Oh my.... westernmaine... no one in town has hay available in that volume to bring & leave in a box truck for the week. I know, I can hardly get my hay in this season. The person in Turner is a member of their club so why wouldn't he supply the hay? The people pay a fee to attend the ride NOT to camp. Their money goes to pay for the rental of all the portajohns, the trash bin & removal, the ryder rental truck for water and yes the caterer. I would dare say that Archies [trash] and Doug Bennett & Sons [pottys] were pretty happy for the business. Too bad they don't actually LIVE in Andover. Not to mention that Farmer John R. left his truck to pick up manure to grow the nice veggies that are out available on the honor system in the village. My mom sold 15 homemade pies to the caterer and our busness rented him our studio for a week. You mention the "other groups" who do all the work on the trails, but some were invited & joined the cross state folks for some meals which they also shared with landowners who stopped by. Those club officials were pleased to share the trails they work so hard on! AND... stink from 100 horses... come on... we live in a farming community, spreading cow & chicken manure on the hayfields all around town is way more than you'll EVER smell from horses who's paddocks were picked clean daily. The Grimaldi field suffered no more than a close cut with a lawn mower and a good dose of fertilizer. The people who belong to Cross State are respectful, honest, mature people who share the love of horses and the outdoors. They pride themselves in being good stewards of the lands they have the privlidge to ride on and make every effort to take care of any concerns in the areas they bring their group rides to. I hope that those of you who made the negative comments here might reconsider your thoughts as there is precious little to help boost the economy of our little town. Lets not shut people out with closed minded attitudes.
River Valley
Andover hosts New England distance horse-riding club
ANDOVER — Many of the drivers approaching and leaving town on Route 120 have been gawking at the normally vacant recreational field, which currently resembles a horse-lovers convention.
The grassy field is full of horse trailers, campers and a few tractor-trailers. They arrived on Aug. 7 and will leave Sunday, Aug. 16.
The group, which consists of about 150 people from Maine and New England and 100 horses, is the Cross State Trail Ride Inc., a gathering of horse lovers who enjoy the sport of distance riding.
They liked Andover so much the first time they visited in 2006 that they returned this summer for the club's 40th anniversary.
“Forty years is a long time to keep this craziness alive,” Diana Leavitt of Deerfield, N.H., said Thursday evening after returning from a trail ride.
Leavitt, 47, who calls herself the group's “chick trail boss” or trail coordinator, ventures out daily, flagging a trail through the backcountry of Andover which will then be ridden by club members.
“This is supposed to be fun and pleasurable, so we try and gear it in that direction,” she said.
In the early 1970s, the club formed to participate in distance rides across Massachusetts, then from Connecticut to Maine and from New York to Cape Cod, Mass. They usually rode for four days, took a one-day break, and hit the trail again for another four days.
Now that the average age is 50, they've discovered places big enough in which to establish base camps, such as Andover's recreation field. Trips are averaging 15 miles a day, said Leavitt, who began at the age of 17 and rode from sunup to sundown, sometimes 50 to 100 miles a day.
Member Mary McKenney of West Newbury, Mass., said the group discovered Andover through a member who visited with Deb Cayer. Cayer and husband, Matt Bean, provide horse-riding vacations from their Memory Lane ranch in Andover.
“It's nice when you can come to an area and enjoy what they have in town,” McKenney said. “We give a ton of money back to them, especially for ice.”
It's a big enough place to put 100 people and 100 horses, member Betty Tyson said. "It has lots of nice trails and the people are so nice to us and the town is so welcoming,”
Tyson, McKenney, Leavitt and club President Larry Marshall of Barre, Mass., all spoke highly of the quality of trail-riding made possible by landowners, the Ellis River Riders and the Roxbury All-Terrain Vehicle Riders.
“They've done a fabulous job, because they really take it to heart here,” Leavitt said.
“We've never run into quite an organization that is working so hard to make it stay good,” she said. “It's a model for other states to follow. It really is something to be thankful for, because we've had some horror stories elsewhere.”
