Maryland Horse Industry Board Seeks Input from Government-Owned Horse Facilities Interested in Being Part of Statewide System

ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Maryland Horse Industry Board, a program within the Maryland Department of Agriculture, has released a Request for Interest, seeking input from any government-owned properties with existing equine facilities that want to be considered in the Maryland Horse Park System feasibility study, Phase II. Facilities interested in participating must indicate their interest by Jan. 10, 2014 and submit required paperwork by Feb. 14.  For details.

The original horse park study conducted in 2005 recommended that the state build a large central facility similar to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky for about $120 million; however, the idea never fully took root for myriad reasons. In 2012, the MHIB conducted a new study, which found that the concept of developing a Maryland Horse Park continued to be vital to the growth of the state’s horse industry and that existing facilities already had many of the essential components for a horse park. The study suggested that current facilities, when linked together, could form a statewide horse park system in which individual facilities operate cooperatively rather than as strictly single venues. The Request for Interest will determine which facilities are interested in being part of the statewide system.

Once the facilities are identified, Phase Two of the study will investigate exactly what needs to be done to maximize the use of current equine facilities and study the potential these facilities have for attracting national and international events, competitions, and visitors to Maryland. Read the past feasibility study here.

The study is funded jointly by the MHIB and the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. For more information, contact MHIB Executive Director Ross Peddicord at: 410-841-5798 or [email protected]. Or visit here.  

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