Legal inclusion for Horseback Riders in Gardens of Stone Eco Tourism Park
Petitioner:
Miss Tracy Marshall
| Member:
Donato, Philip
| No. of Signatories:
53
| Date closed:
23/11/2022
To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly,
For your consideration, I implore you to consider the following letter I write on behalf of many many riders in NSW. NSW horseback riders want inclusion in the Draft Plan for the Gardens of Stone Eco Tourism Park. NPWS NSW are taking over the management of this area and according to their “Policy”, this “Illegal” activity will be prohibited in the near future. We need inclusion of our riding trails in this plan. We want to be legally included. The area is big enough to cater for all recreational users and the tracks we have been using for 80 years like my grandfather and our whole family who lived and worked in the Newnes Shale Oil Industry were, and where horses and ponies were a huge part of our ongoing local history bringing oil and workers in and out of Wolgan up the Gap to Lidsdale and beyond. These trails can be managed and maintained so they can continue to be used into the future. According to “Policy”, it’s good enough for mining and commercial activities (zip lining etc), then surely it’s good enough for riding horses (on all but staired or rocky single tracks) on these managed tracks, like mountain biking or hiking will be. We are not destructive and do not cause problems tearing up trails but we ARE legitimate bush users, like so many others. We need horseback riding legally included so everybody has a right to access.
