By Emma Mansfield
Rockbridge County and the city of Lexington have given more to the Virginia Horse Center than just money. They have also provided the center with the time to pay off its biggest debts.
“We’re in the best financial shape that the horse center has been in, maybe ever,” said Glenn Petty, chief executive officer of the Virginia Horse Center.
But this has not always been the case.
Since 2007, the Virginia Horse Center has struggled to meet annual payments for an $11.5 million loan. The loan requires the center to pay the U.S. Department of Agriculture over $600,000 annually until 2047.
To ease the burden, the center receives money from Lexington and Rockbridge County through a 2% lodging tax. But even with the incoming tax revenue, the VHC still came up short on its debt payments each year.
The VHC came up with a performance agreement involving the city and county as a solution in 2014. The agreement led each government to add a 1% lodging tax on all tourism activity. The extra fees generated by the tax covered the remaining debt on each annual payment.
“The Board of Supervisors and City Council said, at the time, ‘We get it. We understand what this place would look like, what commerce would look like, if the Virginia Horse Center was not here.’ And that’s not a great thing to think about,” said Rockbridge County Administrator Spencer Suter.
Last year, the county contributed about $900,000 in revenue from both taxes to the horse center, and Lexington kicked in $235,000, Sandra Thomas, the horse center’s chief financial officer, said.
The Virginia Horse Center generates millions of dollars every year in tourism benefits for both Lexington and Rockbridge County by drawing people to the area’s hotels, motels, and restaurants. Its horse shows and third–party events bring people from all over the country. In 2019, the center hosted 79 events, which attracted over 81,000 visitors, according to a 2020 economic impact study by Chmura Economics & Analytics, a consultant firm from Richmond.
But over the last few years, the VHC had to play catch up on deferred maintenance and other long-term capital needs. Specifically, the center had neglected major problems with drainage and storm water management.
“It was all design issues,” Thomas said. “This was stuff they should have thought about when they actually built the facility.”
In 2018, the VHC took out a $1.5 million loan from CornerStone Bank to address its many deferred maintenance issues. The center used most of the money to install underground drains and culverts as well as fix damaged horse rings and roads.
The upgrades and upkeep have gotten noticed
“The horse center was in excellent shape,” said Nancy Troutman, owner of and trainer at the Bent Tree Farm. Troutman runs the horse facility in Shawsville, Va. The farm competes in carriage driving and shows ponies across the country.
In early January, the Bent Tree Farm hosted its “Winter Saddlebred Tournament” at the center. The farm put on 32 classes for anyone who had signed up to take riding lessons.
“It was great. Everything was in order,” Troutman said.
The VHC has been relying on surplus funds from the 1% lodging tax and donations to cover the CornerStone loan. But in 2026, the annual payment to CornerStone will balloon into nearly $609,000.
Once again, the county has agreed to help.
In a unanimous vote on Jan. 23, the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors granted the VHC its third five-year extension on the original performance agreement. The county will now provide the center with money from the additional 1% lodging tax every year until 2029.
Suter said county administrators decided to continue to support the horse center because of the progress it has made in recent years in tackling its debts.
“You don’t throw money onto a sinking ship,” he said.
Some members of the Lexington City Council are more reluctant
“Being a smaller community, some of our council members are justifiably concerned about costs we have coming up,” said Lexington City Manager Jim Halasz.
Some council members say the money from the additional 1% should be redirected to address city needs. Unlike the county, Lexington has a cap on the revenue generated by the tax and can’t kick in more than $61,000.
“I’m reluctant to do it,” said Council Member Charles Aligood. “The city is facing some extraordinary expenses in the next ten years or so.”
Lexington wants to modernize its water treatment and wastewater treatment plans. The project would cost the city millions of dollars, Aligood said.
“The city is trying to get in line to project how to pay for those things. You can’t just raise water rates and sewer rates at that level,” he said.
Thomas, the center’s CFO, says she’s not worried even though Lexington hasn’t yet approved an extension.
“It’s not a point of concern,” she said.
The center has been able to cover the USDA payments with the 2% tax revenue alone for three out of the last seven years, Thomas said.
Lexington City Council will consider whether to extend the agreement with the horse center at its Feb. 16 meeting.