Equestrian park flourishes under new direction

After the Rock Bridge Canyon Equestrian Park closed in June, a lot of unknowns plagued its future as the park, previously owned by the Town of Hodges, went up for sale. Nowadays, the re-opened park is back to its former glory under a new name and new management.

Bo Williams purchased the park in September with his brother Tim after growing up with a love of horses and traveling to different areas of the country to ride.

When Williams received the deed in mid-September, the park opened its doors to the public under the name, Hodges Equestrian Park.

“We just love to ride horses, and when I saw this come up for sale, I thought this would be a good place for me to retire,” Williams said.

Williams said he grew up in Marion County with family in Hodges and has always loved how beautiful Hodges is and the people in it.

Since reopening, he said the park’s operations have begun to return to normal, with people visiting from all across the U.S.

“The word is starting to get out, and people are coming back,” Williams said. “Last week we had people from Houston, Texas, and we have people from Florida coming back up here again.”

Williams said since opening, he is receiving calls daily from people all across the country enquiring about a visit to the park.

Hodges Mayor Joyce Saad said the best part about the park is how it draws people to Hodges.

“We get people from all over, and that was one of the things that was so exciting when we were handling it – that I got to meet people from all over,” Saad said.

Saad said she is happy to see the park operating again and knows Williams will do a great job.

Not much has changed about the park from its former operation, since reopening. Williams said he added a new riding trail and some routes have changed. In total, he said he has added about five additional miles of trails to total about 40 miles trails in the park.