Moving Forward Archive

When riders dash through St. Landry Parish in a wild courir de Mardi Gras, or take a more sedate trail ride through the parish’s lush countryside, they are observing years-old customs, but are also part of a new wrinkle in Louisiana tourism.

So also are the trainers, jockeys, and fans who enjoy an evening of racing at Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, and hundreds of others associated in some way with the equine industry in St. Landry. That’s because a new initiative by state tourism officials to promote horse tourism in Louisiana is tailor-made for the parish.

“The horse industry is one of the top ten agriculture businesses in the state.” Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser said, in announcing the promotion. “Many top performing athletes and horses were born and bred in Louisiana. We are a top producing horse economy, and one of the top three horse producing states.”

According to Nungesser, there are more than 200,000 horses in Louisiana, owned by nearly 50,000 people who spend $828 million on their animals each year.  More than 40,000 of those horses can be found in St. Landry Parish, according to LSU AgCenter data.

That means that St. Landry Parish plays a major role in Louisiana’s horse economy, with a direct economic impact of nearly $16 million in the parish and with a substantial indirect impact in jobs and dollars generated here.

“The equine industry continues to be of great importance to our local economy, not only through racing and horse sales, but through the services it supports, like veterinary, feed and equipment stores, and stable space,” according to St. Landry tourism director Celeste Gomez. “We even have a more non-traditional service offered in St. Landry Parish that requires the use of horses, Equine assisted learning and leadership with our friends at Dashing W Farm.”            Dashing W, operated by Joseph and Susan Urban, both of whom hold 

doctoral degrees, tailors programs to develop performance and leadership skills for businesses and other organizations. The Urbans and their staff partner with horses to create “a fun yet powerful approach to the development of leadership, team-building, communication, and personal development skills.”

That’s just one of a number of new roles for horses, A recent study by the AgCenter found that horses that once pulled plows and wagons have become more important as recreational animals. That’s the key to incorporating horses into our tourism promotion.

The AgCenter study found that “the horse population has grown in urban centers for people whose interests include trail riding, showing, and horse racing.”

The new state effort will focus on “attracting large-scale events while recognizing local horse owners for their work,” Nungesser said. He said that the first focus will be on producing competitions that will bring visitors, providing guided trail rides in state parks, and working with therapeutic riding centers.

St. Landry Parish officials have been discussing the feasibility of an expo center in Opelousas that would be centered on the equine industry and that, according to one study, could have the potential to draw 100,000 visitors per year to the parish.

The Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism has also created a database, www.louisianahorsetourism.com, to give providers of equine services “free advertising and an opportunity to get more exposure.”

Nungesser said it is simple to sign up and that “being part of the database will benefit your business by having exposure to markets across the country that your business wouldn’t normally have.”