THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 20, 1996 TAG: 9601200269
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DIANE TENNANT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
With an eye toward persuading the General Assembly that the horse industry is big business in Virginia, an equine group has released a study that says spending on horses contributes $1 billion annually to the state's economy.
The study's findings were presented to legislators Friday by the nonprofit Virginia Equine Educational Foundation, which commissioned the study.
The study says that in addition to Northern Virginia, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Suffolk are major players in the horse industry, and that statewide the industry contributes more than $1 billion in sales annually to Virginia businesses and individuals.
The study says there are 225,400 horses of all kinds in the Commonwealth. Locally, most horses and ponies are used for pleasure riding and breeding, while thoroughbred racehorses are big business in Northern Virginia. Statewide, thoroughbreds narrowly edged out quarter horses as the most populous breed, 17.7 percent to 17.2 percent. Following were Arabians at 11.7 percent and ponies at 10.2 percent.
``The survey has been talked about for 25 years or more and nobody has done it,'' said Patricia St. Clair, president of the foundation. ``We knew full well we were a big industry, but we couldn't prove it. We feel like we now have documentation of the size and scope of our industry.''
The study, which took a year to prepare, says Virginians spend $2,800 per horse each year. The industry generates jobs for almost 25,000 people in the state, representing almost $350 million in wages, the study says.
According to the study, Suffolk has more than 5,000 horses, putting it in the same category as the Northern Virginia counties of Loudoun, Clarke, Fairfax, Fauquier and Prince William. Virginia Beach and Chesapeake fall into the second largest category, with between 2,500 and 5,000 horses per city.
In Virginia Beach, more than 1,000 people are employed in horse-related occupations. In Suffolk and Chesapeake, between 300 and 1,000 per city are employed in horse-related occupations, the study says.
Other Hampton Roads cities, outlying counties and the Eastern Shore fell into the lowest categories, with fewer than 300 employees and fewer than 2,500 horses per locality.
The foundation's figures on the number of horses are much higher than that shown by farm census statistics gathered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture. That is because the farm census does not count horses at riding stables and boarding stables, said Jim Lawson of the state's Agriculture Statistics Service.
The most recent farm census figures, from 1992, show 43,977 horses in Virginia. The census shows Suffolk with 303 horses, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake with 244, he said. ``The numbers are actually higher than this,'' Lawson said. ``We really didn't have any true idea of what the economic impact of the industry was in Virginia.''
The foundation plans to use the study to lobby the General Assembly on behalf of legislation affecting the horse industry.
The study, which cost $100,000, was funded by donations from various groups, including $2,500 from Colonial Downs, which hopes to open the state's first track, in New Kent County; $5,000 from The Maryland Jockey Club, a partner in the venture; and $20,000 from the Virginia Thoroughbred Association. The foundation is an arm of the thoroughbred association. Southern States, a farmer-owned agricultural cooperative, gave $7,500.
``All of these figures are very important to the legislators. It rings bells with them when it makes dollar signs,'' St. Clair said. ``We're at a 7 percent growth rate, which is better than the growth of the economy in most industries in Virginia. In five years we'll do a repeat study, after racing has come to Virginia, and we'll document more growth.''
St. Clair said the foundation also plans to use the study to lobby for its next project: state funding to place retired racehorses in juvenile-correction facilities and college riding programs.
The horse-industry profile was prepared by The Wessex Group of Williamsburg. The margin of error is between 7 percent and 8 percent, an acceptable range, St. Clair said.
``Even though the methodology used in this survey may dictate that there was an 8 percent margin of error, (the estimates are) probably on the low side because of the low response rate we got,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Map
Area with greatest concentration of horses
[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm.]
SOURCES: The Weasex Group
The Virginian-Pilot
KEYWORDS: HORSE INDUSTRY by CNB