Welcome to the Birds Hill Park Fall Ride Saturday, October 7, 2023.  (This is a ONE DAY ride) 

Trail Markers: Christine Steendam & Shannon Yaskiw 

Ride Manager: Andy Dunlop (204-990-9782) 

Day Manager: Kelli Hayhurst 

Vet: Glenn Sinclair 

This is an AERC sanctioned 1-day ride with a 50-mile Endurance Ride and a 25-mile Limited Distance ride. Horses are subject to vet checks prior, during and after each ride.  Prizes will be awarded for 1st Place Finish, Best Condition, High Vet Score and 1st Place Junior for each distance. A Turtle Award will go to the SLOWEST completion in each distance. 

In addition, there will be Intro rides of 10 or 15 miles.  No time limits, no placings, but great experience which any reasonably fit horse should be able to complete.  Intros will receive a completion ribbon and their vet card once they pass their final vet check. 

Ride camp is primitive camping with no electrical available. There will be water for horses on trail and in camp (please scoop out for sponging – do NOT put sponges into the drinking water).  Bring all your own supplies, in addition to your own containment for your horses. You must clean up your horse manure at your camp area (BE AWARE: ALL HAY AND MANURE MUST BE TAKEN HOME WITH YOU, WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TOSS IT INTO THE BUSH AT THIS SITE). A port-a-potty has been donated by Carrie. 

Base camp will officially open Friday at 5:00 p.m. Camping and day trailer parking is first come first served and unmarked so please be courteous to your fellow riders and don’t block the road or the trail heads.  WARNING!!! After all this rain the field will have some very soft spots – be careful where you park so you don’t sink! 

Please let the ride manager know if you plan to arrive on Friday. 

Ride Schedule is as follows: 

Vet in by distance priority (ie: 50’s first, then 25’s then intros) begins at 7:30 a.m. 

50’s start at 8:00 a.m. (Pink 15, fly-by, Blue 10, hold, Pink 15, hold, Blue 10) 

25’s start at 9:00 a.m. (Pink 15, hold, Blue 10) 

Intros start at 10:00 a.m. (either Pink 15 or Blue 10) 

The ride maps are available as images here (or as downloadable gpx files upon request). THERE WILL BE NO PRINTED MAPS AT THE RIDE. When in doubt follow the ribbons. 

General notes: 

•     Hold times will be 45 minutes for all holds. 

•     Pulse criteria will be 64 bpm for the 50 mile and 60 bpm for the 25 mile and intro horses 

•     Left turns will be marked with a loop ribbon AND a Green & White ribbon just before and at your turn. Some tricky turns may be marked with a painted arrow on the ground. 

•     Right turns will be marked with a loop ribbon AND a Red & White ribbon just before and at your turn. Some tricky turns may be marked with a painted arrow on the ground. 

•     All dogs must be kept on a leash, tied to your trailer, crated, or confined inside your trailer/truck while in Ride Camp. Please clean up after your pet. 

•     Dogs are not permitted near the Vet Gate 

•     No smoking on the trail, at Vet Gate or at the Manager/Volunteer Canopy 

•     Snacks will be provided for volunteers 

RIDE DESCRIPTIONS: 

15 mile loop – pink ribbons 

10 mile loop – blue ribbons 

Right turn – red ribbons 

Left turn – green ribbons 

Ribbons will be on your right-hand side with one exception on the 10 Mile loop.  Follow the directions and it will be clear. 

Unfortunately, trail sabotage is common in birds hill park and sometimes ribbons are removed. Because of this we ground sprayed the turns. 

15 mile loop – Pink 

Head east from ride camp, turn left at the gravel road heading North towards Festival Drive cross the paved road and head across the field and into Bridle Path (Horse & Rider on Red markers).  You’re going to stay on Bridle Path until it comes to Nimowin Road (no sign here), cross the gravel road and take a slight right to continue following Bridle Path. 

The trail will take you on a sharp right turn (almost a U turn) and then you will head East on Hazelnut (3 Leaves on Green markers), back across Nimowin road.  Stay on Hazelnut.  There will be a left turn BEFORE the cabin.  If you make it to the cabin, you missed your turn.  You’ll go through some yellow barricades and continue on the trail back to Nimowin Road where you will once again cross and then take a right turn onto the Roscoe Road trail (gravel, no markers). 

On the Roscoe Road trail you will find your 5-mile marker.  You will make a left-turn and then after a ways there will be a right onto Spruce Trail (Pine tree on White markers – used for dog sledding in winter).  Follow this trail all the way until you reach a sharp left turn into a BUSHY trail.  Follow this until you pop out onto Tamarack Trail (Pine tree on Yellow markers).  Make a left turn onto Tamarack.

