County’s 25,000 equines drive an industry that’s worth $52 million

07:17 AM CST on Tuesday, March 21, 2006

By Dawn Cobb / Business Editor

Denton County is the heart of horse country in the state and the nation, county and agriculture officials say, pointing to recent state statistics as proof.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Horses graze along the sandy loam fields of north and west Denton County, where more than 300 ranches raise horses for everything from racing to show jumping.

An estimated 25,100 horses are bred, trained and cared for at more than 300 ranches across the sandy loam soils that first attracted the industry in the 1970s to Denton County, home to nearly 500,000 people.

Horse sales topped $21.7 million in 2005 with boarding fees adding an additional $11.6 million in revenues. Com­bined with the estimated $3.28 million foal sales, $3.75 million in breeding fees and another $12.5 million in training fees, the industry produces around $52.86 million in revenue for the county, according to the latest report from the Texas Co­op­erative Extension office.

“It’s a tremendous economic impact for Denton County,” said Eddie Baggs, agricultural agent with the local extension office. “The horse industry touches and feeds a lot of the other industries that you wouldn’t think are related, but are.”

The impact, he said, could be well more than the estimated $52.86 million.

“It could go three times that to derive the economic impact of the horse industry,” Baggs said.

A drive along U.S. Highway 377 through the prime area of horse ranches shows a wide range of horse-related businesses — from the Pilot Point Feed Store to R.G. Trailers to Saddle & Surrey. And where else in North Texas but Denton County would anyone see roadside signs touting horse insurance and horse tax law specialists?

“Without the horses, those industries would suffer,” Baggs said. “They wouldn’t be what they are today without them.”

Ken Carson says it is those varied businesses that make it more attractive for the ranches to locate in Denton County’s sandy loam region — an area that stretches north and south from Flower Mound through Denton to Aubrey and Pilot Point.

Carson, general manager at Valor Farm, a thoroughbred breeding farm just east of Pilot Point off FM455, said the Denton County collection of horses, ranging from racehorse to reining to cutting and other specialties, is significant — even in a state where 979,000 horses are registered and an estimated 32,200 jobs are directly tied to the industry.

“This [in Denton County] is probably the biggest concentration in Texas,” Carson said.

Other significant concentrations of horses in Texas are in Houston, San Antonio and around Weatherford, known as the “Cutting Horse Capital.”

Outside of Texas, the highest number of horses is in Ocala, Fla., and Lexington, Ky.

What makes Denton County unique is the variety of breeds and training specialties.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

A sign welcoming passers-by to 'Horse Country USA' graces the roadside on Sherman Drive just outside of Aubrey.

A survey from the Texas Extension Office shows that about 35 percent of the horses in Denton County are of the quarter horse breed, followed by thoroughbreds at 7 percent. Other breeds range from full- and half-breed Arabians to Appaloosa and the American paint horse.

Denton County also is home to the relatively well-known Andalusian breed, kept at Chapel Creek Ranch near Sanger. The 241-acre ranch serves as a breeding ranch for the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament restaurants located across the country.

Area ranches offer everything from cutting horse training to reining to jumping to racing and everything between.

Owned by Clarence and Dorothy Scharbauer, the 393-acre Valor Farm was built by the couple three years after they bought the land in 1991, Carson said.

Clarence Scharbauer, a former president of the American Quarter Horse Association and a member of the breed’s hall of fame, and his wife, Dorothy, who owned racehorses from a young age, opted to locate their ranch in Denton County when Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie opened, Carson said. He added that the couple was instrumental in getting Lone Star Park built.

The ranch has a pedigree that continues to grow as new generations of thoroughbred yearlings come up through the racing ranks. Those in racing circles may know of Magic Cat, Alysheba and her full sister Alysbelle, who was, at one point, worth an estimated $2 million. Others include Early Flyer, Exclusive Enough, Jet Route, On Final and many more.

With black treated fences surrounding the farm, separating young and old, mare and stallion in separate paddocks, Valor Farm is one of the larger farms in the region. The activity around the barns is constant as the estimated 14 full-time workers each do their part to attend to the horses. The unceasing work begins from the moment someone leaves a mare to be bred to watching the mothers at night, all night long, to having a vet on call 24-7 to help with foaling. Then, foals may be kept for days or for months, depending on owners’ wishes. Several foals stay in the “hospital barn,” wearing casts to straighten a genetic issue with their legs.

