A South Carolina House of Representatives vote Thursday helps clear a major hurdle for the Aiken region to begin creating a network of horse trails.

Rep. Tom Young (R-Aiken)

Officials with the Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce say there are already 600 miles of public and private trails in the area that could become linked together into one system. An independent citizens group, the Equine Support Council, is working with the chamber to make the ambitious plan a reality.

However, they say there’s a weakness in state law that’s keeping private landowners from jumping onboard. They would not be protected from a lawsuit if a rider was injured while traveling on their property.

“It only takes one bad outcome in a liability lawsuit to bankrupt a landowner,” said Ed Scanlon, the chamber’s equine development manager, “Once that happens one time, every other landowner who might be willing to allow people to traverse his property is going to pull the plug.”

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