The Riding Club Of Barrington Hills
Dear Riding Club Members,
We have a great deal to reflect upon as the year draws to a
close. 2023 has been an incredible year for the Barrington
Hills equestrian community - full stop. Together, we
attended clinics and shows, while reminding our larger
community that the equestrian way of life still has great
value in Barrington Hills. From having fun together as a
community, to tackling important issues head on, the
Riding Club was there to support the Barrington Hills
equestrian way of life in 2023.
There’s no doubt that 2023 was a very special year for our
cause. Thanks to your support, The Riding Club of
Barrington Hills was able to provide a clear and united
voice to both the Cook County Forest Preserve and the
legal community, while remaining a welcoming umbrella
organization for local horse-minded folk. Here are a few of
our highlights for the year:
We said thank you to our generous Trail Owners by
providing complimentary entry tickets to the Annual
LeCompte/Kalaway Trailowners Cup, and a champagne
welcome. Thank you to all of our Trail Owners - you are the
lifeblood of our unique Bridle Trail System.
2023 Year In Review
For last year's words belong to last year's language.
And next year's words await another voice.
- T.S. E"iot
Art Contest Winner, Tom Helenowski.
We hosted our annual Earth Day Roadside Clean
Up along the 62, preventing hundreds of pounds
of plastics from entering our pristine waterways. It
was a chilly spring morning. Stephanie Cecola
rallied the troops and arranged for a ride to
ensure our cleanup was complete before grass
grew in for the season. Thanks to her dedication,
we were even able to fit a last shift in to address
the most pristine stretch of Preserve waterway
along the 62. Thank you so much to our wonderful
volunteers - Next year is just around the corner!
We liaised with Fox River Valley Pony Club
leadership to open a joint dialogue with The
Cook County Forest Preserve. The conversation
comes during a pivotal moment as the Preserve
opens to the public, just as the 62 Highway is
scheduled to be widened with landscape
improvements. With all of this change in mind,
we gave a presentation of our shared vision for
a Preserve welcoming of all stakeholders that
was warmly received. We expect the positive
dialogue to continue in the new year. Here is
Chris Slattery (Director of Planning &
Development at Forest Preserve District of Cook
County), who paid us a visit at The Riding
Center as this festive scene happened by.
As equestrian advocates, we championed for stable owners and boarders by filing
an Amicus Brief (Friend of the Court) in the case of Drury v. Village of Barrington
Hills. Our 35 page brief strongly affirmed the community-wide importance of
boarding stables. It marked the first time that the Riding Club had ever spoken to
the courts regarding the vital importance to us all of maintaining a vibrant boarding
ecosystem. We could not have made your voices heard without dedicated support
from Scott Puma and Mary Jean Dolan of the Law Firm Ancel Glink.
We updated our Bylaws in plain English to expand our reach. Thank you so much for
your input during the process!
We continued our popular Saturday
morning Trail Rides to ensure our
members are all familiar with our
wonderful Preserve and Trail System.
If you’re new to the community, our
Saturday rides and Sunny Sundays
are a great introduction to our tight
knit community.
The Riding Club was proud of our yearly
presence in the annual FRVPC Puppy Show,
which is always a lovely moment for the
community to experience the hospitality of
Barrington Hills Farms. It’s heartening to keep
the tradition of hounds in our neighborhood
alive. Thank you Margret Palmer for the
beautiful hospitality set up! Evie takes the blue
ribbon.
We put on The Living Horse Museum at the
Barrington Hills Fall Festival to show the
incredible diversity amongst our equine friends.
Thank you to MaryBeth Holsteen for creating
the Museum. This is a wonderful annual tradition
for all ages that serves our wider community. It’s
also a wonderful chance to remind our
neighbors of the Village’s equestrian heritage.
The Riding Club hosted two Working Equitation Clinics and one Schooling Show to help
expand our collective commitment to Lifetime Learning. We look forward to hosting
another year of learning in 2024. Stay tuned for programming information shortly.
Whether you ride English or Western, on a Donkey or Horse - we’ve got your needs in
mind.
We continued our stewardship of the trails.
Thanks to your help, our Southwest Sector
opened up a trail for access to the Riding
Center. Year round access to the Indoor Arena
at The Riding Center is vital for many of our
winter riders who lack arenas at home.
Connecting Sectors: Our Northwest Sector
opened up a trail that connects to the
Southwest Sector, providing critical new
access.
The Riding Club sponsored a beautiful jump for the FRVPC Trials, helping to keep our
show offerings vibrant. To this end, we held Horse shows with over 60 participants and
look forward to expanding on this continued success in 2024 with an early Spring
schooling show to dust off the cold.
By popular demand, we kept Sunny Sunday Brunch going through the summer,
especially to coincide with clinicians, Saddle Fitting Clinic shown here. This event is a
lovely meeting point for our community and dovetails with our goal of expanding
programming for family members and non-riders alike. A heartfelt thanks to our hosts
who brought us delicious food and wonderful hospitality all summer long. We are
always in search of hosts, so please let us know if you would like to volunteer for a
Summer 2024 date!
As part of our family and non-rider friendly programming, we held our first apple
picking event at Oakwood Farms. Please let us know if you would like to offer a
venue for 2024, as apples are only every other year at Oakwood.
Proud Sponsors of 2023 Pony Trials
And of course, it was my pleasure to celebrate the holidays with you at our annual
party. We celebrated in style at The Makray Memorial Golf Club, where we feted our
new members while celebrating old friendships.
And Riding Club members just like you and me made all of this and more possible!
We have an exciting 2024 planned. So, be on the look out for special Spring
programming soon. In the meantime, it has been my pleasure to serve you as Board
President for 2023.
To everyone who participated in any of our events, thank you! And to all of you we
didn’t see this year, we look forward to bringing you out with many wonderful events
in 2024.
Warmest Wishes for a wonderful New Year,
Maggie Topping
Art Contest Winner, Gretchen Hess
