Leaders of DeKalb horse park board are bolting, asking public to take the reins

Little Creek Horse Farm, which the county bought in 2004, has been a novelty within the DeKalb County parks system, offering a slice of country life in a crowded Atlanta suburb.

Riders and visitors can have genuine equine interactions, like therapy and riding lessons, and board horses without traveling outside the perimeter. The nonprofit Little Creek Farm Conservancy has supported the county’s work, bringing in programming and events and funding some capital improvements.

But behind the scenes, tensions have been building between the conservancy and its partners at the county. Those tensions came to a head on Oct. 1 when the conservancy board announced it plans to dissolve the organization unless five people are willing to take over as board members. The horse farm would not go away if the conservancy dissolved. The county would still operate it as a horse farm, just one without a nonprofit board supporting it.