Caption: PQHA President and Grange manager, Photos courtesy of Jess McMullen

Centre County Grange Fairgrounds is located in Centre Hall, PA, about 15 miles east of State College, PA. The fairgrounds is comprised of 271 acres, with 30 acres dedicated to equine activities and room for expansion.

The Grange Fair is a nonprofit organization and has been around for 137 years. The facility has over 1,500 RV hookups, meeting halls and exhibit halls available, as well as four outdoor rings, a 108 stall barn, show office, restrooms, showers and stall office.

Since 2005, there has been an average of 14 show weekends and an average of 125 horses per show. Both agriculture and equine activities have always been main interests in the Centre County Fair.

In recent months, the Centre County Grange has embarked on a project, costing in excess of $1 million dollars, to expand the equine facility. This current expansion is a fully enclosed, covered arena. The new building is 150’ x 300’, complete with bleachers and an announcer’s booth.

Thanks to support from Pennsylvania Senator, Jake Corman, the Centre County Grange received a RACP economic development grant matching $1 million dollars! This is a wonderful opportunity for the Grange Fair, Centre County, and Pennsylvania.

According to the Penn. Ag Industries Association Horse Council, equine interests comprise the second largest segment of agriculture in the state, second only to the dairy industry. The equine industry brings in $10 billion dollars per year to Pennsylvania alone.

Caption: Site of the new arena

Currently, the PA Quarter Horse Association uses the facility exclusively for all of their Quarter Horse shows. This year, the AQHA Region 5 Experience will be held at the new facility in conjunction with the PQHA/PQHYA shows in July.  The Keystone Quarter Horse Association will also be holding their Quarter Horse show for the first time at the facility in June.

I had the opportunity to speak with the General Manager of the Grange Fairgrounds, Darlene Confer, about the project.

Confer says, “Since the announcement of the new covered arena, I have been contacted by many other breed associations including APHA, NBHA, PHBA, NRHA, and the National Mounted Cowboy Shooting Association. All have expressed interest in using the facility. This interest in the new facility would not only increase numbers at horse shows, but also increase tourism and income for Centre County and Pennsylvania as well.”

Caption: Starting to set the steel.

The Grange is currently looking for anyone interested in “naming rights” for the new arena and all donations are tax deductible!

At the Pennsylvania Quarter Horse Association show in May, I spoke with exhibitors and board members about their views on the new facility. They were all pleasantly surprised at the size of the new arena and are looking forward to the opportunity of using the facility!