The VHC Voice www.horsecenter.org Spring/Summer 2015

Management: the next chapter The past year at the Virginia Horse Center marked the turning of a page and the beginning of an exciting new chapter…

The Virginia Horse Center added 15 new events for 2015 – a strong testament to the positive direction in which the Horse Center is heading.

VHC attracts top-tier events

Capital Improvements

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4-5 4-5 The increased allocation of the local occupancy tax to the Horse Center has allowed for the start of deferred maintenance. 8

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Dear friends of the Virginia Horse Center,

It seems like just yesterday, yet it has been nearly 30 years since I was a member of a dedicated and passionate group who shoveled the first dirt at the Virginia Horse Center groundbreaking ceremony. Since then, the Horse Center changed from a public/private partnership with the Commonwealth of Virginia to a private, charitable 501(c)3 foundation. As a non-profit, the future of the Horse Center, paved by nearly 30 years of hard work and effort, lies in our hands and the hands of the many friends of the VHC.

As some of you know, it was clearly identified about a year ago that if the direction at the Horse Center did not shift, the doors would close. I was asked to lead the charge to make a change, and my best contribution has been the ‘drafting’ of a team of unbelievable people to help steer the ship in the correct direction.

John Nicholson, the 17 year former Executive Director of the Kentucky Horse Park, has accepted that same role at the Virginia Horse Center and is now at the helm. I am also delighted to announce that Leigh Anne Claywell has taken the reins as the VHC’s Chief Operating Officer. She brings vast industry experience to our table, and she will be the main conduit to what is most important: our customers.

Mention must also be made of the dedicated hard work and expertise given to us by our Interim Executive Director and current management consultant, Glenn Petty. Petty can certainly be credited with coordinating the efforts of all of our talent, professional and volunteer.

The additional members of the management team are highlighted herein, and the Board is extremely proud of range of expertise that has been recruited.

The Board has been increased and energized, as have the loyal employees. In the end, the real winners are those of us who use the facilities, the Rockbridge County/Lexington area and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

My wife, Betty, and I continue to support this effort through thick and thin. However, it is understandable the reason some of the support has declined in recent years under the threat of impending doom. Today, after a year of hard work by extremely dedicated people, the Virginia Horse Center is now “dressed up and ready to rock!” Nearly every weekend, we see well-oiled machines in the world of horse showing, so we know our competition. Everyday we are tying up untied ends, bringing us closer and closer to being an industry-leading venue.

Great help has come from a Blue Ribbon Task Force of exhibitors and friends who have met several times to discuss needs and how those needs can be financed.

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We, as users, often overlook the tough question of, “where will the funding come from?” We all understand how challenging it has been to raise funding for this project with “door closure” pending. This is no longer the case, and we have already opened the door on an amazing development campaign.

This newsletter serves as our kick-off communication and highlights the efforts and successes of last year and outlines where we are headed. The bar has been set high.

We intend to transform the Virginia Horse Center into a first-class venue capable of hosting world-class events. Our CEO, John Nicholson, has been there, done that, and we are poised for a brighter future ahead. Please join us to enjoy the ride.

Sincerely,

Ernest M. Oare

President/Chairman Virginia Horse Center Foundation

“We intend to transform the Virginia Horse Center into a first-class venue capable of hosting world-class events.

Please join us to enjoy the ride.”

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The past year at the Virginia Horse Center marked the turning of a page and the beginning of an exciting new chapter. It’s a chapter written by a talented group

of determined and experienced people ready to lead the Virginia Horse Center into a bright future.

Over the past few months, new positions were created, and filled, to complement and support the full team of chief executives leading the charge.

At the forefront of the team is one man who knows firsthand what it takes to run a state-of-the-art equestrian facility perhaps better than anyone in the country. For 17 years, John Nicholson served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Kentucky Horse Park. Now,

Nicholson brings his world-class experience from Lexington, Kentucky to Lexington, Virginia with the goal of creating a success story similar to the one that he helped write in Kentucky.

Joining Nicholson as chief executives are two powerhouse women, Leigh Anne Claywell and Sandra Thomas. Claywell fill’s a void in the management line-up that had been recognized for some time, becoming the Horse Center’s new Chief Operating Officer (COO). Thomas began working as the Virginia Horse Center’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in the summer of 2014, and she continues to modernize and streamline the Horse Center’s accounting and financial protocols.

Also joining the Virginia Horse Center staff are Christina Fargiano and Kristina Day, as Executive Assistant and Food Services Manager, respectively. Fargiano assumes her position in the footprints of long-time Executive Assistant, Edie MacCorkle. MacCorkle, a key component of the Horse Center staff for more than 20 years retired this spring, and while her shoes are difficult to fill, Fargiano seems to be the perfect fit.

