After nearly 35 years of fighting to preserve the horse trail at Pioneers Park, riders are beginning to reap the fruits of their labor.
For the past three decades, horse owners had seen the trail they'd been riding their entire lives shrink from four miles to about a mile and a quarter.
According to Walt Broer of JB Equestrian Academy, the city had never really given them a good reason as to why the trail shrunk.
"The reason they gave us 30 years ago was that it was too much to maintain the trail, but mowing and cleaning doesn't cost much," Broer said.
Over time, riders began to notice the trail depreciating from lack of maintenance.
In some instances, they had been kept off the trail, either by logs blocking access or by park staff.
When the city began receiving substantial funds from Lincoln Public Schools to maintain trails for cross country events, horse owners feared they would soon not have a bridle path at all.
In 2017, frustrated Pioneer Park riders started a petition seeking to restore the original bridle path that had been a staple of the park since the beginning.
Along with the petition, Broer filed an official claim with the city to let it know the riders weren't backing down.
"We had enough signatures from people, we could’ve had a rodeo with the people in support of our claims," he said.
Shortly after gathering signatures and filing an official claim, the equestrian community and the Parks and Recreation Department created a four-year program to restore the trail back to its original length.
City officials agreed to regular maintenance of the trail, and horse riders agreed to stay off certain parts of the trail during cross country races.
On June 9, the Lincoln Parks Advisory Board unanimously approved Phase 4 of the program, which will add another 1.9 miles to the trail, restoring it to its original 4.2 miles.
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Parks and Rec officials anticipate having the reconstruction of the trail done next spring, when a new water main for the park is installed under a portion of the trail.
The program also addresses maintenance, signage and horse trailer parking.
According to J.J. Yost, planning and facilities manager at Parks and Rec, the signage will be funded and maintained through a partnership with the equestrian community.
Parks and Rec also plans on creating a website dedicated to the bridle path at Pioneers Park and the equestrian trail at Wilderness Park.
The website will include information about the facilities and any temporary closure of equestrian facilities because of impassible conditions.
Hadley Richters, a longtime rider at Pioneers Park, said the restoration wouldn't be possible without the great relationship riders have built with Parks and Rec.
“Everybody is on board," Richters said. "They know our concerns, we know their concerns and we’ve built a good relationship."
Although local riders have advocated for the restoration of the Pioneers Park trail, the greater equestrian community is planning an expansion.
According to The Nebraska Horse Trails Committee, it's working on extending the bridle path from Pioneers Park to Conestoga Lake State Recreation Area and to Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center south of Denton.
While Pioneers Park riders are grateful for the recent restoration, they're excited about a possible expansion.
"The bridle path is nice, but it only gives our horses a good stretch, so we're excited for them to have some running room," Broer said.
Cathy Smith (from left), Rick Boucher and Shelly Horton ride horses in Pioneers Park on Monday. The city has approved restoring 1.9 miles of horse trails in the park.
Walt Broer inspects the horse trails in Pioneers Park on Monday. Broer helped lead the fight for additional trails after the city began to close some down.Â