It was
with great sadness that OTRA learned of the passing of one of our
founding members, Mrs. Mavis McCullum. Mavis, always with her loving
husband, Bryan, by her side, tirelessly nurtured a fledgling OTRA into a
strong and purposeful association. It was her inspiration, infectious
drive and vision that brought like minded horse people together to
secure trails for equestrians in Ontario. When one looks back over the
accomplishments of our association, it becomes truly evident the impact
Mavis had, not only within OTRA but in many other areas as well.
Having
the foresight to realize the need for spectacular events to draw much
needed attention to the OTRA cause, she spearheaded most of the historic
rides that are now almost legends around OTRA campfires.
First
it was a 200 mile east/west route called The Great Pine Ridge Trail,
ridden in relay fashion by horse and rider and topped off with the RCMP
and Governor Generals Horse Guards at the cairn dedication. This cairn
can still be seen within the Palgrave Conservation Lands.
A short
year later, after reading about improvements being proposed for a
highway that bisected this GPRT, she lobbied and was granted by the
Ministry of Transportation, the first ever equestrian highway underpass.
In
1977, Mavis inspired a group of OTRA members to map and ride the entire
Heritage Trail, starting in Bronte Provincial Park and ending in Awenda
Provincial Park. Many friendships forged along this trail are still
strong today. Still riding high on the spirit of ’77, several more
riders joined in to add a 100 mile loop to the Heritage Trail in the
Huronia area. Mavis delighted in the fact that the youngest rider was 5
and the oldest was, well, “quite long in the tooth”.
Mavis’s
love of history gave her a wealth of information and ideas to drive her
quest for equestrian trails. Abandoned railways, colonization roads and
other such routes didn’t escape Mavis’s keen eye and mind. She was
constantly working on new proposals and projects to further the OTRA
cause.
When
Ontario was set to celebrate its bicentennial, Mavis dreamed up a huge
project and OTRA Directors and members caught her enthusiasm for it and
set to work to make it a reality. The Journey into Yesterday, a 500
mile trail adventure was officially recognized by the Ontario government
as one of the projects that embraced the true meaning and essence of the
Bicentennial celebration.
The
list of projects and accomplishments that Mavis inspired, instigated and
envisioned is long and impressive. The creation of the Ontario Trails
Council and the Trans Canada Trail are probably two of the most widely
known, direct results of Mavis McCullum’s efforts in trail development.
No one
can dispute her unbelievably selfless dedication to OTRA – it was her
life’s work. In 2002, OTRA recognized the contributions to the
recreational rider made by Mavis and Bryan when they unveiled a plaque
placed on a large rock within the York Regional Forest, close to their
home. Thank you, Mavis and rest now, knowing we will do our very best
to carry the torch from here on.
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Special
Events in OTRA's 40 Years of Trail Blazing History
Since
the formation of OTRA in 1970, the association has coordinated and
initiated many special projects to bring attention to the need for
equestrian trails in Ontario. The horseback rider is a "forgotten"
trail user in this province and is often
overlooked by trail planners in favour of hikers, snowmobiles,
cyclists and cross country skiers. Equestrians must, therefore, be
in the forefront on all trail development and OTRA has been there
doing just that.
In 1973, the Great Pine Ridge Trail was mapped and ridden by
equestrians from the Trent River in the east to the Niagara
Escarpment in the west. Today, other trail groups are laying
"claim" to this route as the Oak Ridges Morain Trail but
they are just about 30 years behind the times.
In 1974, OTRA lobbied for and was granted the first highway
underpass for equestrian use when the upgrading of Hwy. 28 near
Bewdley would have made crossing the highway, while riding the Great
Pine Ridge Trail, dangerous.
In 1977, OTRA mapped and rode a 200 mile "Heritage Trail"
from Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay. This route linked several
provincial parks and conservation areas and utilized an abandoned
railway line.
A 100 mile "Huronia Loop" was joined onto the
"Heritage Trail" in 1979 traveling along another abandoned
rail line through northern Simcoe County and using this county's
vast reforested areas.
1980 saw a group of riders explore the Rosseau-Nippissing
colonization road (circa 1860) and the Seguin Trail near Parry Sound
- a rail line converted to recreational trail.
During the period from 1981 - 83, several areas were focused on and
recommended for equestrian use. These included Copeland Forest near
Barrie, Five Points Trail System north of Peterborough, Shawanaga
Trail near Parry Sound and the Renfrew to Hastings Rail Route, all
currently in use today.
1984 was Ontario's bicentennial year and OTRA proposed a huge
project to celebrate it. The "Journey into Yesterday"
brought together many communities along a route of abandoned rail
lines from the Ottawa River to Georgian Bay and south from Whitney
to the Great Pine Ridge Trail. As riders progressed along the
wilderness route, they collected quilt squares bearing the names of
the founding families from each community as well as having the
descendants of these families sign a scroll. Riders were encouraged
to participate for an hour, a day or week while 3 riders actually
rode the entire 500 mile route. OTRA's project was recognized by the
Ontario Government as one that best portrayed the idea of
celebrating the Bicentennial year. In 1985, a quilt that was
constructed from all the collected squares, beautifully stitched
together by hand was taken back and displayed in all the communities
along the route. The route was recommended to become the backbone of
a provincial trail system.
