WINTEC Pro Dressage Saddle
$569.00
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The Virginia Horse Center – Competing on a Whole New Level
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The Virginia Horse Center’s vision is to be “one of the finest equine facilities in the nation.” Situated just outside the historic town of Lexington, Virginia, and occupying approximately 600 acres of pristine countryside, it has been an important part of the Virginia equine community and the Mid-Atlantic region since its opening in 1987. With its most recent land acquisition, the Virginia Horse Center is expanding its site to introduce the highest levels of competition to the area.
The current facilities include a cross-country course for horse trials, three dressage rings, four barns for stabling over 500 horses, two winterized barns for 180 horses, and five miles of horse trails. The Center also features a large indoor coliseum that has seats for over 4,000 people, box seating, and an arena measuring 150 x 300 feet; a covered outdoor arena with grandstand seating for 1,000 spectators; and, a 36,000 square foot covered arena.
Over the past thirteen years, the Virginia Horse Center has “hosted 1,059 events with over 300,000 participants and approximately 4.8 million spectators and visitors.” With events scheduled every weekend from mid-January through mid-December, this facility showcases a vast array of breeds, riding disciplines, and equestrian sports competitions, as well as clinics, seminars, and other educational programs every year. These events enable the Center to contribute approximately $30 million to the local economy.
In its effort to realize its goal, the Virginia Horse Center has just recently begun a $10 million expansion project with the intent of heightening its impact upon the horse industry and bringing international competitions to the region. The recent purchase of the 196-acre, historic Oak Hill Farm, which is adjacent to the present site, is the springboard for that growth. With the addition of this property, the Center is creating three courses designed to take it to a whole new level of competition: - a cross country course that will enable the Center to host international competitions, including the Olympic Trials and possibly the Olympic Games;
- a carriage course that will introduce to the local area one of the fastest growing equestrian sports in the U.S.;
- and, a steeplechase course that will bring this popular sport to the Virginia Horse Center.
The outlay of the land with gentle rolling hills and spacious meadows serves as a natural viewing area of these surrounding courses. Moreover, this effort will preserve the land in it natural state rather than giving it over to housing and industrial development.
The Center will also be renovating the old farmhouse and transforming it into a hospitality center. Two more barns will be added and a bridge will be built to link the Oak Hill property to the existing site. An endowment is to be established as a permanent source of income for the maintenance of the property and to secure the Center’s role in the region and the nation.
If you would like to learn more about the Virginia Horse Center, as well as how you may contribute to this expansion effort, please go to www.horsecenter.org.
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