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Keeping the Virginia Horse Center in oats and hay
by
Heather B. Hayes
Virginia Business
February 2005
Call
it a shot of some serious financial horsepower. In late
2004, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-6th) managed to get $1 million
included in the 2005 appropriations bill for the Virginia
Horse Center in Lexington. The funds, which will be
administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
will be used for facilities and continued maintenance
and operation.
Lethia
Hammond, director of marketing, public affairs and development
for the Virginia Horse Center, said the money will “further
improve the center’s status as one of the finest
equine facilities in the world and will enable us to
remain competitive” with similar state-supported
centers of horse activity in Kentucky and North Carolina.
Last year, the facility held 90 events, including the
U.S. Equestrian Federation National Pony finals, the
Rockbridge Regional Fair, jumping competitions, therapeutic
riding shows, rodeos and livestock events.
The announcement of the federal funding came shortly
before the release of new findings on the economic impact
of the Virginia Horse Center. According to a study conducted
by John Knapp, an economist with the Weldon Cooper Center
for Public Service at the University of Virginia, the
Virginia Horse Center contributes $53.3 million to the
state’s economy. That figure represents an increase
of 28.6 percent since 2001, when a similar Weldon Cooper
study was performed. The major factor influencing this
number, says Hammond, is spending by show participants.
The Virginia Horse Center, which received $890,000 in
state funding last year and will request a similar amount
this year, generates $4.5 million in annual state and
local sales tax revenues and provides employment for
855 people, an increase of 20.8 percent since 2001.
The center also relies heavily on private donations;
more than $10 million has been collected from individual
donors since its creation in 1984.
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