Jason Barton's introduction to North Texas trails came with a fractured neck.

It was 2016. Barton was in Dallas from St. Louis on a home-shopping trip, went for a ride at Katie Jackson, and broke his neck. He moved to the area anyway the following year.
"Despite that rocky start, I fell in love with what Texas trail riding had to offer," he said. He became a regular at Cedar Hill State Park and Boulder Park before eventually finding his way to Big Cedar.

In 2018 he approached Big Cedar's Trail Steward, Jeff Ramsey, about helping trim some of the trails. Something stuck. "I quickly became addicted to the experience of doing trailwork and giving back to the riding community," Barton said. From 2018 through 2021 he was deeply involved at Big Cedar — thousands of hours of trailwork, organizing volunteer workdays, and pulling new riders into their first experience of working on trail.

In 2021 he was nominated and confirmed as DORBA's Vice President of Trails. In that role he worked across the organization to make sure Trail Stewards throughout the network had the resources and equipment they needed to maintain exceptional trails across North Texas.

Then he stepped away — three years off from both riding and volunteering. What brought him back was a ride at Big Cedar. "It felt like coming home," he said. That ride prompted him to reach out to DORBA about taking on Big Cedar as its new Trail Steward for the Dallas Parks & Recreation land, where the need existed.

He sees the two halves of his history as the whole point. "I believe my experience working at both the trail level and the organizational level gives me a unique perspective and background that will make for a strong partnership between Big Cedar and the broader community," he said.

Away from the trail, Barton is a husband and the father of twin girls.

"This is an exciting time for Big Cedar," he said. With the support of the Trust for Public Land and ownership by Dallas Parks & Recreation, "the future is bright — and I truly believe the community stands to benefit greatly from DORBA's continued partnership and investment in this special place."

Welcome, Jason.