Burnaby equestrians may lose beloved riding trail

For more than 50 years, the Burnaby Horsemen’s Association (BHA) has been housing horses and offering horse-related activities to residents within the city. The BHA is a non-profit run entirely by volunteers. As of the end of 2024, it had 288 members and housed 59 horses. Horses are often shared among family members and other community members. 

Children, teens, and young adults have been learning all about horses and riding there for half a century. Many of the current volunteers and instructors were once children who loved horses and started taking lessons at this very same club and on the nature trails surrounding it near Burnaby Lake. Every year, the BHA has an annual spring open house where community members can visit and bring their children to interact with the horses, and gardeners can take bags of free horse manure for their gardens. 

However, in December 2024, the City of Burnaby decided to pave the Burnaby Lake Southeast Greenway, a decision that shocked BHA members and volunteers. During its Dec. 16, 2024 meeting, council discussed the proposal to pave the greenway. While Coun. Alison Gu opposed the plan, council ultimately approved the plan to proceed with paving the first section. 

“I don’t see how this aligns with our transportation goals because this is already an AAA cycling network,” Gu said. “I don’t think we should be paving section one before we move forward with having a general strategy around this area, especially if the entire trail will never, ever be completely paved, we would be paving an already separated cycling path.”

BHA board member Erika Nassichuk told the Beacon the news came as a shock to BHA members and horse-riding enthusiasts in Burnaby, who will no longer be able to use the trail if it is paved. Paving the first section of the trail would take away around half of the surface they currently use, and subsequent phases of the plan would make it impossible to use the trail. 

“Our horses are all owned by individuals and families, and they’re not trained or meant to be on paved surfaces. Pavement for horses is not an ideal surface, and paving those trails would mean we can’t use it,” Nassichuk said. “That park is built on a bog, and the surface it has now is great. There’s traction for horses, and they can safely use it. So pavement would mean basically that they cannot be on that surface.”

The trail is the main area where riders learn how to ride, exercise their horses, and pursue the sport. Nassichuk said she has been a member for more than 30 years and that she shares a pony with her mother and daughter. However, Nassichuk emphasized that the BHA and its members wish to work with the city to find a solution that works for all users. 

“We want to share the park. We in no way want to be the only user. It’s just that if they put this surface down, we can’t, unfortunately, use it,” Nassichuk said. “We are hoping that they rescind the decision that they made in December and work with us and other parkgoers to come up with a comprehensive park plan that takes into account the needs of all park users.”

Nassichuk and BHA vice president Michelle Brittain formed a BHA delegation to Burnaby City Council’s first meeting of 2025 on Jan. 14 to express opposition to the Burnaby Lake Southeast Greenway paving project. 

During the Jan. 14 council meeting, Coun. Sav Dhaliwal expressed support for the BHA as one of many trail users and suggested referring the issue to the city’s Parks, Recreation, and Culture (PRC) department. 

“All parks are generally there for everyone’s use, and the Horsemen’s Association has a 50-year history there. But we also have additional interest in biking, cycling going across that’s also part of it. We are building an overpass there to be used by people who want to travel with bikes from the east to the west,” Dhaliwal said. “So there’s got to be accommodation for everyone. I think there’s room for us to continue to work with the PRC. So I think it will eventually look at the needs of the BHA as well as the rest of the community, and a recommendation will come back to council from there.” 

Coun. Pietro Calendino, who chaired the council meeting as acting mayor, said Metro Vancouver has plans for Burnaby Lake and creating a greenway connecting Surrey, Burnaby, and Maple Ridge. 

“Obviously the paving can be something that can be discussed, and maybe other methods of creating the greenway,” Calendino said. 

Council voted to refer the matter to the PRC staff, who will eventually come back to council with recommendations at an unspecified date. 

This piece was made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.

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