Highland harnesses its horse heritage

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Highland harnesses its horse heritage

And the township plans to preserve it

BY L.L. BRASIER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

April 3, 2006

When the folks of rural Highland Township decided to get serious about maintaining their bucolic community, they weren't just horsing around.

The township has declared itself the state's first designated equestrian community -- there's a proclamation signed last month by the governor and state legislators to prove it -- and is putting together plans to make it the most horse-friendly place in Michigan.

Among the ideas: establish hitching posts and a new stable in the Highland Station area, a 10-block stretch being redeveloped as a township downtown center at the corner of Milford and Livingston roads. Trails there will lead directly to Highland State Recreation Area, a popular riding spot.

Community leaders also are pledging to maintain many of the existing dirt and gravel roads and to continue pushing builders to place homes on acreage rather than in tightly built subdivisions. And they're eyeing 260 acres off Milford Road as a possible park with new trails.

With more than 775 horses and a dozen large horse farms in the township, the plans make good sense, proponents say.

"People in Royal Oak or Birmingham might say, 'Horses -- in this day and age?' " Bill Bullard, a 30-year resident of Highland and an Oakland County commissioner, said Friday. "But in Highland, that's what we do -- breed horses and ride horses."

The township, on the western border of Oakland County, is mostly residential with a population of about 20,000. It has a rich equestrian history. Milford High School, located in the township, has had an equestrian team since 1972. Highland Middle School began its program in 2003.

Cindy Dillon moved to Highland five years ago for the beauty and wide-open spaces and now has five horses. She is a member of the Highland Equestrian Conservancy, a group of horse lovers working to preserve the township's rural character. The group offers annual barn tours to raise money and is working with the township to develop and preserve trails and greenways.

"People like it here because we're not so close together," she said. "I've got deer and pheasants that come into my yard." By maintaining trails and parks for horses, "we can help keep it this way," she said. Fellow conservancy member Sharon Greene, a horse owner and 30-year resident of the township, said few people know how extensive the horse community is there.

It is a place worth protecting, she said.

Contact L.L. BRASIER at 248-858-2262 or lbrasier@freepress.com.