LISTENING SESSIONS

July 13, 2005

What are untapped economic opportunities related to the equine industry?

Using horses as a vehicle for teaching/learning and personal development - equine-guided learning and leadership development

Non-thoroughbred sectors of the industry - we need to focus more on developing their economic potential by building on our knowledge and experience with thoroughbreds

For example, quarter horses in Kentucky - we should be recognized for producing outstanding Quarter Horses - the breeders incentive program would help but only if they apply nationally or internationally

TX is now the biggest exporter of quarter horses to Europe - we will never be able to displace them but we can be the second biggest breeder and exporter of quarter horses - and we need to aspire to be

Kentucky must become the horse center of the world - the leading place where all the innovations in horse-based tourism and recreation, equine businesses and services and research occur

Horse-based tourism and recreation - we ought to be the place to come and experience the thrill and excitement of horses - hunting, riding, dude ranches

Everyone recognizes that the Kentucky-bred thoroughbred is the superior TB - we need to market the Kentucky-bred as the superior horse of all breeds

Kentucky sells thoroughbreds to 30 of the 50 countries with racing and wagering - this places a different value on the thoroughbred than you find for other breeds - with thoroughbreds there is a great opportunity for earning a return on your investment - there is a need for persons with knowledge and expertise in international marketing

There is a heavy reliance on foreign workers in the horse industry - not just in the thoroughbreds - there are enormous opportunities for those with a high school and college education to find good jobs in the industry with opportunities for advancement

There is a need for research that helps us to explain how and why a KY thoroughbred is a superior equine athlete - we need to know what is require to produce a superior equine athlete of any breed - and then use this knowledge to expand the breeding and marketing of Kentucky-bred horses

What are some of the challenges facing equine businesses?

Horses are the only agricultural commodity that does not receive subsidies - Thoroughbreds are a true example of free market economics - the successful and unsuccessful farms are great business case studies. This leads us to ask -

Are there business models for successful horse enterprises?

Are there models for efficient and sustainable horse farm management?

There is a lack of professional development programs directed at those entrepreneurs who made their money elsewhere and have acquired horse farms - they want intensive educational programs on particular topics that enable them to add value to their horse enterprises and this type of continuing education opportunity is not available - but UK could do these

There is a lack of adequate show or performance horse facilities in Kentucky that are available at an affordable cost - Kentucky used to have the second largest quarter horse show in the nation - today we have the 52 nd largest quarter horse show

You can't book a date at the KY Horse Park because all the show dates are already taken

You can hardly find an open date at the Louisville Fairgrounds and if you can, you can't afford the facility and have a reasonably priced show

The reality is that we are losing thoroughbred horse farms - - we need to bring more breeds into KY to buy and operate these farms because the land is good for 2 things - raising horses or raising houses.

There are 40,000 thoroughbred foals born in the US today but we only need about 20,000 for racing purposes and this disparity will continue to grow - the thoroughbred racing handle is down 5% and race track revenues are down 8% - we have homes for 18,000 foals but will need only about 10,000 in the future if the racing opportunities continue to decline

Everyone in central Kentucky needs to understand that if the thoroughbred economy declines it will affect the entire economy of central Kentucky

And it would be a tragedy to have all these farms raising houses because we are blessed with the richest soils in the world - We need to focus on those lands with Maury-McAfee soils because these are the best suited to raising horses of any breed.

Farms with Maury-McAfee soils will bring real estate premiums of 50-100% over the value of farms without Maury-McAfee soils

Let's be honest, there simply has been very poor marketing by UK of its equine-related resources - hardly anyone knows what knowledge and training opportunities are available through UK

The lack of a vet school at UK is a stumbling block in building relationships with the equine industry because if you go to places like Texas and Maryland - their vet schools are the focus of multidisciplinary teams that work together with the horse industry in these states to address key issues

Need more public horse access - trail riding areas throughout KY in state and local parks - bridal paths and parks

What might UK do to help capture the untapped economic opportunities or address the challenges?

There is a desperate need for equine and horsemanship training and educational programs in order to meet the demand for a skilled and professional workforce

It is ironical that central KY is a magnet for attracting horse expertise but we do a poor job of creating native expertise and when we do, we typically export it to places that value it - this includes students and faculty - over the years we have lost great equine-oriented faculty

While the very large horse farms, especially the thoroughbred farms, can afford to buy the professional expertise they need to maximize the potential of their operations, there is a need for other sources - like the University - of horse expertise that can be made available to smaller farm operators if we are to succeed in growing the non-TB sector of the equine industry in Kentucky

UK should work with those in the horse industry to identify topics and issues for continuing education (with or without certification)

UK should establish a multidisciplinary set of programs to support the equine industry - the model that has been successful in other places is a team approach to working with the horse industry

UK needs to better market the educational and informational resources related to the horse industry available through UK and then provide a clearly defined and easy to use route to access these resources

There is a real need for research on forages - pasture improvement - pasture management linked to the needs of the developing equine athlete

UK should consider having a horse industry liaison or ambassador who can connect UK to those seeking information, education, and development partnerships

Have a vet school that can serve as the nexus of connection to the horse industry and promote interdisciplinary teams

We need to broaden the preparation for more diverse professional careers in the industry with a focus on multidisciplinary training (e.g. B.S. in Equine Science and an MBA = farm manager)

We need undergraduate and graduate programs that connect business knowledge to knowledge of the horse industry

There is a real need for a horse farm management degree program that links agricultural economics and animal sciences to produce graduates with knowledge of farm gate economics and horses to prepare them for positions as horse farm managers

University of Arizona and University of Louisville have equine business management programs but these tend to focus on the racing side of the business

UK needs to develop equine business management programs that focus on the breeding end of the industry because that is what we excel in

UK should tap into the learning and teaching value of horse farm businesses as case studies for management programs

This is true, but we also need to be sure that we include the development of 'horsemanship" skills as they do in Europe - the Irish Stud's educational and training programs should be the model for UK's new degrees where hands-on learning and internships are critical to any successful educational programs related to the horse industry

UK 's undergraduate and graduate programs need to turn out graduates with the knowledge and skills to compete for careers in the world-wide horse industry. This suggests that the programs must include mandatory internships as well as mandatory language training (Spanish is essential if you are working on KY horse farms, German, Japanese and if racing with wagering is approved in China - Chinese)

UK needs to become the one-stop shop for information, education, continuing education, and research on the business of horses. UK needs to provide easy to find access to all the knowledge and opportunities and programs at the University

UK has the opportunity to be the center of excellence in equine studies and research if it takes advantage of the partnerships it can develop with KY's horse industry

UK needs to become more connected to the Lexington economy - this is not like many other communities where there is a close town and gown relationship that leads to the cross fertilization of ideas. The University is very insular