Day brings to the Virginia Horse Center extensive food and beverage experience. She was the manager of successful Richmond restaurants such as Belliceaux and Havana ’59. Day fronts the team that is radically changing the caliber and variety of food and beverage services that the Virginia Horse Center is able to provide.

Learn more about each of the Horse Center’s chief executives on page 5.

Virginia Horse Center management team writes a brighter future

Virginia Horse

Center Management

pictured:

Sandra Thomas Chief Financial

Officer

Leigh Anne Claywell

Chief Operations Officer

John Nicholson

Chief Executive Officer

Glenn Petty

Consultant

Ernie Oare

Foundation President

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John Nicholson – Chief Executive Officer

During his highly successful 17-year tenure as the Executive Director of the Kentucky Horse Park, Nicholson helped lead the Horse Park to prominence on the global equestrian stage.

Under Nicholson’s leadership the Horse Park transformed into one of the finest equestrian competition facilities in the world,

and procured and hosted the first World Equestrian Games held outside of Europe.

Leigh Anne Claywell – Chief Operations Officer

Early in her career, Claywell served as the Vaulting and Eventing Director for the American Horse Shows

Association, now the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF). From 2006 to 2014, Claywell acted as the Director of

Competition Licensing, Evaluation and Safety within the USEF. Most recently, Claywell served as a competition and event planner for HITS, Inc. Claywell is a graduate of the

University of Miami School of Law.

Sandra Thomas – Chief Financial Officer

Thomas’ impressive resume includes serving as the CFO of First Avenue Networks, co-founder and CFO of

MuseumCompany.com and Senior Vice President of Finance of an internet retailer. She has developed and implemented cash investment policies and programs for cash balances in

excess of $170 million. Thomas spent 14 years with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and holds a B.B.A. from the College

of William and Mary.

Ernie Oare – President and Chairman, VHC Foundation

Oare has been an active part of the horse industry for more than 40 years and an instrumental part of the Horse Center

since its inception. Oare is the founder of the EMO Agency, Inc. and the managing partner of EMO Stables LLC. He gives tirelessly of his time to the Horse Center

and can be credited with helping bring together the Horse Center’s ‘dream team’ of staff. Oare was also recently

recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Virginia Horse Council.

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VHC Annual Fund Supporters The success of the Virginia Horse Center would not be possible without the support of our generous donors. THANK YOU to all who have contributed in the past and to the 2014 – 2015 annual fund!

$20,000+ Elbert H., Evelyn J., and Karen H. Waldron Charitable Foundation JMM Charitable Lead Trust Mr. & Mrs. Ernest M. Oare Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth M. Wheeler, Jr. Ms. Gardy Bloemers and Mr. Nick Duke The Katharine B. Tierney Charitable Foundation The Wise Foundation $15,000 - $19,999 Ms. Mary M. Millhiser Virginia Horse Industry Board $10,000 - $14,999 Ms. Jacqueline B. Mars Virginia Dressage Association $5,000 - $9,999 At Last Fund Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Derrick, Jr. Ms. Anna McWane Ms. Brooks Cushman Ms. Jennifer L. Eccles Ms. Rebecca Galbraith Virginia Horse Shows Association $1,000 - $4,999 C. Jarvis Insurance Agency, Inc. Carrie S. Camp Foundation, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Harry H. Warner Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd L. Craighill Mr. and Mrs. Stephen J. McVeigh

Did you know? In 2014, the AQHA East Level 1 Championships had 2,726 entries. The 2015 horse show is estimated to involved between 700 to 1,000 horses and several thousand people, representing substantial new revenue for the Horse Center.

Presently on the Virginia Horse Center calendar are 15 new events for 2015 – a strong testament to the positive direction in which the Horse Center is heading. Included in these new events are the East Coast Cutting Association Horse Show, the Clinton Anderson Down Under Tour, the ILAHA Andalusian Nationals, plus the AQHA Nutrena East Level 1 (Novice) Championships and the Sallie B. Wheeler/US Hunter Breeding National Championships “The Sallie Wheeler has grown, and now we’re going to the next level where this championship is really coming into it’s own,” said Bill Rube, Chairman of the Sallie B. Wheeler/US Hunter Breeding National Championship Subcommittee. “We’re really glad to be partnering with the Virginia Horse Center because they’ll be able to accommodate all of our needs. It’s a first class operation, and they’re going above and beyond the call of duty to make us comfortable.”

