April 2010 update - Have you driven by Franklin Park recently? The silt fencing is up! The arena is under way!
Dear Equine Enthusiast,
As many of you know, we have been working very hard to develop a public equestrian facility in Loudoun County. We are focused on the installation of a riding arena at Franklin Park in Purcellville, VA. The County is home to the largest equine population in the state of Virginia. Sadly, Loudoun County does not currently have any public riding facilities, save a few trails, to serve this vital population. As all of us are painfully aware, there are budget shortfalls, cutbacks, and other priorities that preclude the County from directly developing the equestrian facilities at Franklin, or any other park in the County at this time.
United States Trail Ride, Tri-State Riding Club and the Loudoun Horse Association have raised $8,500 towards constructing a riding arena at Franklin Park. The business community has been incredibly supportive and responsive. We have donation commitments for a large portion of the materials and labor required to install the arena. However, a gap of about $1,000 still remained. On September 22nd we were informed that in order to begin grading the site, silt fencing must be installed. Silt fencing was not anticipated and adds more than $2,000 to the construction cost. Now we have a shortfall of $3,000.
We are on the eve of moving forward with this project but we need your help. We hope to begin constructing the arena at Franklin Park this fall so that the facility will be ready for public use by early next spring. We cannot proceed until we have the funds in hand, and urgently need your donation to move this effort forward and complete the first public equestrian facility in Loudoun County.
No amount is too small or too large – consider this – if 150 supporters donate $20, we close the gap and construct the arena this fall. With your support we can do it, and we will demonstrate that we are determined to have public equestrian facilities in Loudoun County.
The money we have raised thus far has been placed in a fund administered by The United States Trail Ride, Inc. USTR is a 501c3 Tax Exempt organization, run entirely by volunteers so every dollar donated will directly fund the completion of this project. Donations to USTR are tax deductable and you will get a receipt. Please send whatever you can, with a memo that the money is to be used for Equestrian Facilities, to:
