The Horse Council at Work Putting Sonoma County Back on the National Equestrian Map Written by Wanda Smith In the last century, Sonoma County has twice been a major center for horse events in the western United States. As we began the twentieth century, the county was producing the fastest harness race horses in the nation and held races on nine local tracks.
Just a few decades ago, Sonoma County again became a horse event center hosting the most highly attended horse shows on the West Coast. The revenue generated from these two eras of horse events enormously benefited the county. Although Sonoma County is no longer the horse events center of West Coast, it does have a large equestrian community which includes 22,000 horses, 30,000 equestrians, thirty breeding ranches and 100 boarding stables. Equestrian revenue grows at a rate of 4% per year, and is the second largest source of agricultural revenue after grapes.
Unfortunately, the resources and facilities of Sonoma County no longer meet the needs of its growing equestrian community as demonstrated in a market research study just completed by the Horse Council. The information collected from a wide cross section of equine business owners and local equestrians clearly shows that current facilities do not meet local or national show requirements, or the recreational requirements of the local equestrian community. The current facilities also fail to capitalize on the well-established tourism market in Sonoma County and the surrounding area. The study also found that high level competitors increasingly attend shows and spend money outside the county because of superior facilities at other locations.
Sonoma County has a unique opportunity to address its insufficient equine event facilities by creating a state of the art equestrian complex. Sonoma County is the perfect place for an equestrian complex because it houses a large and dedicated equestrian community, a well-established tourism industry, great year-round weather, and sufficient land.
To meet this challenge, the Sonoma County Horse Council has initiated activities to propose, construct, and operate an equestrian park. The Project Director is Stanford University engineer, Wanda Smith, who has a background in corporate project and executive management, entrepreneurship, research and development, horse ranch management, and horse show competition. The project is known as the Sonoma County Equestrian Complex (SEC) and its objectives are to:
- Improve the local economy by providing jobs and revenue
- Provide venues for local, regional, and national equestrian competitions, conferences, and clinics
- Provide an attraction for competitors, spectators, and visitors
- Provide career technical education, internships, and certification programs for a variety of students
- Preserve land for equestrian activities and public recreation
- Attract people, horses, and businesses to the county
- Preserve the history of horses and their contributions to the county.
SEC will promote the education and training of equestrians, and host breed shows and competitive events. It will serve as a year-round facility for equestrian events at various skill levels and be a center for equestrian information, education, and activities. SEC will also have a horse museum and be constructed as the first ìgreenî equestrian facility in the country, becoming a model for environmentally-friendly, recreational development. SECís proposed facilities include multi-purpose indoor and outdoor arenas for different equestrian disciplines, spectator facilities, a trail system, track, polo field, and cross country riding and driving courses.
SEC will be able to partner with local high schools and colleges to promote and host intramural equestrian teams, competitions, and educational events. It will also enhance partnerships with the thirty-five equestrian clubs in the county, their 2,700 members, and other organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club, and the Hannah Boys Center. SECís public-private model will generate revenue from horse shows, events, horse camping, and RV parking. Horse camping is an increasingly popular activity for families to enjoy their horses in new surroundings, especially those of Sonoma County with its twenty-three parks that have horse riding trails. SEC will be able to offer out-of-area trail riders a base camp.
The operation of SEC will bring an estimated $65 million per year to Sonoma Countyómuch needed to increase and help diversify the countyís revenue base. It is anticipated that major equestrian events will come to SEC because of the quality of its new facilities, its location, and Sonoma Countyís tourist attractions. SEC is expected to draw participants and spectators from adjacent counties (Marin, Solano, Napa, Lake, and Mendocino) as well as throughout the Western US and Northwest Canada. Over time, SEC is expected to attract prestigious national and international events of the caliber of the Rolex Three-Day Event, the National Cutting Horse Futurity, the Snaffle Bit Futurity, and maybe somedayÖeven the Olympics.
