Equine | The Ocalan

The equine industry fuels Marion County's growth,

but there is much more to it than WEC

Story by Brad Rogers and Laurie Zink

From remote parts of America and lands separated by vast oceans, they come to Ocala. Not lured by some boastful slogan on a chamber of commerce brochure, but by something far more tangible are they enticed to uproot themselves from comfortable confines among kith and kin to settle in this quiet enclave that promises fortune and favor.

These are the boom times for Ocala and Marion County, and what Carl Rose discovered over 80 years ago still holds true, but may be a mere afterthought as the area’s drawing card. The siren song that lures families and industries is no longer simply nutrient-rich soil, but an entire equine economy that is quickly becoming the envy of the world.

Welcome Lori and Peter Conway, Minnesota natives who sold their furniture business in 2022 for $127 million, hoping to roll that into their other business passion: breeding, showing and selling Arabian horses. In the crosshairs was The Horse Capital of the World, where waiting two years for just the right property to come to market was an easy act of patience.

“I got tired of the ice and snow,” said Lori, a nationally renowned judge and breeder.

“Yeah, we lived in damn near Alaska,” Peter chimed in.

The two-year search ended with the purchase of the old Town & Country Farm on Highway 320, west of McIntosh. It was a perfect fit.

“We spent two years looking, poking around,” Peter said. “It was a major decision.”

The Conways fell in love with the 200-acre spread with its rolling hills, massive oaks and green, sweeping pastures. And then there was the house. The previous owners had spent two years renovating it and accentuating its mid-century modern motif. It was ideal for the Conways, who made their fortune selling high-end, contemporary office furniture.

The house was such a perfect fit, Lori said, it had the same couch they had had in their Minnesota house, not to mention dishware identical to what they had had up north.

“It was freaky,” Lori said. “It was meant to be.”

But it was more than the rolling pastures and the contemporary design of the house that lured the Conways from Chatfield, Minn., to Marion County.

“Being in horse country is huge,” Peter said. “It’s huge. That’s really what drove it. It was so comfortable for us. It’s horse country. There’s nothing like it. Being in horse country is everything.”

A growing industry

It’s a common sentiment among the equine community, old and new. And while most people are aware Ocala/Marion County is one of the fastest growing communities in the nation, it is more than retirees and workaday transplants driving that growth. The equine sector of Ocala/Marion County – from farm sales to horse-tailored services to the World Equestrian Center – is growing just as fast as the rest of the community.

Consider: In 2005, a Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association (FTBOA) study on the impact of the equine industry on Ocala/Marion County found that the industry produced $1.3 billion in annual economic impact.

A decade later, when being the Horse Capital of the World had become both a point of pride and prosperity locally, the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership’s economic impact study of the equine industry here found a $2.6 billion a year in economic impact, double that of a decade earlier.

Now comes the American Horse Council Foundation with its 2023 Equine Economic Impact Study for Marion County/Ocala Metro. What its number-crunching revealed was that the equine industry has grown into an economic powerhouse, with $4.3 billion in annual economic impact — almost double,

Again, the amount tallied a decade earlier. It also found that some 22 percent of the county’s gross domestic product is tied to the horse industry.

The size and breadth of the horse industry and the businesses and services that serve it are not lost on Stan and Preston Keeter, owners and operators of Midcrest Farms, located along a tree-canopied road in Orange Lake. The Keeters, who co-own Midcrest Farms with other members of their immediate family, moved here from Enumclaw, Washington, where their farm sat “in the shadow of Mount Rainier.”

The Keeters also are Arabian breeders and trainers. Or as Preston said with a smile, “We’re entertainers.”

And entertain they have. Midcrest Farms has produced 54 Arabian national champions and won three of the Arabian Horse Association’s Triple Crowns (U.S nationals, Canadian nationals and the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show).

While both the Conways and the Keeters migrated to Ocala, in part, because of the beautiful weather, the most significant reason was, well, it’s the Horse Capital of the World.

And as Stan Keeter put it, it’s not just the thoroughbreds, or the Arabians that they breed, sell and show. Ocala is the Horse Capital of the World because it has more than 70 breeds among its equine population, 75,000 strong, according to an American Horse Council study, with less than half of those being thoroughbreds.

“It’s kind of an inspiration to see people across breeds working hard and doing great things,” Stan Keeter said.

“You come here, and you’re re-enthused about the horse industry,” his son, Preston, added.

Stan said it is more than the sheer number of horses that make Ocala such a magnet for horse people, no matter how big or small their farms and operations.

“Ocala has more breeders, even small breeders, who focus on quality,” he said. “And the level of competition is so much higher than other places.

“The thing about Ocala is, no matter the breed, great is great.”

Equine Infrastructure

Both the Keeters and the Conways agree that the emergence of the World Equestrian Center has raised Ocala’s equine profile on the world stage, although both also say it was not a determining factor in their decisions to move here. Nonetheless, it has solidified Ocala’s standing as the Horse Capital of the World and has undoubtedly attracted more horse people to the area.

“It was obviously a game-changer for the show world,” said Peter Conway, who serves as a vice president of the Arabian Horse Association.

