Open Letter Re: Halifax Common Master Plan 2021

Update: December 8, 2021

Thank you for all of your never ending support! We attended the Community Planning & Economic Development Standing Committee meeting this afternoon and our Open Letter along with our verbal report presented to the committee is now on record. The motion as presented has been deferred to the next meeting in January. Until then, please continue to add your voice to the conversation and write to your city councillor or to us if you live beyond Halifax!

***The below is an Open Letter in response to the 2021 Halifax Common Master Plan released publicly on December 3, 2021.***
Open Letter Re: Halifax Common Master Plan 2021 , December 7, 2021 

To our fellow citizens, 

Lancers and the “Horses of Halifax” have been a key feature at the heart of our city for over eighty-five years. As a non-profit, our mission is to build better lives through horses by serving the community and enabling residents and visitors to experience the benefits and joy of being with horses. We offer many free public events and serve many people living in various parts of Halifax. Our physical and mental health programming is diverse, reaching individuals ages six to eighty, from a variety of backgrounds and abilities. Through our sport and recreation programs and activities, we empower youth (primarily young females), teach leadership, and foster a sense of connection within our city. 

We are an organization deeply committed to accessibility and inclusion. This is why we were distressed by the Halifax Common Master Plan 2021, released Friday, December 3rd. The proposed plan will go before the city’s Community Planning & Economic Development Standing Committee for consideration Wednesday, December 8th. The plan violates the city’s stated commitment to accessibility, does not reflect the values expressed in the plan’s ‘Appendix A - What We Heard Reports’, threatens our current operations, precludes any future Lancers growth, and undermines our ability to provide for the welfare of our animals. We are gravely concerned about the proposed redesign of our space, including the front entrance, with no apparent consideration of the built environment standards currently under development as part of Nova Scotia's  Accessibility legislation. Lancers is determined to become more accessible to, and reflective of, the diversity among Nova Scotians, not less.

We have met regularly with city staff since 2017 to address our need for growth. In 2019, we submitted a growth plan to HRM for review to help us deliver on much needed therapeutic and mental health programming. Many of the participants of these programs have physical or cognitive disabilities and require barrier-free access. Demand for our therapeutic riding and Equine Facilitated Wellness programs have significantly increased since COVID-19. The essential space needs outlined in our growth plan would enable us to move forward with important equity, diversity, and inclusion priorities and increase our capacity for delivering therapeutic riding and mental health programs. Demand for our programs is so high that our waitlists extend for many years and we have over 1000 people who are registered on our waitlists. Although we are non-profit, Lancers is self-sufficient. We intend to fund any growth through generous donors who support our mission.

The current proposed Halifax Common Master Plan 2021 disregards any of these considerations and raises serious questions. Specifically, we are concerned by the following proposals included in the plan:

  • Our programming for people with disabilities will be impacted as the only accessible entrance to Lancers has been removed and parking for our facility has been moved to an inaccessible location;

  • The new plan does not provide adequate space for an 18 wheel truck to maneuver for weekly hay and shavings deliveries and manure removal. It also does not allow for space to load and unload trailers for horse transportation. All of which undermine our ability to provide for the welfare of the horses;

  • The design, particularly the greenhouse location, prohibit any proposed growth for Lancers and thus our ability to expand our therapeutic riding and equine facilitated wellness programs;

  • The shape of the outdoor arena as presented does not lend itself to proper dimensions for equestrian sport;

We raised these issues in 2019 after the release of the draft plan, yet clearly they have not been addressed. Furthermore, we were misled by Parks and Recreation staff regarding the nature of the proposed redesign. 

For these reasons, we are asking that the Halifax Common Master Plan as presented NOT be moved forward to Council and are seeking the support of all those who know and love the ‘Horses of Halifax’ to also make this appeal. Instead of moving this plan forward, we request further consultation with stakeholders, including Lancers. We wish to work collaboratively with HRM, the Wanderers, and the Lawn Bowling Club to make this part of the Halifax Common, historically used for sports, a showstopper urban athletic green park that has horses, soccer, lawn bowling, and green parkway that everyone can enjoy. With your support, we believe we can bring this vision to life and enrich our City.


Lancers’ response to the Halifax Common Master Plan (2019)

***This is our 2019 public statement regarding the Halifax Common Master Plan (2019)***

To learn more about our therapeutic riding program, click here.

To learn more about our therapeutic riding program, click here.

The Halifax Lancers is a non-profit urban riding school in the heart of Halifax. Lancers was established in 1936 to give “city children” the opportunity to experience the benefits and joy of horses through sport. Bell Road has been home to Lancers since 1942 and we define our role as serving the public by being stewards of the “Horses of Halifax”. Our location in the heart of Halifax is integral to who we are and our mission. We are proud to have riders who travel to us but to also have those “city children” (and adults) benefiting from our programs including therapeutic riding. Our mandate is to “build better lives through horsemanship” and our mission is to promote the highest ideals of sportsmanship, citizenship, and loyalty. We are the only non-profit urban stable operating in Canada and are a leader in the urban stables movement.

Over the past two years, we have been in consultation with the project planners in regards to the Halifax Common Master Plan. The recently released Wanderers’ Grounds section of the Halifax Common Master Plan came as a grave shock to the Lancer community and our neighbourhood friends. This draft plan did not reflect our previous discussions as it would greatly impact and threaten our operations by: 
• Removing our Bell road parking lot which would impact our ability to receive hay and shavings deliveries and manure removal services 
• Removing accessible access to the stables for our Therapeutic Riders 
• Reducing the size of the outdoor arena and separating it by a public sidewalk from the indoor arena. 
• All of this can jeopardize the safety of the public, our riders, and the horses.

