Polo Arena Eyed For East Rock Park

Along with the rustle of the wind in the trees and the cries of birds wheeling in the sky, visitors to the summit of East Rock Park may soon hear the thundering of hooves.

The sound of galloping horses would emanate from a $750,000 polo arena that a group of equestrian enthusiasts is looking to install in East Rock Park in an overgrown field once used for archery.

Two members of the group, called the Yale Polo and Equestrian Center (YPEC), pitched the plan Monday night to the East Rock Community Management Team.

The 130-by-280-foot arena would be accompanied by stables with stalls for up to 30 horses, plus a pasture area and likely an apartment for a caretaker of some kind, said Liz Brayboy, vice-president of the YPEC board.

The management team received her pitch with interest and enthusiasm along with concern about odors and manure accumulation. One neighbor who had arrived intending to rant against the plan left raving about it.

The meeting ended with plans to discuss the proposal further and organize a site visit to the archery field.

Despite its name, YPEC is an independent not-for-profit organization, Brayboy said. It formed in 2009 when Yale shut down its stables on Central Avenue in Westville, during a round of budget cuts. YPEC sold some of the horses and moved the remaining ones to Bethany, where the Yale polo team now practices.

Relocating to Bethany has cut YPEC off from the New Haven community with which it once worked closely, Brayboy said.

Anne Gallant (pictured), an East Rocker who helped Brayboy make her pitch to the team, said that for 13 years she ran all sorts of riding programs for young people. She said she would like to start programs like that again, in East Rock. She said she offered classes for kids in long-term foster care, girls from violent homes who were living in safe houses, and autistic adults, among others.

“I really want it to be community-based,” Gallant said. ​“I saw what it did for the Westville kids.”

Gallant said riding classes fees would be on a sliding scale. ​“I would love it if no one was turned away.”

The horses would not have free rein to ride around the park. They’d stay in the arena, stables, and pasture, Brayboy said.

“Who’s going to pay for it?” asked one member of the management team.

YPEC will raise money to pay for the project, Brayboy said. She later said the arena would cost about $750,000 and the stables another ​“couple hundred thousand.”

The arena would have a heavy-duty canvas roof and wooden sides, Brayboy said. She said YPEC has a couple of ​“Amish builders” lined up.

The Lowdown & Dirty

Several team members asked about manure.

“The amount of manure generated is astronomical,” said Michael Tucker, a parks commissioner and East Rocker. He said his daughter rode horses at the old program on Central Avenue.

“We had it hauled off site,” said Brayboy.

“The manure is a potential source of revenue,” said East Rocker Mike Clinton.

Maybe it could be donated as fertilizer to New Haven Farms, suggested Downtown Alderman Doug Hausladen.

“Is there any way to do an odor plan? I grew up in Kentucky. I can’t wait to have horses in New Haven, but they smell awful,” Hausladen said.

Other people mentioned that they like the smell of horses.

Former East Rock Alderman Dick Lyons (pictured) also pressed for more details about the legal details of the plan, which would install a private entity on public land. Brayboy said those are still being worked out with the city.

Any drawbacks to the plan would be offset by the opportunity ​“to have this wonderful place in the city to be near horses,” neighbor Clinton said. He said he’d come to the meeting planning to rant against another ​“land grab” by Yale. But he’d been won over by the promise of equestrian access to city kids.

Brayboy said she’s hoping to see something built in the next year.