Local governments may finally be catching on to the economic impact horse events have on their communities. In Ohio, Business First of Columbus reports that Franklin County is launching a feasibility study aimed at building an indoor facility for the Quarter Horse Congress. Each October, the Congress draws more than 650,000 people and pumps more than $100 million into the area’s economy.

Meanwhile, a $3.5 million equestrian center featuring indoor and outdoor rings for major horse shows will begin operating by midyear in far eastern Jefferson County, Kentucky, near Louisville.

The project will have a tie-in with the Floyds Fork Greenway, a 105-mile, park-like loop around the perimeter of the county.

In New Mexico, the state senate passed a piece of legislation that plugged a budget shortfall by killing all but one brick and mortar project: Governor Bill Richardson’s pet project, an equestrian facility. Originally proposed at $20 million, lawmakers slashed the budget in half. Richardson says the facility will bring horse shows and other events that will pump money into the state. Two years ago, the National Arabian Horse Show left its long-time Albuquerque home because of outdated facilities at the New Mexico State Fairgrounds.