You’ll make a right turn followed by another sharp right (almost a u-turn) onto Lime Kiln Trail (Kiln looks like a round hut on Blue markers). 

From here you will be on the Lime Kiln trail backwards (ie. the blue markers will be facing the other way).  Make a slight left to remain on the Lime Kiln trail.  You’ll pass a cabin on your left with an outhouse (no guarantee of TP) and the old lime kiln on your right (it is overgrown but it has a placard) .  Continue to follow this trail all the way around until it connects with itself–you will make a right turn here to remain on Lime Kiln Trail. 

Follow the ribbons through the old manure mounds into some grassy and bushy trail and you’ll pop out at an intersection, stay straightish to enter Mosquito Alley.  Likely going to be muddy and/or standing water after all this rain.  There will be TWO-WAY TRAFFIC here.  You’ll find your 10-mile marker on Mosquito Alley. 

Go to the end of Mosquito Alley, turn around in the keyhole loop, and head back the way you came. Follow Mosquito Alley back, you’ll make a slight right where you entered Mosquito Alley at the end of the two way track and remain on the trail until you come to a left turn, it will take you across Lime Kiln both ways and you take a left turn almost immediately followed by a right and another left that will take you out into North side of the practice field behind the Polo Field. 

Head East across the field onto Carriage Way (Horse & Carriage on Pink markers), follow Carriage Way to Nimowin Road (gravel), take a right along Nimowin Road followed by a left to continue on Carriage Way. This is approx 2 miles from camp. 

You’ll make a right to remain on Carriage Way and take that trail all the way to a left turn onto a small section of gravel, followed by a right turn into the field just outside the East Gate. 

Head south along the field to Festival Drive, cross the road (paved) and make a slight right onto the gravel road into camp and head straight in. 

10-mile loop – Blue 

Head North out of camp towards Festival Drive and there will be a left turn into the trees and onto Bridle Path (Horse & Rider on Red markers) that runs along Festival Drive.  Ride along Festival Drive until you come to a right turn that takes you across the paved road and into the trees on the other side, heading North. 

Through the trees you’ll follow your blue ribbons up by the water feature and “bridge to nowhere” and across the backside, then take a right turn towards Pope’s Hill.  Go along that path until you make a left turn that takes you North across the field again and towards the tree line. 

You will take a left turn into the trees and follow the trail and the tree line West until you have a right turn that will take you behind the Cemetery.  You’ll ride along the tree line, then cut across Nimowin Road (paved) towards the Ranch, duck into Carriage Way (Horse & Carriage on Pink markers) on your right side which will take you into the Ranch.  Cut straight across the parking lot–there will be lots of trailers due to a polo tournament–and follow the road past the Polo Field on the black gravel road until you are in the bush again where you’ll have a left-hand turn onto Esker trail (Hill on Yellow markers) followed by a quick right (this is also the start of Lime Kiln trail-  looks like a round hut on Blue markers). 

Stay on the Esker trail, you’ll come across your 5-mile marker on this trail.  You will NOT go all the way back to the Ranch, instead, you will turn left at an intersection that will bring you to a small common stretch with Pink ribbons.  Do NOT follow Pink, watch for your BLUE ribbons and keep going straight across Tamarack trail (big dirt intersection with signs for Hwy 59, etc.) until you come to a left turn that takes you North into a wide bush trail. 

Follow that for two slight right turns followed by a sharp-right turn heading back South.  Next, you’ll make a left(two track with grass and gravel), then a right onto the Roscoe Road trail (lots of stone at the start then grass footing) and follow that straight until it comes out by the Park Office and a paved road. 

Follow the paved road until it dumps you onto Nimowin Road (paved to the right, gravel to the left).  This is approx 2 miles from camp.  Take the paved road to the RIGHT and follow that towards the Ranch driveway.  Take a LEFT into the bush onto Carriage Way trail and follow that to the paved keyhole.  KEEP LEFT along the treeline – this is the only place that ribbons will be on the left until you get to two boulders and turn LEFT into the bush again.  Ribbons will resume on your right side.  Next turn Right onto Carriage Way (you will see both Blue & Pink ribbons from this point onwards as both trails come in the same way for this ride) and follow that to the T junction at the small section of gravel, turn LEFT, followed by an immediate Right turn into the field just outside East Gate, cross Festival Drive (paved) and take a slight right onto the gravel road back to camp. 

NOTE: FOR THOSE WHO HAVE RIDDEN THE 10-MILE LOOP BEFORE, THERE IS A CHANGE TO THE TRAIL AND THE ROUTE WILL NOT GO ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE GROUP USE AREA AS IT HAS IN THE PAST.