In 1986, OTRA addressed the Haliburton County Council and encouraged
them to look at the development of the Lindsay to Haliburton rail
trail. The Council acted on this proposal and today the rail line is
a recreational trail.
During 1987 OTRA hosted a "Meeting of Minds" workshops for
representatives of recreational disciplines and government officials
to discuss the need for and formation of an Ontario Trails Council
and an integrated trails network for Ontario. In 1988 OTRA Directors
were elected to senior positions on the OTC board. Despite
initiating the development of this influential council, equestrians
are still pushed aside by other more popular user groups and must
continually remind them of the need to include the horse in trail
plans.
OTRA hosted Educational Trail Seminars in 1989 as well as
recommending that the bridges on the Sequin Trail be rebuilt to
standards suitable for equestrian use.
Along with the OTC and the University of Waterloo, OTRA hosted
successful workshops on "Protecting and Managing Abandoned
Railway Right-of-Ways for Conservation and Recreation" in 1990.
1992 - Canada 125 Celebration. OTRA Director, Mavis McCullum was the
prime organizer for the "Ride for Canada", a significant
national event that saw riders start from the east and west coasts
of the country and ride to Ottawa to celebrate Canada's 125th
Birthday. In Ontario, OTRA members organized and participated by
riding from both the Manitoba border and from Windsor to Ottawa. It
was this project that inspired the formation of the Trans Canada
Trail Foundation. Equestrians should realize that the idea of a
Trans Canada Trail originally came from their trail interest group
and once again, they are being denied access to something that was
inspired and initiated by them.
1993 marked the 100th anniversary of Algonquin Park and an eight day
ride was held from the St. Lawrence River along the Hastings Rail
Trail to Algonquin Park where OTRA has been actively helping to
develop equestrian trails. Funds were raised to help finance the
building of bridges on the Algonquin trails.
During 1994 - 96 several projects saw the attention of OTRA
including horse access in Provincial Parks and segments of the Trans
Canada Trail.
In 1997, OTRA has been involved in the development of the Rouge
Valley recommending that horses be included in the plans as well as
Mono Cliffs Provincial Park. OTRA also began work on a book of
equestrian trails in Ontario.
1998 saw OTRA continue it's efforts in many areas of equestrian
trail development. We participated in the OTC discussions on
user pay issues and contributed to the OEF Recreation and Education
committees. Many members worked across the province on your behalf
as equestrian representatives on several trail committees. We looked
into issues such as signage of trails and insurance for trail users.
Our book, "Discover Trail Riding in Ontario" continued to
grow with many more trails completed and ready to be included in the
publication.
OTRA continues to support the completion of the
Trans Canada Trail and participated in the Relay 2000 in the summer
of 2000. A few of our members were chosen as Water Carriers on the
handful of sections that currently allow equestrian use.
Despite the present negative trend towards equestrians being
welcomed on the trail they initiated, OTRA will continue to fight
for the right to ride on the longest recreational trail in the
world. We can use the support of each and every equestrian out
there!
Algonquin Park equestrian trails have seen many improvements since
the early years of exploring them to assess suitability for our
use. As the popularity of these trails increase this project
continues to grow. Each year volunteers cut new campsite
areas, work on bridges and make many other improvements. The
equestrians of Ontario can enjoy the beauty of Algonquin Park only
through the efforts of OTRA and its many tireless volunteer members
in co-operation with the MNR.
OTRA is a participating member of the Recreational Division of
Equine Canada and will be contributing as much to the development of
a national equestrian trail information library as we can.
OTRA hopes to see this new Division become the national voice of the
recreational rider in Canada.
2005 saw new
opportunities for equestrian trails in Ontario with a partnership forming
between the VMUTS organization in Mattawa, the Recreational Division of
OEF and OTRA. Work is currently underway to set up a network of
trails to be enjoyed by equestrians, complete with camping and rest areas.
Although this is a huge opportunity for equestrian trail development, it
is not the only project on the go for OTRA. Investigation of trail
potentials in the QEII Wildlands and other new parkland is currently being
done. The Trail Development committee is also working on a set of
Trail Standards that will provide readily available information for any
aspect of equestrian trail usage.
2008 brought the completion
of a parking lot appropriately sized for horse trailers at the Kinghurst
Forest of the Saugeen Conservation Authority lands. More funds were
put into development in Algonquin Park to continue the trail building
efforts there. Other areas of interest that OTRA has kept close
watch on and continues to do so through active members and committees
include Big Ben Memorial Trail, Palgrave Conservation, Mattawa VMUTS Trail
System, Dufferin Forest, Simcoe County Forests, Trans Canada Trail,
Ontario's Provincial Parks and that's just a sampling! |
