The Horse in Modern America

Hey Pards,

It used to be the wild horse epitomized the American West. The imagery of a herd thundering across expanses of open land or cowboys working on horseback sparks the imagination of almost anyone who loves the history of the USA. While the horse still allows us to touch the untamed spirit of the West, it is becoming rare for the contact to occur in a wild setting.

Though hooves and saddles helped domesticate our entire land, the equine’s ability to thrive in our modern culture depends upon facilities large enough to tame a wild demand for equestrian shows and events. Large horse venues all do their part to meet the exploding need. Those types of facilities are making it a priority to house larger and more horse shows than ever before, creating a win-win situation for the locations and horse associations alike.

“One of our goals is to infuse horse activity into the Denver scene,” commented Brad Ettleman (Horse Show Manager for the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado). Ettleman also revealed the National Western website receives forty million hits a year, displaying the popularity of the facility and its calendar of 40 weekends of horse shows a year. “People pay attention to what is going on at the National Western complex. We’ve seen an increase over time in telephone calls from the general public (and) we try and guide them to the right kind of horse show.”

“The community likes seeing horses around,” said Bill Miller, General Manager for the large Norris-Penrose Events Center located near Colorado Springs, Colorado. “It always surprises me to see a grandpa with three grandkids who come in and want to see the horses. I get a kick out of that. They will spend an hour or so just walking around and looking at horses. They want that lifestyle preserved.”

Modern America's kinship with the horse takes place now in facilities designed to accomodate the experience. It's a good thing. Without those equestrian facilities, the way of the horse may have died out altogether in this land of ours.

Have a good one.

Lincoln