Please be respectful of your horse’s safety as well as your own.
XC Course IS CURRENTLY OPEN – PLEASE USE YOUR BEST JUDGEMENT REGARDING FOOTING. We’ve received a lot of rain. If footing is deep, please do not use XC course.
Be kind. Be Smart. Don’t endanger your horse or yourself the ground is too wet or frozen and sometimes both. Hazards can be hidden by snowfall. Any damage done does not repair itself. Maintenance for the area is by volunteers only. Knowledgeable and experienced riders are welcome to use trails at their own risk but no trail maintenance is done until late spring.
The rings are for mounted riding only if conditions are safe.
We ask you to be aware of ground conditions; We are a natural riding area where the soil is a mix of sand, dirt and clay which means varied footing. Wet weather and varying temperatures leave areas icy, hard, and muddy. One area may be fine and firm and a few feet away can be soft and easily treacherous. Rings may be periodically closed due to weather conditions. Use horse sense.
Please be sure to leave no hay or manure in parking areas. We are fortunate to have an equestrian area such as the Pipestave Equestrian Area that is open to the public for all to enjoy with enclosed rings, trails and a cross country course.
Rings, fields and trails are volunteer maintained which is why we strongly ask for your cooperation when conditions such as wet spring or other gloomy weather makes the area susceptible to damage.
Our area remains open year round and all are welcome if their experience permits safe riding… We post conditions as TRAIL ALERTS here and on our Facebook page.
Commercial developers were actually first offered the property and housing developers were interested. Many of today’s trails and horse related areas were part of its equestrian and athletic program. Fellow equestrians Jerry and Mary Lee Mahoney and other members of the WNRDC are credited with alerting the horse community, conservationists and other users to rally in having the Town of West Newbury purchase the property for open land use and place it in perpetual protection from development. There is a plaque in honor of Jerry Mahoney at the main entrance. The equestrian community is ever alert to any threats to Pipestave and Mill Pond.
To read more please go to Pipestave Hill History.
The rings, trails and fields are open for your hacking pleasure ONLY when the footing is firm enough… please use mowed paths only in every field and be considerate and do not damage the footing.
Hay field are all leased for harvesting so please don’t damage the harvest or accidentally find a chuck hole.
Trailer parking is in the gravel parking area near the rings, accessed through the main entrance.
Please remove all your hay and manure when you go, as we share this area with other activities.
We do share the area as a multipurpose area with:
Sports will begin again on the 4 athletic fields at Pipestave Hill in the early spring. (please see Calendar for planning.)The equestrian parking area is at the end of the parking lot and is tied off to keep it open for trailers. If you are headed up, feel free to untie the rope and go in to park. Please put the rope back up when you leave.
Our Trail System is marked and shared by all outdoor enthusiasts. More info can be found on this website by going to Our Trail System
Please WALK only near the pond and roadways leading to and from the pond. This area is too congested for any other gait and there are many families with young children and dogs there that are not familiar with horses. Horses are no longer allowed to wade near the dock area. There is a separate area beyond the telephone poles.
The West Newbury Open Space Committee has produced maps of the area that you will find here. This is a real bonus for equestrians as there are descriptions of all the trails on town-owned and otherwise preserved land, including some maps. For Information on the trails please see our section: Our Trail System. For more information on organizations preserving open space please Click here for Organizations for Open Space.
