The Oklahoma City Riverfront Redevelopment Authority (OCRRA) is set to approve a conceptual plan for an extensive equestrian facility and riding trails along the south shore of the Oklahoma River.
The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber and members of the Oklahoma City Convention and Tourism Commission observed as early as 2010 that in order to fully deliver on Oklahoma City’s longstanding brand promise as a horse-friendly community, it would be highly desirable to develop public facilities where citizens could ride their own horses and arrange horse riding experiences available for hire within the city.
A small group of early stakeholders met over the course of several months, conducting further research and eventually prompting OCRRA to task its on-call engineering consultant to produce a conceptual plan to study the feasibility of a riverfront equine facility. Stakeholders included representatives of Stockyards District businesses and property owners, the county sheriff’s mounted patrol, State Fair of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Hotel Association and city staff. The study effort was expected to help identify the kinds of amenities a public horse riding facility should include, establish general cost estimates and propose a flexible phased development model for consideration by city staff, river trustees and city council.
Triad Design Group has completed its conceptual findings and proposes a series of development phases, beginning with the establishment of a basic horse riding trail, separated from but parallel to the river trail system accommodating bicyclists, runners and pedestrians. Following development of the roughly $400,000 in start-up facilities identified in Phase I, projects outlined in subsequent phases could be implemented at any time, and in any sequence, subject to the availability of funds from public and private sources. Future phases could include additional stables, arena space, competitive polo fields and a boat landing for the Oklahoma River Cruises.
Beyond the initial trail elements, future components of the project appear well-suited to the solicitation of private donations and sponsorships. At this time no public or private funds have been solicited for or committed to this project, to date, pending additional study and formal approval by OCRRA trustees and City Council.
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