In several pastures, young colts and fillies fly across the open plains, feeling their oats and kicking up their heels.

It is a sight Carson and other passers-by enjoy in the hilly countryside of Aubrey and Pilot Point.

“We’ve always felt like we’re stewards for horsing in this area,” Carson said.

‘Horse Country USA’

It is the abundance of equine farms that launched Kim Phillips along the road to developing an idea for touting the area.

The Texas Heritage Trails program was created in the early 1960s to attract people moving in vehicles to get away from main arterial roads and into small-town America, said Phillips, vice president of the local convention and visitor bureau for the Denton Chamber of Commerce.

Applying the same principle, the idea of drawing tourists visiting the Fort Worth Stockyards to the Denton and Pilot Point region seemed a good way to increase possible tourism and get the word out about Denton’s large numbers of ranches.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

A paint horse rests near a fence at a local ranch. Horses are a familiar sight to passers-by through northern Denton County.

“Here in Denton, the horse country is really about the same age as the trails, which really took off in the ’60s and ’70s,” she said, referring to the established heritage trails. Denton is included in one that runs from Wichita Falls to Granbury to Corsicana and Paris.

Creating a similar trail system for viewing the equestrian culture seemed logical, she said.

Along with Fort Worth and Pilot Point chambers, the Denton chamber obtained a $5,000 grant from the Texas Historic Commission to launch the Horse Country Tour project.

The first question, Phillips said, was a basic one: “How can we tell people about the horse industry in an experiential way?”

The communities pooled knowledge, efforts and resources to create the Horse Country Tour brochure and plans for future guided tours.

The brochure, available at chambers of commerce in the three sponsoring cities and at area horse ranches, offers a glimpse at what Denton, Fort Worth and Pilot Point offer in terms of attractions and gives a short history. Tourists can drop by some locations, but are asked to call ahead for tours of any horse ranches. The self-guided driving tour serves as the first phase of the project that will ultimately have three phases, Phillips said.

Annual tours of area horse ranches are currently offered each fall through the Texas Extension Office, as a way to help acquaint residents and others with what Denton County has to offer, Baggs said.

“It probably isn’t a well-known fact that Denton County has a tremendous horse population outside the horse industry circle,” he said.

The all-day tours, usually planned on Saturdays, cost $15 per person and include lunch and refreshments. Last year, a bus of 45 to 50 people visited the ranches, about half of the number who signed up for the tour in 2004.

As the agriculture agent, Baggs hears from people, especially businesses, interested in finding out more details about the region’s horse ranches.

“We’re starting to get some recognition from out of state,” he said, adding that he often hears from other horse-related industries wanting to locate in the area.

Future possibilities

City Council member Bob Montgomery says he feels strongly about the need for a combination meeting center and facility in Denton — one that can be used by businesses needing space for a convention or an organization needing to set up for a horse show.

The planned horse tours could prove to be the bait, he said.

“If we can prove it really is a draw, it will reinforce the need for an arena,” Montgomery added.

The city already has been considered as a possible location for an equestrian center.

In May 2000, an equestrian center project was presented to the Denton City Council by a group of equestrian businessmen who requested the establishment of a county development district in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction on FM428 just north of Loop 288, according to a report from the economic development division of the city of Denton.

The development was planned to include a 10,000-seat indoor arena, 1,000 horse stalls, an outdoor arena, a golf course, a multi-story hotel and residential homes. While local officials were supportive of the development, the development district concept was challenged and residential development was not allowed under the designation, according to the report.

In 2002, city staff learned of a task force searching for a 600-acre site for an international equestrian event for 2005. The project included a 30,000-square-foot indoor facility, stalls, support buildings and more on a 20-acre lot that could later be used for other events, according to the report.

Denton was one of two locations under consideration because of its soil composition, among other issues. The final contest between Denton and a location in Georgia left the latter the winner.

The city study showed several equestrian facilities in the region, including the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth and the Resistol Arena in Mesquite, are being used heavily and, some have said, are near capacity.

The study also suggested that if an equestrian center is desired, a site should be selected and possibly promoted to equestrian organizations.

What is clear to a number of officials is that the interest and the need are there.

“We’ve got every opportunity in the world and we desperately need a facility,” Montgomery said.

DAWN COBB can be reached at 940-566-6879. Her e-mail address is dcobb@dentonrc.com