MOUNT VERNON — The legacy of the cowboy can be remembered with famous movies of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and Jimmy Stewart, as well as many others who brought the life of the horse and rider to the forefront of societal thought. So when you think of the wild open fields, and gentle sloping hills especially in Knox County, the horse and its rider comes to mind. The Knox County Horse Park brings the rustic and wild adventure to passionate horse riders, patrons and friends.
“I would say about 14 to 15 years ago [the club] got started,” said Claude Robertson, vice president of the Knox County Horse Park. The club has been a growing part of Knox County for a long time; the club found its origins from a local chapter of the Ohio Horse Council.
Robertson has been a member of the club for about seven years, but his passion for horses began as a child. Growing up on a farm he could remember his first experiences riding a horse. “I was riding before I could walk, my mother put me on the horse when I was 3-months-old. She had a horse that she could let anybody ride.” His mother, Rosa Robertson, is also a member and has been a part of the organization since its start.
The club has over 150 members, yet this community of passionate horse enthusiasts is more of a large family than club.
“We have meetings the first Saturday of every month that starts at 6:30 p.m. We have a covered dish and after that we have our meeting,” he said. “If you like to be a member you don’t have to have a horse, we just enjoy having people and if you don’t have a horse, we can put you to work doing something else.”
The KCHP provides a community for horse enthusiasts and not just a horse arena, but a sociable environment for all. The many trails, the potlucks, the obstacle course, the camp outs, and the beautiful scenic view of earth and sky are just a few advantages of being a member.
“Anybody in the club will help you, if you don’t ride that is fine. If you want to ride we have horses that are broke enough anybody can ride,” said Robertson. “As far as lessons, we do have members in the club that do give lessons. And if you just want to come, hang out and be around the horses that’s fine.”
“I think [the park] is absolutely wonderful,” said Jennifer Franz, treasurer for KCHP. “The scenery out here is just beautiful, so relaxing. It’s just a great place to come and hang out with a lot of great people.”
The park has a camping area as well that allows the members to experience the wild nature of the county animals like coyotes, hawks, deer and turkeys. “But it’s really quiet out here. We really enjoy it,” said Robertson.
Jake Wickline, president of KCHP, has been a part of the club for six years and has seen a lot of growth and change to the community. “We got pretty stagnant there for a while and that is when we wanted to get more activities going so we brought in the Cowboy Challenge. We tried different horse shows but there were so many around that there was no interest in them, and with the Cowboy Challenge that’s a new thing. It’s popular all over the United States.”
“We started this horse challenge a couple years ago and it’s been pretty successful and everybody likes it,” said Robertson.
This being the second year for the challenge has brought people from all over Ohio to participate. “We’ve had people from Cleveland, Akron and Bellefountaine, and all over Ohio come out to enjoy the challenge we have on a weekend,” he said.
The last challenge of the year will be held Saturday and, although the youth are allowed to participate, a youth Cowboy Challenge will be held the following day, said Wickline. “We encourage everyone to ride in it, if they can. [The Cowboy Challenge] has really been a great thing. We really have no complaints, and it’s something everybody loves to do.”
There is no age limit on membership, and the Cowboy Challenge is one of the attractions that interest people of all ages.
“[The Cowboy Challenge] is set up so that everyone could do. You get a horse show but everyone doesn’t like to do horse shows so this was setup just for that reason that we could all enjoy it,” said Robertson. “We had a 70-year-old guy that was right out here our last challenge, and it was his birthday that day.”
The Cowboy Challenge is a big event for all who participate and even spectators enjoy watching the riders dare through the course.
“It is a challenging course,” Robertson explained. The course includes obstacles, a tire jump, backing through bales of hay, a ribbon tie, opening and shutting gates on horseback and log jumps. “It’s the things that your horse does while you are on his back, and while you are on the farm or traveling through the woods.” The course is not just for fun, said Robertson, but is meant to challenge the rider with every day horseback riding skills.
“I love the Cowboy Challenge. It’s one of the best things that I think really has added to this park,” commented Franz.
The park found its mission with one simple notion, “You see horses everywhere you go, people need some place to ride,” said Robertson. Not all horse enthusiasts have large areas to roam free so the park provides a terrain for riders to enjoy the outdoors and for those who don’t have a horse can experience horsemanship.
Also as a part of its mission, the organization wishes to reach out to the youth through learning and many other equine activities.
“Our goal is to get the younger people interested and we have quite a few younger members but if the parents are interested then hopefully, the kids will be also,” said Robertson.
The organization holds several different events throughout the year, particularly the re-enactments, which were a huge success in celebration of the Knox County Bicentennial. The Buffalo Bill Re-enactment started in Sunbury working with other horse organizations. “It was a better success in Mount Vernon than in Sunbury. We had more people here. That was the most people I’ve seen here and that was wonderful.” KCHP is also involved with other events like the fun show, parades, horse shows and fellowshiping with other horse clubs throughout the area.
As the organization steadily grows it hopes to add improvements to the park.
“Hopefully next year, by this time, we will have a fence up through here. We had the poles and the cable donated to us so we just have to put it up,” said Robertson. “The other trail we have is the old railroad bed, we can ride from here clear to Centerburg.”
KCHP is hoping to put in electricity for the arena and other parts of the park, said Wickline.
“It is just for people to come and enjoy horseback riding,” said Wickline. “If they need a place to ride, this is the place to come. We’re all a big family.” d
For more information on the KCHP, visit www.knoxcountyhorsepark.com.
