Make no mistake about it, people love attending horse shows in Centre County, particularly at the Grange Park Equine Center, where, in 2016, more than 5,000 horses were shown.
That’s a huge increase from the 1,600 horses shown in 2011. And, according to Darlene Confer, Grange Fair general manager, those numbers could have been even bigger.
Confer, along with Sue Hannegan from the Centre County Planning Office, visited the Centre County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 31 to ask commissioners if they would support the submission of an $8 million grant request to the state Office of Budget-Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program on behalf of the Centre County Grange and Encampment Fair for the construction of additional facilities at the Grange Park Equine Center.
The commissioners unanimously agreed to support the request.
‘We are completely booked from March through October with horse shows,’ said Confer, ‘and, we’ve been having to turn away a lot of business because we just can’t accommodate everyone that wants to use our facilities. People really enjoy coming here for a variety of reasons, but especially because of the beauty Centre County has to offer. We’re close to Penn State University and there’s plenty of hotel accommodations available. However, our facilities here just can’t fit the needs of so many horses and horse show participants. That’s why we need to expand.’
NEW ARENA
According to Confer, if the state grant were to be awarded, the money would be used to roof two existing outdoor horse pens, build new restroom facilities, construct permanent barns and build a new outdoor arena.
She said prior to the construction of the current equine center, the facilities would see up to 200 to 300 horses per event, and since the new buildings went up in 2011, that number ballooned to more than 700 horses at some. She said now is the time for the expansion.
‘We don’t want to sit on this and be stagnant,’ said Confer. ‘There’s a lot of money involved in this, especially for the county. People come from 23 states and Canada to attend or participate in these horse shows, and as soon as they cross the border into Pennsylvania, they start spending money.’
ECONOMIC IMPACT
She said she estimates about a $5 million boon to the local economy during horse show season, and said that number could reach $20 million annually with the new facilities.
‘Our thought is that with larger facilities, we will be able to accommodate two shows at the same time,’ Confer said. ‘And, with bigger facilities, we will no longer have to turn away the bigger shows with 1,200 or more horses. That’s what we have to do now simply because we can’t handle that many horses and people.’
Currently, on site, there is a barn that can house 258 horses. She said the construction of a new covered barn would increase the number of stalls by 300.
‘People don’t want to keep their horses in temporary housing when they come to shows, and that’s what we’ve been doing,’ Confer said. ‘We rent huge tents and fit them with portable stalls to house the animals, but like I said, many people don’t want their horses kept this way.’
She also said covering the two existing pens would better protect the animals from inclement weather.
‘There are just so many positive things that will go along with expanding the equine area,’ said Confer. ‘We have an opportunity here to get some state money that will benefit all of Centre County in one form or another.’
‘The economic impact these shows have to the area has been incredible and can’t be denied,’ said Chairman Commissioner Michael Pipe. ‘We’re hopeful we get this grant, although it’s not guaranteed.’
Confer said should the county not be awarded the grant, other funding sources will be looked at.
‘We have support from Harrisburg and from the agriculture secretary, so we’re very, very hopeful,’ she said.
The deadline for the grant application is Friday, Feb. 3.
