. The nonprofit group is a chapter of the United States Pony Club, which is one of the world’s largest junior equestrian organizations.

If you'd like to check out the park, it's located at 175 Riverbend Road in Greenville.