History of the Park
1996
March 14 Florida Agriculture Center & Horse Park Authority was created by state statute
1998
January 22 A 50 year lease commences b
etween the Florida Agriculture Center & Horse Park Authority and the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.
2005
May 1 Florida Agriculture Center & Horse Park Authority Board is vacated by state statute. Tom Warriner is then appointed by Commissioner Charles Bronson as the new Chairman of the Board.
June 1 International Event Organizer Shelley Lambert is hired as the first employee of the Park
August 5 First Full Board Meeting of the newly formed Florida Horse Park
August 8 Olympian David O’Connor is hired to design first cross country courses at the Park
October 4 Florida Horse Park Groundbreaking Ceremony
November 5-6 The first event, Ocala Fall Horse Trials and Sunshine State Driving Competition, is held at the Park
November 14 Construction of the All-Weather Arena Commences
2006
January 16 First Dressage Event is held at the Park in the newly constructed All-Weather Arena
April 8 Children’s Home Society’s Dozer Days makes its debut at the Park
April 8 First Arena Polo Game is held at the Park
April 7-9 The first Show Jumping show, the Ocala Jumping Classic, is held at the Florida Horse Park
April 7-9 The first international event is held at the Park: The Sunshine State CAI International Combined Driving Event
April 20-23 The first international 3-Day Event is held at the Park: The Festival of the Horse International CCI**/* 3-Day Event
August Florida Horse Park Polo Club Forms
December Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company and OBS Feed make a generous donation to the Park and are granted naming rights to the All-Weather Arena
2007
January-March Florida Horse Park hosts for the first time the CFCC Equine Studies Class in Event Management
February 17-19 Florida Horse Park hosts largest Horse Trials ever in the Southeast Region (509 entries)
March The Equestrian Center at Horse Creek Entry Level Cross Country Course, donated by Mrs. Parker J. Collier is completed
August 10 Florida Horse Park office gets its first flushing toilet. The office staff are no longer required to use port-a-potties.
August 21 Representatives from the Florida Horse Park meet with Governor Crist to discuss the Park
September Park is awarded a CCI**/* International Event to be held in conjunction with the Ocala Fall Horse Trials i
2008
January Whitfield M. Palmer, Jr. is elected as interim Chairman of the Park. Craig G. Bachrodt takes over as Chair for the second half of the year.
August Park applies for specialty license plate through the Department of Motor Vehicles. Sen. Carey Baker and Rep. Kurt Kelley agree to sponsor the legislation during the 2009 Legislative Session.
October State of Florida Office of Tourism, Trade & Economic Development awards Park a grant of up to $1 million dollars to fund basic infrastructure.
November IDEO, a global design consultancy out of California, begins a project to hone the strategic vision for the Park and to envision the horse park of the future.
2009
January Connie Duff Wise, State Farm Agent in The Villages, Florida, is elected as Chairman of Florida Agriculture Center & Horse Park Authority.
January Todd Gralla Equestrian Architects are hired to create the Park's site plan.