102 SIDELINES SEPTEMBER 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
For well over a century, Aiken, South Carolina has been a center
for the recreational horse culture. The “Winter Colonists” who
came to Aiken in the late 1880s to enjoy outdoor pastimes during
the cold season up North brought their love of equine with them.
Fox hunting, horse showing, polo, the training of racehorses (both
fat and steeplechasers), were all pursued at the highest levels.
Kentucky Derby winners, 10-goal polo players, show jumpers and
hunters have all perfected their talents on the tracks, and in the
felds and woods, of this relatively small but extremely gracious
southern town. Today, to all of these equine activities, we add
driving, three-day eventing, dressage, trail riding on over 600
miles of trails, and a virtual explosion of interest in such “western”
disciplines as cutting, reigning, barrel racing and roping. It is safe
to say that the equestrian life in almost all forms is woven into the
warp and weft of our community’s fabric.
What the equine world has not had until recently is an
organized voice to represent and advocate for the many faces
of our equestrian life. That voice, known as the Equine Support
Council (ESC) of the Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce, did
not “spring full-blown from the head of Zeus” but rather evolved,
organically, as the perception of the need for it developed. Today,
we hope and expect the ESC to be one that provides lasting value
to the community.
The equine industry in Aiken County had been on the Chamber’s
radar for a few years, however, when Sidelines Magazine
Publisher Samantha Charles was elected to the organization’s
Board of Directors, interest in the industry picked up. Samantha
provided the Chamber’s leadership with a viable overview of what
they already believed to be an economic force of undetermined
size and scope. With Samantha’s help, the Chamber leadership
commissioned a study in 2008 to determine the economic impact
of Aiken County’s equine industry.
The Chamber of Commerce provided the funding, and the
University of South Carolina Aiken (USCA) School of Business
provided the expertise. Those in the equine community provided
information, and a survey showed various fndings. Most salient
was that horses and horse people represented over $70 million of
direct economic impact, employed more than 1,800 people in full-
time jobs, and was most likely the second or third largest industry
in the area. It was suggested by some that the survey understated
the case because participation was far from universal, but the
results were impressive nonetheless.
Almost coincident with the release of USCA’s School of Business
fndings, the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation
and Tourism held a public forum in Aiken to present the results
of a major study of the state’s potential for the development of
“destination,” as opposed to “transient,” tourism and of perhaps
even greater international trade opportunities.
A few years ago, Tourism Development International (TDI), a
leading consultant in the feld, completed a study of Carolina’s
tourism industry and its future potential. The consulting group
spent about a year studying Aiken County and surrounding
counties for what they called the “Scenic Savannah River Region”
(SSRR). From the study’s results, we learned a lot about our state
and its capacity for growth in tourism and trade, and specifcally
about what potential the SSRR had to offer. One of the most
signifcant recommendations was to create an “international horse
park” to leverage the existing horse culture in Aiken County.
Given that the two studies seemed to focus on Aiken’s equine
culture as a vehicle for growth and prosperity for the community at
large, the Aiken Chamber encouraged local equestrians to come
together to explore the questions raised, and the conclusions
drawn, by USCA’s School of Business and the TDI studies. What
resulted was the formation of the Aiken Chamber Equine Support
Council in 2009, and all those with an equine interest were invited
to join. The Chamber provided access to its professional staff,
offces and resources.
It wasn’t long before four ESC committees were formed:
conservation, open space and integrated trails; marketing;
governmental affairs; and horse park. In January 2010, the
Chamber hired a manager of Equine Development to support the
work of the ESC and these committees; their progress has been
impressive as shown below.
Conservation, Open Space and Integrated Trails Committee
–
has identifed and catalogued over 600 miles of existing trails
and began to explore various rights-of-way to begin connecting
them. This accomplishment led to collaboration with the Aiken
Land Conservancy (ALC), whose mission is to protect open space
in Aiken, which in turn led to collaboration with the Aiken County
Parks Recreation and Tourism Department. Together, these three
entities formed the Greater Aiken Integrated Trails Foundation
(GAIT), spearheaded by Aiken County PRT in collaboration with
the Aiken Chamber, last year. The purpose of GAIT is to raise
funds for, as well as to facilitate, countywide projects, such as
the Horse Creek Water Trail. The initial trail will open Horse
Creek to kayakers and canoeists and eventually feature trails
for equestrian, pedestrian and hiking along its banks. The trail is
slated to open late fall of this year.
Marketing Committee
–
presented the 2010-2011 Equine
Performing Arts Series that featured the beauty and grace of
horses and riders in foxhunting, polo, and jumpers and hunters in
the show ring. The purpose of the four-performance event was to
encourage the community at large to seek out and enjoy the horse
sports that occur in Aiken all year long.
Governmental Affairs Committee
–
briefed elected offcials
on the importance of the equine industry, and worked with the
Aiken County Delegation to expand the Horseman’s liability law’s
protection to include landowners who allow horsemen to traverse
their property as part of a trail system.
Horse Park Committee –
sponsored a white paper, completed
in mid-2011, to explore the TDI’s recommendation. The release
of the white paper by the Chamber was followed by town hall
meetings with equine and other interested community folks
to broaden the discussion. In late 2011, the ESC arranged for
private funding for a feasibility study to be conducted by the
Center of Economic Excellence in Tourism and Development at
the University of South Carolina in Columbia. The results are due
in early August.
All of the above mentioned accomplishments have been
very effective in raising the profle of Aiken’s horse world in the
extended community and in inviting non-horsemen to join us in the
enjoyment of our horses. What is even more amazing to me is that
almost all of ESC’s achievements have been accomplished with
volunteers and with the support of the Greater Aiken Chamber of
Commerce.
The next step, one that is now underway, is to create the
ESC as a not-for-proft corporation in order to provide structure,
management and fnancial capabilities. There is much work yet to
be done in the ESC committees – and in the ongoing mission of
representing and advocating for horses, and for horse people, in
Aiken and Aiken County.