City Of Milton: Milton Equestrian Committee To Discuss Outreach, Engagement Efforts

Press release from the City of Milton:

10/19/2021 2:18 PM

Milton’s Equestrian Committee gathers Wednesday to learn about and weigh in on several matters, including outreach efforts to cultivate, connect and grow appreciation for the equestrian community.

The Oct. 20 meeting will start at 7 p.m. in Community Place, the small building next to City Hall.

After approving their September meeting minutes, the Milton Equestrian Committee (or MEC) will have updates from its subcommittees.

The first relates to ongoing City efforts to promote and incentivize farm ownership in Milton in hopes that more people either stay on their farms or purchase them.

Committee Chair Tony Rich will then relate developments on Birmingham Park, the 200-acre, City-owned nature preserve in northwest Milton beloved by horse owners. Girl Scout Troop 16217 recently created horse-themed names and, with them, wooden signs for the property’s trails. Before that, Birmingham Park’s trails were designated only by color. In this case, the new names are etched in the corresponding color – blue, green, pink, red, orange, purple, white and yellow – on the new signs.

In addition, the City continues to work on plans for improvements to Birmingham Park, including to its parking lot.

A good portion of Wednesday’s meeting will focus on the Committee’s public relations activities.

The MEC had a booth at the well-attended Crabapple Fest in downtown Crabapple that took place earlier this month. Members interacted with the public and gave out painted horseshoes to children.

In addition, the Committee continues its partnership with Appen Media to share equestrian-themed stories with the greater community. Stories about highly regarded equestrian coach Sunny Stevens and young adults from Lionheart WORKS (a vocational training program serving individuals with autism or other similar neurological issues) working on a Milton horse farm have recently run in the Milton Herald. More videos and stories are in the works.

The MEC will also float the idea of a horse-decorating contest for the community. This could involve large sculptures of horses (perhaps made of Poly Resin) that people can hand paint for display around Milton, along the lines of this year’s CowParade in New York City and (closer to home) the town turtles of Sandy Springs.

After Wednesday, the Milton Equestrian Committee is next scheduled to meet the night of November 17.

This press release was produced by the City of Milton. The views expressed here are the author’s own.