More than two years after Lord Stirling Stable’s horses were sold as the facility was shut down during Covid, a plan to buy “a number of horses” and begin reintroducing equestrian programming before the end of the year at the Somerset County facility was announced today.
Trail rides will be coming back to Lord Stirling Stable. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
Many of those who rode at the stables had despaired about whether it would operate again after such a long time.
The plan is part of a “new vision” for the future of the 1,015-acre Lord Stirling Park that will connect resources in support of the county’s “parks for all” goals while supporting environmental and historic sites tourism.
The stable in Basking Ridge long had an extensive lesson program, but the announcement did not say anything about teaching people to ride. The only specifics offered included “limited trail riding for more experienced patrons,” and providing lead-line rides for beginners. The stable’s ponies were not sold with the horses in 2020 and pony rides have been available during the interim. The stable also has several privately owned horses as boarders.
The plan was devised by the Somerset County Park Commission’s Lord Stirling Stable Advisory Group and county planning professionals.
“What began as the rebranding of the Lord Stirling Stable has evolved into a new vision for the entire Lord Stirling Park that includes equestrian, natural and historic experiences,” said Tom Boccino, Somerset County’s supervising planner/preservation.
“The plan outlines conceptually how all uses can be integrated into a single experience that highlights the valuable assets that exist in Somerset County–one park, many paths.”
In addition to the stable, the park includes natural waterways and open space in an area that is also home to the Environmental Education Center and the Revolutionary War-era Boudinot Southard Farmstead. These resources have been operated independently of each other, but the plan proposes connecting them with expanded trails and paths, integrated programming and newly developed community event spaces along Lord Stirling Road and at the Boudinot Southard Farmstead.
“Lord Stirling Park is a great, untapped resource for Somerset County residents and visitors, and I am extremely pleased with the work of the Park Commission, its expert advisory group and the county planning staff for putting together this vision for its future,” said county Commissioner Paul Drake, liaison to the Park Commission.
The stable has a distinctive look. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
“The integration of equestrian, environmental, historic and event spaces at Lord Stirling Park is vital to ensuring that Somerset County truly delivers the promise of ‘parks for all’.”
In addition to connecting the historic, recreational and environmental resources on the Lord Stirling Park property, the county is proposing to expand its trails network to connect to the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Bernards Township’s Southard Park and Basking Ridge neighborhoods. Connecting local, county and federal resources supports Somerset County’s Walk, Bike, Hike: Connecting Vibrant Communities Plan and newly approved Preservation Plan efforts to encourage healthy, environmentally positive activities for everyone.
The advisory committee, formed in the spring of 2021, included equestrian experts and longtime stable volunteers. The panel was asked to look at increasing community engagement and cost-effectiveness to ensure sustainable stable operations. The stable reportedly had been losing as much as $500,000 a year when it was operating prior to Covid.
The Somerset County Office of Planning, Policy & Economic Development recognized that the advisory committee’s recommendation for rebranding and recreating the Stable at Lord Stirling Park gave it a unique opportunity to reimagine the entire park.
A boarder at Lord Stirling. (Photo © 2021 by Nancy Jaffer)
With financial support from the Somerset County Park Foundation, the committee was able to procure the services of two experts from Rutgers University to lead the group: Dr. Karyn Malinowski, Extension Equine Specialist and Founding Director of the Rutgers Equine Science Center; and Dr. Robin Brumfield, Extension Farm Management Specialist in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics.
“For all of us at the Park Commission, this was a mission to have a sustainable, viable future for Lord Stirling Park,” said Somerset County Park Commission President D.J. Hunsinger.
“These plans not only include the functioning and self-sustaining stable feature, but going forward will grow the park into a larger, more encompassing resource that maintains the nature and the personality that residents and park patrons love.”
The Somerset County Commissioners unanimously supported the reopening of the Stable at Lord Stirling Park this fall and will work with the Park Commission on implementing future expansion and recreation of Lord Stirling Park as a “park for all,” with its highlights connected by trailways, new community event spaces and integrated programming.