Brownland, I believe, is the facility that poster is referring to.
Though, last I heard, the development plan was dead in the water (pun kind of intended): https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/williamson/2022/04/28/brownland-farm-franklin-aldermen-reject-controversial-development/9544251002/. That’s a two year old news story; I can’t find anything more current regarding the property’s ultimate fate. It’s probably only a matter of time, though. 
When I first heard the news about selling Brownland, I thought they said they would be donating another piece of property to replace the existing facility? That seems like quite a while ago though and I haven’t heard anything since although I don’t live in the area. But even if that is true I’m sure the replacement won’t be nearly as good as the current facility. 
You’re correct - I was referring to Brownland. Someone in my network is super close with the current owner, and allegedly at this point they just want it gone as opposed to continuing to wait until a horse person/group shows up with the cash.
I heard this secondhand from the person who’s apparently close with them sooo take that for what it is.
Yeah I get that. We put our horse property on the market last fall and took it off at the beginning of summer. I think only 5-6 parties came to see it and they either wanted to develop it (but we have conserved most of the land) or somehow break it up because it was “too much”.
It feels like some/ many/ most people who want horses just don’t want to deal with the nitty-gritty of horse keeping. I get it, but I always wanted to keep my horses on my own place. It just becomes physically impossible at some point however it seems the interest isn’t there for a new owner to continue it. Hence Chatt Hills and Brownland.
I didn’t know about Brownland until this thread.
I was already thinking how losing Chatt/Bouckaert would change Area III dramatically, making it virtually impossible to not be based at least part of the year in Ocala or Aiken for eventers.
Total aside, but I will never understand why middle TN is a horse wasteland instead of a horse Mecca.
I would hardly call middle TN a horse wasteland. It’s not Lexington, Ocala, or Aiken, but how many locations are? I spent 5 years living in Auburn, AL. Now, THAT place (other than the vet school) is an absolute horse wasteland.
Shelbyville, TN is pretty much in the center of the state, it is the center of the walking horse bred
Have you been to Shelbyville lately? It’s been decimated compared to what it once was.
@Montanas_Girl is right that “wasteland” is a bit too hyperbolic. But you have fabulous land, a good climate, tons of $$$, a large population… yet it can never seem to support horse activity as you would expect it to.
Middle TN was the birth place of the US Pony Club. It was the center of the gaited horse world. Heck, it was the center of thoroughbred breeding in the US around the turn of the 19th century. It has a really horse-oriented history. Yet in modern times it’s a bit of a revolving door.
Sometimes it is just how things work. The counties south of us are very horse friendly. The counties north of us are the same. In our county we are primarily a cow county. There is only one horse vet in the county and no clinics. The closest clinics are an hour away.
Yes, Shelbyville has changed significantly over the past couple of decades. It, just like the rest of middle TN, is exploding population wise. Many of the former TWH facilities are being purchased by people moving here with non-gaited horses. The gaited horse world will never be what it once was (and I’m not sure that’s a bad thing).
I can name 6 horse shows occurring TODAY in middle TN alone (and those are just the ones I know of). I’m not sure how much more “activity” one area could support on a single day. There are now at least three vet clinics (possibly four - I’m not sure if that one is still providing surgical services) in middle TN with surgical capabilities, which is a major improvement from when I was growing up.
There is a lot more diversity of equine populations here than in most big “horsey” areas. There is no single dominant breed or sport anymore. It’s not like Lexington, for example, where there are a ton of horses but the vast majority of the farms and infrastructure revolve around the racing industry. Or Middleburg/northern VA, where hunters and other sport horse disciplines dominate. Or Ft. Worth, where the predominant focus in the working western AQHA industry.
Not to belabor this topic unrelated to this thread, but there are probably 60 shows happening in my region of comparable size today. There are at least 6 happening within 20 miles of my house. Most of them are unrecognized, but rated ones would still be in the double digits.
That’s what I mean when I say the region should be able to sustain more activity than it does.
You’re in Maryland, right? A much, much, much more densely populated area. And one with a significantly wealthier population. Apples to oranges.
Look, I know you didn’t like living here. But to call it a “wasteland” is silly. This area doesn’t have the per capita income to support that kind of equine density. Maybe that’ll change one day, but I doubt it. The availability of equine events and services, though, has dramatically increased since I first started riding and showing back ~25-30 years ago.
It’s less apples to oranges than you think.
I live in a county with a population of 30,000 people where the COL is lower that just about all of middle TN these days.
