HORSE SHOW INSIDE THE WORLD EQUESTRIAN CENTER IN OCALA, FL
So, my wife Rhonda felt a maternal instinct to go to St Louis for Mother’s Day. Our oldest son lives there, along with lots of Rhonda’s aunts, cousins, etc. Our younger son planned to drive over from where he lives in Boulder, Colorado, to see Mom. And with all of those relatives in St. Louis, why go just for Mother’s Day? Why not go to St. Louis a week or so early and stay a week or so later? And see the sights going and coming? She heard about Ocala Florida being the “Horse Capital of the World.” Let’s find out why! And I wanted to see some bourbon distilleries, along with Mammoth Cave and Abe Lincoln’s birthplace in Kentucky. Can anyone say, “Road Trip”?
So, why is Ocala, Florida the “Horse Capital of the World”? It’s pretty simple, really, and the story begins with limestone rock. Ocala sits on a massive limestone rock shelf, very similar to Northern Kentucky. The calcium and phosphorus in the limestone dissolve from the naturally acidic rainwater. The bluegrass absorbs these minerals. So, this mineral rich bluegrass diet develops exceptionally dense, healthy bones in those horses.
Ocala also has a wonderful climate for the year-round pasture grazing thoroughbreds. Mild winters. In Kentucky, the winters are colder, which frequently prohibits outside grazing and training of the precious horses. Thoroughbred horses train more in Florida. Also, Florida pasture grass is cheaper than expensive purchased food, which cuts costs for Ocala horse ranch owners.
The first major thoroughbred horse farm arrived in the 1940’s, and by the 50’s and 60’s the region was booming. A key turning point was when Ocala-bred horses began winning the major races; “Needles” won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont in 1956. Money and prestige followed. More horse farms were established, which provided more Ocala-bred winners. More momentum followed; now there are over 500 horse farms and more than 70,000 horses in the Ocala Area, which adds billions of dollars to the local economy. It truly is the “Horse Capital of the World.” And only about 115 miles away from us.
So, on Friday, May 1, at Punta Gorda, we turned on the northbound entrance ramp to I-75. At an average speed of 80 mph (after all, it is the normally-almost-no-speed-limit-interstate, after all….) the drive would be about 90 minutes to Ocala. But we hit the Great Snowbird Exodus Traffic Jam Of 2026! Stop, go. Stop, go. For 115 miles. This isn’t New York City at Rush Hour! This is Florida! It took us four hours to go 115 miles! That is an average of 28.75 mph on an interstate highway! For four hours! How can there be this many snowbirds leaving Florida, all at the same time?
The irony? One of the photos shows a McLaren street version automobile, which will do 205 mph, right in front of our car. And that driver is just like me in my Old Person White Buick SUV, doing an average of 28.75 mph for four hours…. What a waste of his horsepower…. Betcha he’s frustrated even more than I am….
But we did make it to Ocala, Florida, and the Jim Beam and Makers Mark distilleries, Mammoth Cave and Abe Lincoln’s birthplace in Kentucky. And most importantly, to Saint Louis for Rhonda to be with our two sons for Mother’s Day. She’s a very happy lady….
