Vermont’s equine agricultural scene has a rich history. The Equine Heritage Herd located in Bristol Vermont is yet another example of this fact.
In the early 1950’s, Bristol was a “horse town”. Nearly every street in the village had at least 1 family horse in the backyard barn. Everyday, the streets were regularly ridden by kids on all sorts of breeds of horses. Thanks to the warmth and horse sense of horse trainer, Juna Perlee, The Bristol Riding Club was formed with 16 of these young horse lovers in 1955.
To further unify and expand this group, the Bristol Riding Ring on Liberty Street was built for daily riding, lessons and eventually horse show events. The ring still stands today. It was resurrected for the 4th time with the help of many volunteers in the spring of 2020.
In 1969, the Bristol Riding Club became a 4-H organization, and continued under Juna’s guidance for 23 years. The Bristol Horse Shows would draw as many as 80 competitors and 1,000 spectators, bringing good visibility and business to the village.
With a mission to revive educational horse experiences, a small group of former Bristol Riding Members and friends formed the Equine Herd (EHH), who raised the funding for the 2020 rebuild of the ring. On October 3, 2021, this group held the Annual Bristol Horse Day – the first event in the ring in many years.
EHH is now a program of the Bristol Recreation Department. The annual Bristol Horse Day continues as a celebration of Bristol’s love of horses, and as an educational demonstration featuring diverse breeds and disciplines, as well as some good horse fun for all.
The Equine Heritage Herd invites all to participate in EHH events, volunteer, use the beautiful ring for your events, develop your love and a appreciation for horses, and donate to our mission to help us revive the love of horses in our community.
Pictures and more information about the organization can be found at https://equineheritageherd.square.site/about