But this thread was about Chatt. OP, sorry for the derail. It will never make any sense to me why the mid-south can’t support more of a horse scene.
Your hyperbole and misconceptions called the derail. Sorry, but I’m going to call out nonsense when I see it.
Median income in my county in middle TN is $29,437/year. In Williamson County (Franklin) it is $54,332. The vast majority of middle TN - which spans an area as large as the entire state of Maryland - is much more like my county than Williamson.
I’ll also believe “60 horse shows today” when I see the list…
Anyway, OP, I apologize as well. I’m leaving this thread now.
Bingo. Middle TN thirty years ago was nothing like it is now with the insane growth of Nashville and the area around it. Sure there were horseshows - for gaited horses. And a load of mountain goat trail horses. And both of those sets of horse people are cheap when it comes to fancy vet care. The economy didn’t support a middle and upper middle class of folks wanting hunter jumper circuits
Alright. We’re splitting hairs on Middle TN equestrian economics I suppose. Non-Williamson county resident.
Key context highlighted for reference of an important detail to the conversation that was skipped over i guess
@Montanas_Girl , just to confirm, these are six eventing specific horse shows? Since, other than me bringing up Brownland, for no other reason than it’s another major venue for rated events specifically IN Middle TN, Chatt is a 3D/trial specific destination.
Where did you get these numbers? I’m going to guess these are per capita numbers, which is an average and not a median… but I don’t know since nothing was cited.
I’m looking at the median household income (in 2022 dollars) between 2018-2022 in Williamson County and what census.gov is presenting is a median household income of $125,943…….
Per capita, which, again, is an average and does not take into account social security, interest, dividends and more… makes it a pretty meh indicator of wealth. But for the sake of the hyperbole and misconceptions 
, Williamson County has a per capita income (same time frame, same 2022 dollars, from census.gov) of $61,451…
Now I will give you credit where credit is due; not every county is Williamson County. But Middle Tennessee alone tracks just above the median household income for the entirety of the rest of the state ($64,035)… According to the Comparative Economic Characteristics Survey results from the 26 counties that make up Middle TN (region 3), the median household income was $65,254 in 2022.
And for my last trick:
Now that we’re all caught up and aware that the financials, especially in Middle TN, could absolutely support a kick ass equestrian Mecca:
For a region that houses more than half of the state’s largest cities, and per the 2020 census the #22 highest income (based on median household income) county in the USA (you guessed it - Williamson baby), it completely blows my mind as well. We’ve talked about this in the past, but the area is SO private. There are lots of equine operations; however, I would venture to say over half are private and you’d never know they existed unless the equi-Illuminati of Middle TN blessed you with their presence.
I’m not sure what needs to happen. Like what shift. But what I can say is that it’s making it increasingly difficult to want to “do horses” in an area where the already sparse eventing scene is only getting more sparse. And as an amateur. Traveling further = $$$$ (or sacrificing performance related goals).
RIP Chatt. Is Poplar Place Farm still active? I forget where in GA they are but know they’re close ish??
I didn’t say anything about those shows being eventing specific. There was a hunter show, a USDF show, at least four open/saddle club shows, and one that I didn’t count because it was a bit too far east was an NRCHA show.
I was using individual median income, not household, in those statistics. As a single person, “household” income isn’t really relevant to me personally or others like me, so that isn’t the number I was interested in.
Trying to hold to my promise to the OP, so I won’t derail further.
Poplar was inactive for a while but they’ve revived it - I don’t know about eventing so much but several H/J shows are happening there and people are very happy.
Unless I’m mistaken, Poplar is in Hamilton GA which is across the border from Auburn. That makes it much farther south than almost everything else (great for those on the south side of ATL), but it also makes it quite a trek for the north side barns. Chatt was a bit more central and not as far for the huge amount of horses north of ATL, so it really is a shame.
ETA: Poplar does draw from Alabama which is great for them, as I don’t think the state has much of anything at the moment. This is just based on the number of Alabama based farms regularly showing at Wills and other GA venues.
Ahhh okay - I’ve never been so didn’t realize it was that far… bummer.
Like I said in my post above, I’m not sure what the shift needs to be to activate an active competitive environment in Middle TN specifically, but at the very least, distribute the “stuff” to outside of FL and SC. I’ll be honest that it’s definitely coming from a “selfish” perspective since I’m an ammy that, if I want to complete competition goals I have for myself, I need to show more than 1-2 times a year.
Sucks.
Is River Glen “safe” now? I remember the chatter that they were for sale, but the events have continued.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