They bring their own caterer and grain for the horses. Hay is provided locally, this year by Bill Varney of Turner. The group goes through about 450 bales, Leavitt said.
The annual two-week trail ride is so popular with the club, which has 246 members, that their waiting list to get in on it is 50 people deep, Leavitt said.
“This is like a huge reunion every year,” she said. “And, at least one local gardener is very happy that we're here, so he can get more manure.”
tkarkos@sunjournal.com
Cross State Trail Ride Inc. trail master Diana Leavitt of Deerfield, N.H., stands Thursday evening with her horse, Sky, a 10-year-old half-Arabian gelding, at the club's 40th anniversary encampment in Andover. The group of distance trail riders is spending two weeks in the area while enjoying area trails and visiting with locals.
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A lone horse at Thursday's Cross State Trail Ride Inc. encampment off Route 120 in Andover looks up while dining on hay after a day spent taking its owner around trails.
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As one of the participants,
As one of the participants, I am so glad to know we were well received....I know that horses damage the trails, but don't four wheelers make an impact too, or any other trail user?( If it wasn't for the 4-wheeler club, our group may not have been able to come to Andover, we are very grateful for the support and help they have provided to the Cross State Club) For that matter, if one can't ride horses in Andover Maine, where should we go? (don't answer that) Guess there is no place for horses any more, too bad. I have to say, most of the folks I met in Andover were very gracious, I hope that was not just a front.
btw, we bought more than ice, I know for a fact that many small businesses benefited by the infusion of more than a hundred riders and non riders, how about the local home made pies that were served for desert.....???
And that store owner that is from "away" don't they pay taxes to the town? Andover is a lovely place, I am so glad many of you are willing to share your spot of heaven with us outsiders. Devil's Den, Angel Fallls, the view from unnamed meadow high in the mountains, the pristine stars at night that some of us never get to see.
Thanks to all of you that wished to share your spot of heaven with us.... and the farmer from "away" who collected all the manure for his garden..... I think most of you will find we left only hoof prints, and took away just nice memories.
I think that;s the point
I think that;s the point Chipper
Boy, what a bunch of fuddie
Boy, what a bunch of fuddie duddies and complainers. They shouldn't even come to Andover.
Not to mention Westernmaine,
Not to mention Westernmaine, the stink of 100 horses should you live upwind from the Grimaldi field. Why a certain couple in town is not all over this is a wonder.
Not to mention Westernmaine,
Not to mention Westernmaine, the stink of 100 horses should you live upwind from the Grimaldi field. Why a certain couple in town is not all over this is a wonder.
"We give a ton of money back
"We give a ton of money back to them", give me a break, they buy a few bags of ice from the store in town owned by someone from out of town. They bring their own caterer, and the hay they buy "locally" is from Turner which is an hour away from Andover. Each individual pays a large fee to camp each night, and then the club in turn gives a measly $500 donation to the towns rec committee. They don't even pay to the use the field. Do you know the damage 150 people, 100 horses, and a slew of trucks and trailers do the field, what's more do you know the damage 100 horses does to the trails that other groups have worked so hard to maintain does? Yeah, real great for the town
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As a member of the club in
As a member of the club in question I can assure readers that westernmaine has the facts wrong. The easiest to address is the damage to the field ...locals can drive by or walk through to see there is none. We paid a substantial fee ( >$500) to use the field AND made donations to the community. We also donated all leftover food items to the local soup kitchen and all returnable bottles went to the local ATV Club. This trail riding club goes to great lengths to work with the landowners and locals in the communities we visit to ensure needs are met and questions are answered. Trail briefings are held the evening before each ride to make riders aware of specific requests of landowners. Rider's go out in small groups throughout the day to limit impact. Almost every trail this year had to be re-routed to well traveled dirt roads and ATV trails due to the July rains. Many of our members also belong to Ellis River Riders and the Roxbury ATV club and return to Andover to vacation throughout the year. Thank you Andover for welcoming us back!