About Us

The Ohio Horseman’s Council Inc. (OHC) is a non-profit corporation organized in the state of Ohio to provide a vehicle for equine owners and supporters to share ideas and suggestions for all horse related issues, through education, organized trail rides, and other social and service functions. We provide resources to promote the building and maintenance of bridle trails throughout the state of Ohio and provide financial resources and volunteer services to fellow organizations that support equine related activities.

WHO ARE WE?

We are a fun loving, family-oriented, friendly, non-profit horse club located in Butler County Ohio that have a love of seeing the world from the back of our beloved four legged animals.

Our members are all ages and possess different levels of riding skills; from the novice to the well experienced.  Our members have horses from all breeds to all disciplines.  We love to share our love of riding; whether we are a show person or a trail rider or a camper.

WHAT DO WE DO?

We have planned activities (trail rides, socializing, trail work day, and camping). We attend the various state rides in other counties in the area to get know our counterparts who also share our love of horses.

We have monthly meetings.

WHERE DO WE MEET?

Please check the Newsletter for the months location.  As it changes from time to time.

Come early to eat and socialize at 6:00 p.m. or join us at 7:00 p.m. for the official meeting.  For changes and notifications, please see the monthly newsletter.

WHEN DO WE MEET?

On the 2nd Tuesday of each month.

JOIN US TODAY !

ELK CREEK METROPARK:  SEBALD PARK AREA AND MEADOW RIDGE AREA:

Sebald Park – Butler County’s First Horse Trail

How this project got started . . . A few horsemen/trail riders from Butler County thought with the loss of rural land and places to ride our horses, it’s time we have some public trails in Butler County parks. We approached the Butler County park board with our thoughts and they agreed it would be a great idea. With the agreement that most of the work to create and maintain these trails would be up to the horsemen who would use them, and after careful consideration they have welcomed us to Sebald Park.

Sebald Park is a beautiful 267 acre park, on Elk Creek Road, with a variety of terrains. Trails have been completed on the flat land along the creek with access to the water, as well as more challenging trails on the hills. The newest trail has just been completed as of mid-March, 2009. This “Valley View Loop” adds approximately three to four miles of trails to the existing network at Sebald.  Currently, these bridle trails are close to 10 miles.

SEBALD HORSE TRAIL HISTORY/HIGHLIGHTS:

1. First meeting with Butler Metro Parks in May 10, 2005 to ask for horse trails in the county, spearheaded by a few interested Butler County OHC members. It was agreed that Butler County OHC and other interested trail riders would do the bulk of the trail construction and maintenance.
2. Selection of Sebald Park, just north of Trenton, Ohio, was the location for new trails.
3. Trail began construction by volunteers in May 2006.
4. Continued trail construction, with most work accomplished in the fall and winter of 2006/2007. Top hillside trail “breakthrough” (workers on both ends met in the middle) on 12/30/06. Falls loop worked on in Jan/Feb 2007.
5. Trails were dedication 4/14/2007 and open for riding, with 4.8 miles available on 3 loops, the Meadows trail, Hillside trail, and Falls Loop.
6. A Memo of Understanding between the MetroParks and Butler County OHC was written and agreed to in March 2008, describing the roles and expectations of each group in relation to the horse trails at Sebald.
7. During 2008, OHC members were instrumental in getting an agreement between the Metro Parks and City of Middletown to allow an adjoining property to be utilized for additional horse trails.
8. This resulted in the Valleyview trail being built in the fall and winter of 2008/2009, and opened for riding in the spring of 2009 with another 3.7 miles, giving a total of 8.5 miles for the Sebald trails.
9. The Dry Run loop, which was built in the winter of 2009/2010 to bypass a low drainage section, added another .9 miles, giving a new grand of 9.4 miles.
10. The switchback trail up the hill was reworked and rerouted in 2009 and 2010.
11. The 2011 trail project that began in March 2011 will add most of a mile of shaded trail near the creek.
12. In 2013 Butler County OHC began planning to build a shelter near the horse trailer parking lot, to include a shaded area for horse tying. We’re now in the fund raising part of this project.