We see this proposal as a significant threat to the Lancers and its many positive impacts on the wider Halifax community. In response to this news, on Thursday morning we met with the Project Lead and city officials to make our concerns with the proposed plan heard - namely that its current design will impact our operations going forward. They recognised the safety, accessibility, and operational issues with the current released plan, and with a co-operative approach, we have engaged with them to hopefully solve those issues. It is our sincerest intention to work in good faith with the city to produce the best results for all citizens of HRM.

Lancers is the only tenant of this land that uses the space every day, 365 days per year. These proposed plans came as an additional surprise because, since 2017, we have made the city aware that our programming is at capacity and, with extremely long waitlists and high demand, we are capable of doing more if we have additional space. A small expansion would allow us to increase our programming by having more horses and a second arena. An expansion utilising existing space would enable us to grow our therapeutic (physical and mental health) program to meet the needs of groups such as at-risk youth, veterans, first responders, hospital patients, and seniors. Additionally, we could fulfill more requests for educational programming from schools and universities, and expand our recreational programming for children, youth, and adults.

We cannot do this presently as a result of our space restrictions. This would be with the intention of not encroaching upon our neighbouring recreational organisations.

At the city’s suggestion, this month we will draft and submit our own proposal for expansion of the Lancer grounds that will better serve the public of HRM. It would align perfectly with the historic purpose of the Wanderers’ Grounds, the city goals and principles of the Halifax Common Master Plan, and a vision of green, accessible, safe, and modern HRM.

Lancers takes pride in all the enjoyment that the public gets from visiting the horses outside and in the stables, watching the lessons and sporting events, participating in our free Open Houses, having Pony rides and ultimately feeling that the horses are in part theirs and have a place in their lives and hearts. We want everyone to share with us and our city officials, councilors, and planners how you experience and enjoy the “Horses of Halifax” via #YourHorsesofHalifax

- How you have interacted with Lancers, whether past or present
- What Lancers means to you
- How you feel Lancers can continue to serve the public of Halifax

We welcome everyone to join us on Sunday, July 28th for our 28th annual Downtown Horse Show where you can watch horses from across the province in the city for an exciting jumping competition. There will be food trucks, face painters, and other family fun things to see and do!

Please also support this vision by:


1. Completing the public survey 
While lengthy, it will let you skip ahead and start on page 32 (Wanderer’s Grounds including Lancers). It is imperative that the survey results echo our concerns, so please complete it (even numerous times) by July 15.

https://www.shapeyourcityhalifax.ca/…/halifax-common-master…

Being familiar with the plan and talk about it with everyone you know and showing your support of Lancers (https://www.shapeyourcityhalifax.ca/4580/documents/17392 and is attached to this email)

2. Writing to your City Councilor and the Mayor via email/phone calls/social media to voice your concerns. We will soon circulate a draft letter than can be personalized by sharing what Lancers means to you and how you believe we benefit the city. Please “cc” office@bengallancers.comLancers means to you and how you believe we benefit the city. Please “cc” office@bengallancers.com

3. Emailing Carolle Koziak Roberts at robertsc@halifax.ca (Project Lead for the Halifax Common Master Plan) and express the same as above

4. Posting on social media to voice your concerns and voice them loudly BUT respectfully and accurately. Tag us @Halifax_Lancers (Instagram), @Bengal_Lancers (Twitter) and Halifax Junior Bengal Lancers (Facebook). #YourHorsesofHalifax

Lancers is an important historic and cultural institution in the city of Halifax. We are very grateful for your shared passion in seeing a successful future for Lancers and the Halifax public come to fruition.

Angie Holt, Barn Manager and Head Coach

To learn more about what the junior riding program gives youth, click here.

To learn more about what the junior riding program gives youth, click here.

Fact Sheet


- We are thankful that Bell Road has been our home since 1942. 
- Refer to us as Halifax Lancers, Lancers, or Halifax Junior Bengal Lancers (not the Bengal Lancers or Junior Bengal Lancers)
- As a non-profit, we envision our organisation as being the stewards of the Horses of Halifax 
- Our mandate is to “build better lives through horsemanship” and our mission is to promote the highest ideals of sportsmanship, citizenship, and loyalty
- The horses are owned by the non-profit organisation (they are not privately owned)
- Any individual in the community (age 8+) can join Lancers
- We have 168 riders ride with us every week
- Our waitlists for junior and adult programs are at least two years long due to our space constraints
- We opened in 1936 and have resided in the stables on Bell road since 1942
- We have been a non-profit since 1956
- We are proud to have the second oldest therapeutic riding program in Canada
- We were the first riding school in Atlantic Canada
- We are one of the only urban riding stables in Canada
- We have been a landmark in the city for over eighty years
- Youth recreation is paramount in promoting healthy active lifestyles 
- Lancers was established in 1936 to give “city children” the opportunity to experience the benefits and joy of horses through sport. Our location in the heart of Halifax is integral to who we are and our mission. We are proud to have so many riders who travel to us but to also have those “city children” (and adults) benefiting from our programs.
- Lancers is the only tenant of this land that uses their space every day, 365 days per year
- Our public events (Musical Ride, Downtown Horse Show, Open House) routinely draw hundreds of people
- Share your happiest personal stories, memories, and interactions 
- We invite everyone to the Downtown Horse Show on July 28th

To find out who your councilor is, follow these links: 
https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/districts-councillors
https://www.halifax.ca/…/districts-councillors/district-look