Seminole County Horse Resource : History

History and Florida Horse Stastics Info:

The History of Horses in Seminole County goes way back. There were horses used when the English and Spanish settled here, and of course they were used for transportation until the early 1900's when the car was introduced. Then Seminole County became a place of sport. Horses were and still are used as a wonderful activity and local entertainment. We hope that we will always be blessed with these creatures as the land quickly diminishes.

The Winter Miles Equestrian Facility was a rich part of Oviedo for many years. More than 200 horses were stabled from October through May in preparation for the big racing up North. There were three tracks, two 50 horse barns and one 10 stall trailhead barn, RV hookups, a small restaurant, and many other buildings.

There are various organizations throughout Seminole County. There is The Horsekeeters Pony Club, The GOHJA(Hunter Jumper), UCF Equestrians, Reining, Cutting, Western Pleasure, Polo, Dressage, and so much more.

We hope to keep the history alive and continue riding in Seminole County.

One year the fires were so bad, evacuation to Winter Miles was an huge relief to the local horse community.

2006 American Horse Council survey.

There are around 500,000 horses in the state of Florida –135,000 participate in racing, 160,000 in showing, 160,000 as recreational horses with the balance being miscellaneous activities. Combined they have over 5.5 billion dollars in economic impact. Race horses bring in over $2.2 billion worth of revenue into the economy of the state and employ about 51,700 people. Show horses bring in 1.4 billion in revenue and employ 27,300 people. Recreational horses bring in about 1 billion and create 17,300 jobs while the misc group still manages to bring in 490 million and employ 8,400 people. The diversity of the horse population in the state is astonishing including race horses (thoroughbred, quarterhorse, Arabians, trotters, pacers), 3 day eventers, hunter/jumpers, reining, polo, driving, Western, English, Dressage, Games, Endurance, Trails and the breeds are virtually unlimited.

There are over 105,600 horse owners, 7,100 service providers, 49,300 employees and 285,100 volunteers in Florida participating and supporting the horse industry.