The City of Ottawa is citing more than a hundred thousand dollars in annual losses as a main reason for closing a west Ottawa equestrian park.
The city’s lease with the National Capital Commission for the Nepean Equestrian Park will expire in the fall, despite objections from some councillors.
“We haven’t done that with the Pine View golf club, we haven’t done that with the (Ottawa) Stadium - we're going ‘OK, we're going to invest in this,’” said Katherine Hobbs.
“It's a different type of sport. Why is this sport not considered important?”
“I think it's a tough decision to make, but it's the proper decision to make,” said councillor Bob Monette.
Volunteer coordinator and rider Milo Cruickshank said the park is a hidden gem near the heart of the city.
“For a lot of these people, this is the end of their recreational riding; for me I'm going to be leaving a barn where I've been for eight years,” she said as she fought back tears.
“I think a lot more could have been done by the city to upgrade the property, to maintain the buildings, promotion.”
“All of the horses are so amazing and just to see them split up . . .” said Teriana Tearington, her voice trailing off.
City staff says while participation in riding programs was going up, the financial loss comes from not being able to book big events.
They’ll start to sell off their 33 horses this month, keeping five to maintain its disabled riding program until October at which point that will move to a private stable.
At least one group has come forward to take over the park and land - tech tycoon Terry Matthews is backing the Wesley Clover Foundation’s proposal to spend $20 to $30 million to upgrade the facilities.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s John Hua
