Welcome to Horses & Hounds, a look into the equine and canine community that surrounds us here in Newtown. I’m passionate about horses and dogs and the people who own these magnificent creatures. Each month I’ll bring my readers one horse and one dog column covering issues, updates, profiles and opinions. My goal is to entertain and educate while spurring readers into action when necessary. So relax and read while petting your favorite dog or looking out the living room window at your horses grazing in the paddock.

Huntington Park Access

Trails in Newtown are a tricky business. Land use – which is at the heart of horseback riding in town – is even trickier. As one rides around town you notice different trail markers. But what do they mean? A Newtown Bridle Lands Association (NBLA) marker could be placed on anything from an NBLA members-only easement to privately owned Forest Association land to town open space.

It is a mix master that needs constant attention and maintenance to work loosely as a town-wide trail network. Try to get a map and that’s the trickiest! So the best way to view the trails is one path at a time.

Let’s narrow our focus to one major easement – Newtown access to the Collins Huntington State Park into Bethel and Redding.

For years before the 600-acre development around Red Gate Farm on Poverty Hollow Road there were horse trails to get into the 800-acre state park. Some of those “illegal” trails crossed over Bridgeport Hydraulic Company (BHC) land to access the park. 

In the 1970’s the first development of the area got under way with the sale of the Lufkin dairy farm. By the mid-1990s the last of the Toll Brothers homes were being put into place and the only remaining trails into the park were legal easements created by the NBLA – one on the AT&T cable easement at 42 Greenleaf Farm Road and one alongside the driveway at 35 Equestrian Ridge Road.   

Recently those easements have been the subject of lawsuits brought by property owners to have them removed, claiming they don’t exist since the developer did not hold legal title when selling the property and could not impose easements that went along with that property.

This challenge is currently playing at Danbury Superior Court with attorneys from prior developers, property owners and the NBLA waiting for an outcome. A brief trial was held on April 26 with two witnesses – one who witnessed the partnership conversion and one who spoke as an expert witness regarding deed conveyance.

The question to be answered by the judge is if a general partnership turns into a limited partnership do you need to do a deed conveyance? The scope of this lawsuit is very narrow and it is likely that no one is in danger of losing their property, however, the horse community awaits a decision as to whether their only legal access to the park from Newtown will be taken away. Attorneys will be filing their final briefs on or before May 25 with the judge making his ruling at a later date.

In the meantime, some property owners have worked hard to create a legal easement using nearby BHC land to get directly into the park just in case all doesn’t go well in court. So far, pedestrian access has been granted through a new “change of land use permit” and a “recreation permit for pedestrian access.” BHC will create a new trail off the Equestrian Ridge Road cul-de-sac to bypass the disputed NBLA easement. BHC will begin this month to build bridges and paths in wetland areas to comply with the state Department of Health (DOH) regulations for allowing people into watershed land.

“Our main goal is to protect the water,” saidFred Gliesing, Manager of Environmental Management for the BHC Co. “The land is class I and II watershed and our regulations do not allow horses to cross these grades of land. Back in the 1970s we used to let horses ride on our lands. However, people abused the privilege – such as letting their horses swim chest deep in the reservoirs – so we had to cease that use. It only takes a few bad people to spoil it for everyone.”

Gliesing said the real problem with erosion and water contamination is when people, animals or bikes stray off the path. He sited a real problem with mountain bikes and the damage they cause when they go off-trail.  Anyone caught with a horse, dog or mountain bike on the pedestrian trail is subject to arrest by BHC patrols or the Newtown Police Department, Gliesing said. He cites state DOH regulations prohibiting animals or vehicles of any kind on this classification of trail (allowing people only into a natural forest) as well.

The new pedestrian trail will begin at the cul-de-sac on Equestrian Ridge Road just east of the NBLA easement and eventually join up with existing trails leading into the park. The piece of property in question is approximately eight miles from the nearest reservoir and the land contains mostly class II and some class I watershed.

The good news for horse owners is that this particular parcel with the new pedestrian trail is part of a state Department of Environmental Protection acquisition of land from Kelda of Great Britain, the new owners of BHC Co. The state is slated to purchase the property on March 31, 2002. According to Mark Rickert, Western District Park Supervisor of the DEP, the “Kelda” land is slated to become part of Huntington State Park and after the closing date they will take possession of it and go from there as to the types of access, which may include horses. There is hope that a permanent equestrian easement can be built to access the park from Newtown. With town dirt roads like Jangling Plains and Shut Road in the area, there is ample land to provide the equestrian community with a very basic need – unencumbered access to trails to ride our horses.

So in the meantime, get out there and use those new pedestrian trails!

Public Hearing

Attention all property owners with horses on your land! A legal notice in The Bee last week lists a planning and zoning public hearing at 8 pm on Thursday, May 17 to amend the zoning regulations in regards to permitted uses for horses. P&Z wants to amend their regulations and add a new section to allow the caring, boarding, keeping, selling, trading and training of horses prior to December 28, 1986 to continue provided that the operation or buildings don’t get any bigger than they were on the above date. Do try to attend. It could prove vital to the Newtown horse community. 

Lisa Peterson first galloped her horse across the Newtown countryside in the early 1970s. A breeder and exhibitor of Norwegian Elkhounds, she is the owner of Peterson Pet Sitting, LLC. You can reach her at 270-1732 or petersonpets@usa.net