- Who are the Friends of the Virginia Horse Center?

- Why does the Virginia Horse Center Need Your Help?

- What makes the Virginia Horse Center such a valuable asset?

- Why Join the Friends of the Virginia Horse Center?

Who are the Friends of the Virginia Horse Center?
The Friends of the Virginia Horse Center is a dedicated group of equine enthusiasts who have formed a coalition to ensure the future growth and long-term viability of the Virginia Horse Center. Friends of the Virginia Horse Center often write letters or make phone calls to elected representatives to encourage their support for the Virginia Horse Center.

Why does the Virginia Horse Center Need Your Help?
While the Virginia Equine Center Foundation (VECF), a quasi-public body whose members are appointed by the governor, assists in overseeing Virginia Horse Center operations, the Virginia Horse Center is not a state agency and receives no operating support from the Commonwealth. By contrast, the Senator Bob Martin Ag. Center in Williamson, NC receives an average of $600,000 per year to supplement operations, and the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY receives $1,600,000 each year for this purpose.

Operating expenses must be paid with earned revenues from facility rentals, events, and sponsorships, as well as with gifts and grants raised by the Virginia Horse Center Foundation (the private board that overseas fundraising and public education efforts) from the private sector.

Unlike its state owned and operated competitors, the Virginia Horse Center is the only facility that has outstanding construction debt. In recent years, the legislative money committees appropriated just two-thirds of the funding needed to cover the Virginia Horse Center's construction debt. Contributions by Friends of the Virginia Horse Center are crucial to the Horse Center's future.

What makes the Virginia Horse Center such a valuable asset?
As one of the nation's premier equestrian facilities, the Virginia Horse Center is one of the oldest and most successful public-private partnerships in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and as a catalyst for economic development in local, state and regional economies has increased in significance annually since its inception twenty years ago. According to “The Virginia Horse Center’s Economic Impact in 2004, An Update of the 2001 Study”, which was concluded in August 2004 by Dr. John L. Knapp, of the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, the gross state product attributable to the Horse Center was $53.3 million statewide and $37.3 million in the Lexington-Rockbridge County area, up 28.6 percent and 28.1 percent respectively over 2001 in current dollars.

The major driver of the gross state product attributable to the Virginia Horse Center is spending by show participants, which was up 28.5 percent statewide and 28.6 percent in the Lexington-Rockbridge County area. Other drivers include spending by non-horse show participants at Horse Center events such as the Bluegrass Bonanza and Virginia Professional Bull Riders Challenge.

“The Virginia Horse Center’s Economic Impact in 2004” shows that out-of-state horse show participants account for a significant portion – 56.4 percent – of the direct expenditures, providing a direct benefit to the state of Virginia. The Horse Center is also a major source of business for the local lodgings industry.

State and local taxes derived from the output data amounted to $4.5 million statewide and $3.6 million in the Lexington-Rockbridge area, rising 29.4 percent and 27.7 percent respectively. The return based on an annual state appropriation of $890,000 for debt service is well over $5 in sales tax revenues for every $1 invested by the state.

Why Join the Friends of the Virginia Horse Center?
Known throughout the country and internationally, the world-class Virginia Horse Center serves as a venue for more than 90 events a year including horse shows, clinics, rodeos, workshops, the annual Therapeutic Riding Association of Virginia Fall Show, the annual State 4-H Horse and Pony Show, and United States Pony Club activities, as well as community events such as the Rockbridge County Fair, the Midnight Rockbridge New Year's Eve Celebration, receptions, dinners, concerts, fundraisers and other functions. Events attended by approximately 400,000 visitors annually take place at the Horse Center 280 days a year, both promoting the Commonwealth's horse industry and acting as a catalyst for economic development in local, state and regional economies.

The future success of the Virginia Horse Center and its ability to impact the equine, agribusiness, and tourist industries of Virginia largely depends on a spirit of cooperation among state and local governments, private individual donors, and efficient, responsible management of the Horse Center.

Become a Friend of the Virginia Horse Center today and help ensure the future growth and long-term viability of the Virginia Horse Center.

 - Membership Information Form (55KB PDF)

 - Make an online donation!

 - Email this page to a friend!