Corbett Stone, owner of Tryon Equine Compost and the subject of a horse manure controversy, has decided to move his manure piles to the Tryon International Equestrian Center.

Stone bought the current property off of Hwy. 9 just past the Mill Spring crossroads in 2015 and said it was never his intention to come in and upset neighbors. A local business started a petition that gained 553 signatures to remove the manure in October 2015.

“Because of the complaints, the pile had to be reorganized and covered over according to the state and NC DENR (North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources) regulations,” Stone said. “I’m now at the point where I can process the material and move it off that property and we’re not continuing hauling manure there.”

In March, Stone had a contract with TIEC to haul the center’s manure, as well as other farms’ manure. He said he will now move his manure piles, which have been composted, to a site at the equestrian center after hearing the complaints from neighbors.

Joy Conner is a resident of Mill Spring and said her son, Trent Jackson, lives on the property next to the composting center.

“It’s going to take a long time for the dirt and the area around the creek to get back to normal after the manure has been there,” Conner said. “We just want it out of Mill Spring.”

Conner said she could not understand why anyone would want to dump manure next to someone’s home.

“When people go through the crossroads, they wonder why anyone could put it next to someone’s home,” Conner explained. “Everyone is disgusted with the pile being right next door and, with the flies coming into stores, there have been so many complaints and it’s very embarrassing.”

Kelly Bader is the owner of Kelly’s General Store at the Mill Spring crossroads and said health issues of her and her grandchildren are her major concern.

“It affects both my home and my business because I live just beyond the crossroads,” Bader said. “The stench that comes from that place is unbelievable. There are fly strips in my store that I have to change every few days. I hate to say that it hurts my business, but people are starting to notice and say, ‘What is that smell?’”

To make the relocation process easier, Stone said he needed to divide one pile into six piles to make it easier to cover, and he will not be bringing more manure over to Mill Spring contrary to rumors he said he heard.

“We’re pretty much getting geared now to scrape all that material and haul it out of there,” Stone explained.

Stone said he hopes to haul out the material in the next few months and added he publicly announced to not haul any other manure to the site in Mill Spring last year, saying he and his business has upheld this announcement.

“It just takes time to get everything straightened out with the state before I can start hauling the material out of there,” Stone said. “We heard the complaints loud and clear. We’re not looking to start back up over there, and I’m hoping they can be patient with me while I get it cleaned up and moved.”

He added he and his business are staying compliant with NC DENR and said a representative from the department came to Mill Spring to check on him.

A meeting took place in Pea Ridge on March 10 because residents feared the business would be moving to that area.

Sharon Decker, chief operating officer at TIEC, attended that March meeting in Pea Ridge. Decker said the equestrian center is managing a composting site on the property for the manure produced by the season’s shows.

“We are managing the composting site within the property that we currently own and it’s not being transported off site,” Decker said. “We are, however, looking at a couple of sites elsewhere to transport the material and that search will continue for the long term.”

She said Stone helps the center compost the manure produced by horses at TIEC,  assists in emptying stalls, and moves the material to the center’s composting site.