Central Ohio officials are saddling up to keep the All American Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus.
That could mean stretching the event’s reach from the state fairgrounds to a new show arena in Hilliard at the Franklin County Fairgrounds.
The county, Hilliard, the All American Quarter Horse Congress and the Franklin County Agricultural Society, which operates the county fairgrounds, will form a committee to study the feasibility of a satellite arena in Hilliard, Mayor Don Schonhardt said today.
“We want to determine what we want that facility to be,” he said.
The society will pay $10,000 for the study, Hilliard $5,000 and the county will make up the balance once the cost is determined after a consultant is selected, Schonhardt said.
An arena at the county fairgrounds could also be used for 4-H shows and year-round events, Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks said.
The Quarter Horse Congress attracts more than 650,000 people to central Ohio and brings $110 million to the area’s economy, according to the association’s Web site.
That revenue is even more important in a down economy, Brooks said.
“It’s very important that the Quarter Horse Congress stay happy, and in central Ohio,” she said.
Schonhardt said the study group would likely form quickly and produce its report this fall.
Billed as the world’s largest single-breed horse show, the congress receives more than 17,000 horse show entries and will house more than 8,500 registered American quarter horses during its three-week schedule Oct. 3 to 25, its Web site said.