Local thoroughbred expert Tammy Gantt, who is associate vice president for member services and events for FTBOA, described WEC as “a major catalyst for increased equine activity (that) has attracted growing numbers of horse enthusiasts and owners from out of state and internationally.”

But whether it’s the Conways or the Keeters or competitors at WEC, what makes Ocala/Marion County such a lure to horse enthusiasts is its substantial equine infrastructure. That is, its wide variety of specialized equine businesses and services that are available to any level of horse person.

“The longer we’ve been here… all the other things that are available has made us appreciate it here,” Peter Conway said.

The Conways are avid promoters of the Arabian breed and winners of more than 80 national championships. They moved 82 horses from Minnesota to Marion County and now have a team of 16 employees to operate their breeding and training facilities. This year Conway Farms has about 150 horses and has produced 26 foals.

When asked to compare Ocala to their former community in Washington, Preston Keeter said there is no comparison.“Resource-wise, it’s not even close,” he said.

Valerie Dailey, who specializes in horse farm sales for Showcase Properties and is the immediate past president of the FTBOA board of directors, said the equine infrastructure – everything from farriers and tack shops to haulers and equine hospitals – makes Ocala/Marion County unique.

“Whatever you want, we pretty much have it here. That’s huge,” she said.

Gantt goes further, noting that Ocala has two grist mills that can make custom feed for horses in Seminole Feed and Ocala Breeders Feed and Supply, and they do it fresh daily.

Moreover, she noted that many of the equine services here are so specialized that they just simply are not found but in a handful of places worldwide: services like equine nutritionists, sports training, acupuncture, massage therapy, not to mention three equine hospitals, as well as the University of Florida veterinary school just up the road.

“When you say infrastructure, it truly is unique what we have here,” Gantt said.

Cashing in

Of course, all those services mean business – big business – and jobs for Ocala. According to the American Horse Council analysis, Ocala’s equine industry creates an estimated 28,500 jobs – about one-fifth of all jobs in the county – and has become the community’s signature industry, giving it worldwide acclaim.

In addition to making cash registers ring, the equine industry contributes mightily to the beauty and preservation of the landscape of Ocala/Marion County. Some 210,000 acres of Marion County, about one-fifth of its total land mass, is devoted to equine-related purposes.

And the equine industry continues to grow. Besides WEC, polo is a growing discipline in the area and Ocala Breeders Sales, which generated $180 million at its five world-class thoroughbred auctions last year, continues to attract more and more international buyers.

While thoroughbreds dominate in terms of numbers of horses, jobs created and numbers of visitors, other disciplines hold some pretty impressive events that bring tens of thousands of participants and spectators to Ocala throughout the year. Here are some of the bigger ones:

The five-week Federation Equestre International – 15,000 spectators.

The three-month hunter-jumper event series Horse Shows in the Sun, or HITS – 9,600 visitors.

The Live Oak International combined driving and jumping tournament – 10,000 visitors.

The North American Reining Stakes – 550 participants and 7,800 spectators.

The CONFEPASO Youth Equitation Mundial – 3,500 attendees.

The Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup at WEC – 10,000 attendees.

All in all, the American Horse Council study found that “non-horse owning participant and spectator travel, dining and lodging” equates to $2.7 billion in economic impact across Florida, with Ocala being responsible for about $965 million, or more than one-third, of that statewide total.

Some visitors, however, want to stay. The Conways and Keeters are two real-life examples, and they’re anything but alone.

According to the Multiple Listing Service that tracks real estate sales, more than one horse farm is sold and bought in Ocala/Marion County every day. In 2023, the last full year of sales records, 429 farms were sold in the county. That number is not much higher than the 400 that were sold in 2018 – before WEC – when 400 farms were sold, but what has changed are the prices.

In June 2018, for example, the average price of a farm sold in the county was $230,000. In June 2023, that average price had jumped to $680,000.

Real estate agent and FTBOA board member Dailey said realtors simply cannot meet the demand for farms, which is driving prices even higher.

Dailey said while thoroughbreds are what have made Ocala famous, it is the diversity of Ocala’s equine population and the large number of competition venues that draws buyers to the Horse Capital of the World.

“We can accommodate so many different disciplines because we have so many venues,” she said.

Those venues, besides WEC, include the Florida Horse Park, Majestic Oaks, the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion, HITS and the Jockey Club, to name the most prominent. Not only are there different venues, she added, but they offer different price points that allow competitors of all economic levels to perform.

Despite local real estate agents moving more than 400 farms a year, Dailey said the demand is far outpacing the supply.

“The issue is not everybody wants to put their place on the market,” she said. “We just don’t have the inventory.”

Nonetheless, Dailey said she sees no let-up in the horse crowd moving to Ocala or the demand for equine properties.

“As long as WEC continues to grow, we’ll continue to sell,” she said. “I mean, it’s the Disney World of horses.

“I don’t see the demand lessening for people who want to be here. There’s just so many people who love horses.”

Maybe Stan Keeter put it best: “The life and blood of Ocala is horses.”