NEWS &VIEWS You Can Use Maryland’s Horse Industry: Positioned For Growth in the 21st Century
by Ross Peddicord, Maryland Horse Industry Board, Executive Director If you read nothing except accounts of the
dire straits of Maryland’s racetracks and T or- oughbred and Standardbred breeding opera- tions, you would think all is doom and gloom for the future of the state’s horse industry. Unfortunately, that’s the public’s perception. But dig a little deeper, and nothing could be
further from the truth. Racing is just one segment of the horse busi- ness in Maryland, comprising about 40 percent of all equine activities. T e other 60 percent is the recreational horse sport segment, and by most accounts, despite a deep recession, horse riding, showing, eventing, steeplechasing and equine therapeutics are thriving and contrib- uting approximately $300 million annually in total operating and capital expenditures to the state’s economy. Dr. Lowell Catlett, keynote speaker at the
Maryland Tourism and Travel Summit last year, spoke about the vitality of the nine million horses used for sport in this country: as late as the 1890s horses were pulling us up and down the road; now many people spend a good part of their lei- sure time pulling them up and down the road. In addition to racing, horses are used in Mary- land for a variety of purposes and have an enor- mous impact in various sectors of our culture. Including our racing brethren, total expendi- tures, according to the 2010 Maryland Horse Census, amount to $512,985,000 annually. Here are a dozen examples of how horses
contribute to our way of life: • WORK: T ere are four mounted police units, several carriage companies, even a few Arabbers who are still selling produce from their horse-drawn carts on the streets of Bal- timore City. • RECREATION: T ere are probably over 2,000 miles of horse trails in the state and over 600 licensed riding stables available for lessons and rentals, at camps and schools, and riding clubs, catering to all levels of ability from novices to elite competitors. • AGRICULTURE: Maryland horsefolks spend over $80M a year on feed, hay and bedding for their horses, much of it sold and/or grown lo- cally, as well as maintaining their own farms. • MANUFACTURING: Maryland is home
to equine pharmaceutical company Nutra- max, and such local manufacturing fi rms as Frey Agricultural Products, Inc., which pro- cesses and sells wood products, including bedding for horses. • EDUCATION: Equine youth programs abound, with 22 Pony Clubs in addition to the 1,500 youth who participate in 4-H equine programs, as well as a plethora of in- terscholastic and intercollegiate riding teams. T is year the U.S. Naval Academy formed a 52-member Equestrian Club and Intercolle- giate Riding Team. • THERAPY: Ongoing research continues to show the holistic and therapeutic benefi ts of horses. T ere are more than 50 equine thera- py organizations in the state, treating people with disabilities, abused women, wounded veterans and patients with autism, anorexia and asthma, among others. • SPORT: Maryland is home to a dozen or- ganized foxhunting clubs, as well as numer- ous world-class eventing venues and eventers, dressage, driving, and many of the nation’s leading steeplechase owners, trainers and riders. More than 105 horse shows are held annually at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center alone. • ENTERTAINMENT: Medieval Times operates a thriving equine-dependent en- tertainment business at Arundel Mills, the state’s #1 tourism attraction. Steeplechase venues such as Roedown add a music festival component. A new Maryland wine/equine event called “Decanter” is being jointly devel- oped by the Maryland Association of Win- eries, the Maryland Jockey Club, and the Maryland Horse Industry Board and Mary- land Horse Council. • TOURISM: Stable tours at Bel Air Man- sion and Stables in Bowie, polo at Ladew Gar- dens in Monkton, the Columbia Grand Prix in Clarksville and the Assateague Ponies in Worcester County are among the attractions promoted by various county tourism agencies. • RESEARCH: T e University of Maryland operates a renowned agricultural research program in the center of its urban College Park campus, as well as its satellite research farm in Clarksville. • OPEN SPACE INITIATIVES: Approxi- mately 587,000 acres or about 10 percent of
Maryland land is devoted to and/or owned or controlled by Maryland horsemen and their families. Of this, 88,000 acres are placed in farmland preservation programs. • THE ARTS: Maryland is home to nu- merous nationally recognized publications, equine artists, photographers, authors, musi- cians and crafts people.
When you add the approximately $500M that is bet annually on the fl at and harness races in Maryland to the nearly $513M in annual equine expenditures, the total amount comes to a whopping $1 billion industry. According to the 2010 Maryland Horse Census, there are 79,100 horses and 16,000 horse farms in Maryland, and from other estimates and studies approxi- mately 28,000 full and part-time jobs associated with the industry; and more than 200,000 par- ticipants in, and spectators at, Maryland horse events, taking into account the 107,000 folks who attended the 2011 Preakness.
Facilities
If you take an inventory of the state’s equine facilities, we are a state overfl owing in a treasure trove of equine riches; over 200 equine organiza- tions are represented in Maryland from breeders of Tennessee Walkers to draft horses and mules and donkeys to an abundance of world class training, racing and breeding facilities. Here’s a short list: • PIMLICO: One of three U.S. tracks to host a Triple Crown event. • LAUREL PARK: At 100 years old, one of the oldest racetracks in continuous use in the U.S. and home to the Maryland Million. Fa- cilities include one of the nation’s safest dirt tracks and superior turf courses. • OCEAN DOWNS: One of the nation’s top 10 harness meets. • FAIR HILL NATURAL MANAGE- MENT RESOURCES AREA: Owned by the Maryland Department of Natural Re- sources, these 5,700 acres are some of the best rolling grasslands and wooded trails available for horse sports in the U.S. and home of the Fair Hill International T ree-Day Event. Part of the property is dedicated to the Fair Hill Training Center, home base of two Kentucky Derby-winning trainers, Michael Matz and
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Be sure to include your full name, phone number and address. All submissions become the property of The Equiery. 8 | THE EQUIERY | OCTOBER 2011 800-244-9580 |
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