The Colorado Horse Park is Closing?

I came home last night excited for this weekend, my daughter is graduating from college, and I am excited for her to begin the next chapter of her life. And with Christmas almost here, and some other news I will share later, I thought this weekend would be incredible! And it will, I have no doubt.

However when I was texting a horse friend and showing her some denim breeches that I found on sale at Dover’s, she texted me back something that shocked me.

I know it’s hard to read through our ‘grown up’ text language. But the gist of the message was the Colorado Horse Park is closing. I was seriously shocked.

So I went to the Colorado Horse Forum, where the information was cited, and I found this:

And while I was still in shock, I was really sad too. I look forward to every spring in anticipation of the horse shows. And even though I just go as a spectator right now, I have always had the goal of being able to show at the horse park.

I mean I have seen some really fantastic riders at the horse park. Like Richard Spooner,

Will Simpson, and so many others. Of course my favorite female rider can’t be forgotten,

Karen Cudmore and her incredible horse, Southern Pride.

But along with the riders I love to watch are the incredible moments I have been able to capture while snapping away.

Again, my favorite female rider Karen Cudmore congratulating another rider on a great round.

Or Karen giving Southern Pride a pat for a job well done.

Or my most favorite capture ever. When the winner of the Grand Prix class gave his first place ribbon to a young fan at the rail.

I’m in shock really. I mean the horse park is a staple for Douglas County, well in my opinion it is. With the spring and summer shows, it’s a pretty big deal, or well, I thought it was. I guess I thought wrong?

The Colorado Horse Park Closing – Fake News?

And while I was trying to find out as much as I could after this post was put up on The Colorado Horse Forum, and their Facebook page, I started doing some research myself to see if I could find out anything.

And after finding an article when the Horse Park was bought back in December 2014, I learned a little bit about the man who led the partnership to buy the 148 acre horse facility, Mark Bellissimo. It’s funny, this is an excerpt from the article that was posted by the Denver Post on the internet on December 30, 2014:

When Colorado Horse Park in Douglas County went up for sale a few months ago, thousands of residents expressed concern over the 148-acre site being demolished and developed into housing.

In stepped Mark Bellissimo, owner of a large equestrian festival in Florida.

Bellissimo and partners bought the park on Dec. 19.

“We’re very, very excited about the future of Colorado Horse Park,” Bellissimo said. “I know there were concerns that it would turn into a subdivision, but we’re really dedicated to improving what’s there and making it available to the community at large.”

“I am thrilled that Mark and his partners have contracted to acquire the Horse Park. It has been my passion for 23 years, and I am confident that it will be in good hands,” Krieble said in a news release from Colorado Equestrian Partners. “It was important to me that the Horse Park was kept intact.”

The new partnership, Colorado Equestrian Partners, includes Mark and Katherine Bellissimo and other partners within the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, which the news release said operates the world’s largest and longest-running equestrian festival: the Winter Equestrian Festival at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, Fla.

The Colorado Horse Park is the largest horse park west of the Mississippi, according to the release, and features more than 40 events per year, 11 competition arenas, 100 boarding stalls, an RV park, two covered arenas, 300 permanent stalls and portable stalls for more than 1,000 competing horses.

Colorado Equestrian Partners has also contracted to obtain 47 additional acres for park improvements.

“Our plan is to invest in improvements in terms of the stabling and footing and key factors that energize the equestrian community,” Bellissimo said. “We want to make it’s exciting for existing customers and new customers that we’re going to attract.”

The partners plan to develop philanthropic initiatives along with outreach programs that work with local schools to raise awareness about opportunities in horse sports, the release said.

“We contemplate great investments in the park over the next few years and making it one of the premier facilities in the world,” Bellissimo said.

Author of this article in the Denver Post on December 30, 2014: Elizabeth Hernandez: 303-954-1223, ehernandez@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ehernandez

Hmmmm…..what a difference 5 years makes.

But Is The Colorado Horse Park Really Closing?

So far, I haven’t been able to find any concrete information if the horse park is really closing. However, the Colorado Horse Forum stated on their Facebook page:

“We just received official word from the Colorado Horse Park in Parker, CO that they are closing and all 2020 events have been canceled. Edited to add: We only posted this information on the Colorado Horse Forum after speaking to a representative from the Colorado Horse Park directly. We hope it’s not true, but with the amount of sources we have sourced info from, we have a hard time not believing it is true in some fashion. We didn’t share this information lightly, but also feel the community should be aware some major changes are on the horizon, whatever those changes are. Especially since confirmed by someone at CHP. We welcome communication with the owners of CHP directly if they want to help clarify what is happening.“

And the comment section of the post was on fire. People were saying it was fake news, and remove the post. While others were sharing they actually board their horses at the horse park, and the information was indeed accurate.

There is the promise of new information to be revealed as early as next week. But in the mean time, the equestrian community in Colorado is left wondering if this information is true, or at least partially true. I guess we will find out.

But one thing that I found interesting, and this happened a couple of months ago, back in October actually. But Serenity Farms, located just up the road from my house and which was home to Kelli Cruciotti sold, and they relocated to Wellington. Was that a coincidence, or did they know what was coming?

The Future of The Colorado Horse Park…..Stay Tuned

Well right now, the Colorado equestrian community is questioning the future of the horse park. Will it be sold? Will it be turned into land for tract homes? Where will the shows go? Not to many people seem to know. And those that do, aren’t sharing that information yet.

All I do know is I will be so sad if the venue is closed. And I promise, I will be searching for any information I can find, and if I learn anything, I will share it with you.