Virginia Horse Center attracts high-profile events

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Virginia Horse Center Supporters Reflects gifts received between July 1, 2014 and March 1, 2015 (continued from page 6)

$1,000 - $4,999 continued Mrs. Karin M. Banks Mrs. Louise B. Tardy Ms. Deborah B. Finnerty Ms. Helen K. Groves Ms. Pamela French Ms. Peta Jean Wyllie Ms. Vicky Castegren New York Thoroughbred Spencer Home Center Tractor Supply Company $500 - $999 Cornerstone Bank Lee & Associates McDonough Toyota & Scion Micron Bio-Systems, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Thomas M. Brennan Mr. Earle Betts Ms. Diana Cummings Ms. Dorna B. Taintor Ms. Melinda A. Cohen Sirrah, LLC Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park $250 - $499 Alison Wichman, M.D. Dr. & Mrs. Daniel Temeles Dr. Gregory R. Schmidt Haugen Consulting, L.L.C. Mr. & Mrs. Jerald L. Geppert Mr. and Mrs. D. James Bailey, III Mr. and Mrs. James F. Brown Mr. and Mrs. W. Donald Clark Mr. Andrew C. Ellis Mr. Harold A. Via Jr. Mr. Jeff Shingleton and Mrs. Chris Lego Ms. Jane Garland Ms. Lynn Ellen Rice Natural Bridge Zoological Park

$250 - $499 continued Roanoke Valley Horsemen's Association The EMO Agency, Inc. VA Flaggers VMI Affiliated Organizations $0 - $249 Abe & Normas RX, Inc. Bank of Botetourt Blue Grass Farms Brownsburg Community Association Buena Vista Hardware Catawba Equestrian Center, LLC D. C. and J. M. Schmauss Darrell and Catherine F. Bush Dr. & Mrs. Douglas C. McPherson Dr. and Mrs. Albin B. Hammond, III Dr. and Mrs. Alfred C. Thompson Dr. and Mrs. Charles Durbin, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Duhring Mr. & Mrs. Clark Farrington Mr. & Mrs. Gerald J. Acuff, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Glenn D. Petty Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey S. Shawver Mr. & Mrs. Jerre L. Frankhauser Mr. & Mrs. Mickey Tyler Mr. Alan Hecht Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Armstrong Mr. and Mrs. Dwight C. Phelps Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Rash, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. James D. Mungovan Mr. and Mrs. James E. Covington, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. James H. Mathenia Mr. and Mrs. John C. Morris Mr. and Mrs. R. G. Porter, III Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Short Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Bryant Mr. and Mrs. Swen P. Thompson Mr. and Mrs. William C. Heizer Mr. and Ms. Terry Secker Mr. David W. Wheeler Mr. Del Dyer Mr. Gary M. Solamon

$0 - $249 continued Mr. Guy Eavers Mr. Jerald J. Schaefer Mr. Tony Miller Mr. Wayne A. Wriston Mrs. Barbara J. Lindley Mrs. Cynthia S. Holbrook Mrs. Marguerite C. Allen, Jr. Ms. Anita F. Ramos Ms. Ann Buckles Orteig Ms. Anne V. Wilson Ms. Elizabeth C. Donald Ms. Ella Eavers Ms. Hester H. Whitcher Ms. Joan W. Alberti Ms. Joy A. Crompton Ms. Joyce Hanson Ms. Kim C. Gall Ms. Lynne Spangenberg Ms. Maureen S. Deane Ms. Meredith McLaughlin Ms. Michelle King Ms. Pam Baker Ms. Pam Milliron Ms. Pamela L. Umberger Ms. Patsy S. Dubay Ms. Prudence Anderson Ms. Rebecca J. Mispel Ms. Sally D. Feltner s. Shirley L. Lovegrove Ms. Suzanne Blair Ms. Tenney Mudge Ms. Wendy K. Smith Shadow Fox Farm LTD. Snowbrook, Inc. Susan Tallon Ted and Elsa Burrowes The Honorable and Mrs. Robert S. Bloxom Virginia Frame Builders & Supply Find out how to add your name

to the list by calling (540) 464-2950 or by visiting

www.horsecenter.org/Support-VHCF.aspx

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In June 2014, the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors voted to allocate an additional one percent of the local occupancy tax to the Horse Center for a two-year period. In March, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in the Horse Center’s favor again, this time extending the term of the additional one percent occupancy tax from two years to five years.

Thanks to the efforts of the Horse Center management, this extension allows for the start of significant and vital improvements to the facility.

To date, many capital improvements have been completed, including:

• Renovation of the judges stands • Repair of the public address systems

• Enhanced lighting in the Anderson Coliseum and the East Complex Arena

• Redesign of the Winner’s Circle Restaurant

• Complete renovation of the Wiley Ring, including new, top-of-the-line footing Additional capital improvements will focus on repairing the water infrastructure,

repairing roadways, painting and renovating facilities, stall repair, and general maintenance.

A year in review:

Financial & Capital Improvements

Contact the Virginia Horse Center

Thanks to the generosity of Virginia Horse Center supporters, specific donations have been allocated to projects like the transformational

repainting of the Wiley Arena roof and the renovation of the Winner’s Circle Restaurant. The roof painting

came as a gift from an anonymous donor, and the restaurant

restoration was made possible by the

Virginia Dressage Association.

487 Maury River Road Lexington, VA 24450

(540) 464-2999 www.horsecenter.org