Jacksonville Equestrian Center facts for kids

The Jacksonville Equestrian Center is a super cool place in Jacksonville, Florida, especially if you love horses! It's a big center built for all sorts of horse events and other fun activities.

Welcome to the Jacksonville Equestrian Center!

The Jacksonville Equestrian Center is a special spot located at the Cecil Commerce Center. It's designed to host many different events, especially those involving horses. The center officially opened its doors in March 2004, and since then, it has been a busy place for both local and national events.

What Can You Find There?

This center is packed with everything needed for big events. It has a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces, making it perfect for different kinds of shows and competitions.

Arenas and Stables

The main part of the center is its huge indoor arena, called the Championship Arena. It's big enough to hold up to 4,000 people! Besides that, there are two outdoor arenas for competitions and two more outdoor arenas for horses to warm up. There's even a special grass arena. For the horses, there are 426 permanent stables, which means plenty of room for many horses to stay comfortably during events.

RV Parking

For people traveling with their horses or just coming to enjoy the events, the center also has 70 spaces for RVs (Recreational Vehicles). These spots offer "Full Service," meaning they have everything RVs need to be comfortable.

A Hub for Exciting Events

The Jacksonville Equestrian Center is part of the larger Cecil Recreation Complex, which is a huge area for sports and fun on the west side of Jacksonville. The City of Jacksonville's Parks and Recreation department takes care of managing all these great facilities.

Horse Shows and More

Over the years, the center has hosted a wide variety of events. Horse lovers can enjoy everything from elegant dressage competitions, where horses perform fancy moves, to exciting Rodeo shows. Famous horses like the Royal Lipizzan Stallions have performed there, and the 4-H club often holds its annual horse show at the center.

Other Fun Activities

It's not just about horses! The center also hosts many other kinds of entertainment. You might see loud Monster truck shows, thrilling Demolition derby events where cars crash into each other, music concerts, and even band camps. In 2007, there were plans for a football team, the Jacksonville Pelicans from the National Indoor Football League, to play their games there.

How It All Started

Building the Jacksonville Equestrian Center was a big project that cost about $25 million. This project was part of a larger plan from the year 2000 called the Better Jacksonville Plan. This plan aimed to improve many things in the city, and building this center was one of those important improvements.