Rejuvenation of the 70 Mile Riding Area beside the 70 Mile Community Hall is ongoing.
There are 10 new paddocks next to the arena, and they will be useful for people who are bringing horses to ride in the arena or on the nearby trails.
70 Mile Community Club Riding Arena committee member Sally Watson said the Back Country Horsemen of British Columbia (BCHBC) donated $5,000 so the local committee could purchase material to build the paddocks.
She added the BCHBC does a lot of trail rides, and also establishes and maintains trails.
Watson said the committee didn't have enough volunteers who knew how to build paddocks, so the committee decided to hire a contractor who was knowledgeable in paddock construction.
The paddocks went up fairly quickly.
Watson noted the 10 single paddocks can be turned into double paddocks by removing some rails. She added this would provide room for two horses to share a paddock. Horses become attached to each other and they are comfortable being together, she noted.
Watson said the committee is in the planning stages for hosting other events and doing upgrades on the arena.
This includes putting in a water system and adding sand in the arena floor.
“There is clay in the footing. It's dusty and we need dust management,” Watson said, adding they will be harrowing sand into the arena floor.
She noted the committee will be ready for full arena usage in 2025.
The riding arena can be rented now.
