Sleeping Bear Equestrian Club launched

New club to offer equestrian opportunities

A new club launched this month will give people living and visiting the Leelanau, Benzie, and Grand Traverse region more equestrian opportunities and benefits going into the new year and beyond.

The Sleeping Bear Equestrian Club held its first board meeting on Dec. 12 to ratify its mission, vision, and bylaws. Going forward as a nonprofit, the club will promote stewardship, education, volunteering, and leadership opportunities to those interested in equestrian activities. The efforts of the group are focused on a number of things including equine sport, equine tourism, and educational programs.

Michele Morris and Gretchen Knoblock, founders of the Empire Pony Pals youth program also launched earlier this year, came up with the initial idea for a club after a discussion regarding scholarship funding to allow underprivileged youth to participate in the program. With a nonprofit designation, they would be able to support not only these scholarships, but a wide range of programming.

Knoblock explained that scholarships established would not only be used for in-house programs like Pony Pals, but they hope to have funds to support youth interested in equine careers as well.

“We think that (having scholarships) the education component is crucial to supporting any member base,” Knoblock said. “Now with a really good, strong club behind us, we’re really looking forward to the future. I would love to see our region be the number one equestrian community in the state of Michigan… We want to do things and create events where there’s something for everybody. There’s a million possibilities.”

Part of that conversation about what the club could work towards was also the lack of safe trails for riders, especially in Leelanau County. Knoblock said Alligator Hill in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is the only trail in Leelanau where horseback riding is allowed, as well as the Michigan Shore-to-Shore Trail that runs from Empire to Oscoda.

“Leelanau County is filled with horse people… Imagine what we could do if we had an organization behind us? That was a big part of the impetus for creating the club,” Knoblock said. “So when we say we want to create trails, we want them to be safe, and it’s one of the biggest goals and efforts that we’re going to pursue…” With Leelanau and Grand Traverse areas being major tourism destinations, Knoblock said many people travel from afar to bring their horses and ride the scenic trails that are available. While it’s a goal for later down the road, she said they hope to one day have a club farm with some acreage located in the region which would include guest paddocks for horses needing shelter. The home base would give people and their horses another option for networking, volunteering, and additional resources while in the area, and would serve as a space for club members to gather for any number of reasons like shows, club picnics, and other events.

“There’s a lot of people that want to be involved in equine activities and they don’t ride a horse… Whatever it may be, but this offers a way to still be involved at whatever level they wish to based on the time they have to give,” she said. “There’s a social aspect to it as well in getting to know other equestrians in the area and share common interests.”

In November, hundreds of community members showed support online, through text/ call and in-person, for the mini pony, Lorelei, from Empire Hills Farm when Knoblock reached out for help in finding her after she went missing for several days. So many people showed up to ride and find Lorelei when they needed it, and one of the volunteers suggested starting a search and rescue group for oncall emergencies. Following the massive success of finding Lorelei, Knoblock said the club will add a search and rescue committee to assist in any future missing efforts in the community.

“We may have our own ideas of where the club could go, but it’s as strong as the membership base is, so members tell us where it needs to go,” she said. “Right now, we just need people to join — as we go, there will be more and more benefits and value to that membership. That’s what we hope.”

For more information on the club and what they offer, go to www.sleepingbearequestrianclub. org/.