Miss. Horse Park director to share park’s success story with national Extension leadership conference online

Contact: James Carskadon

STARKVILLE, Miss.—The success of the Mississippi Horse Park will be shared with Extension professionals from across the country Monday [April 6] during the Joint Council of Extension Professionals’ Public Issues Leadership Development Conference, to be held online. 

Mississippi Horse Park Director Bricklee Miller is serving as a panelist during a virtual session on “Telling Your Extension Story – How to Stop Being the Nation’s Best Kept Secret.” The Horse Park is a partnership of Mississippi State University, the city of Starkville and Oktibbeha County and is a division of the MSU Extension Service.  

Since opening in 1999, the Horse Park has hosted approximately 1,000 events, becoming a nationally recognized destination for equine and other events, supporting tourism and generating over $43 million in economic impact. 

“The Mississippi Horse Park is a great example of the significant impact that can happen when communities work together to create new opportunities,” Miller said. “I'm grateful for the opportunity to share this success story with Extension professionals from across the country.” 

In addition to events based on horse breeds and disciplines like roping and barrel racing, the facility has hosted banquets, concerts, dog shows, garden expos, cross country meets, fairs and more. 

The Horse Park also serves many functions for the campus community. It hosts labs and classes for the Department of Animal and Dairy sciences, provides parking for student preview days and is home to MSU Extension’s termite application training facility. It also is used as RV parking during MSU home football game weekends and has become a popular place to stay for both MSU fans and visitors from other universities. 

For more on the Joint Council of Extension Professionals’ Public Issues Leadership Development Conference, visit https://www.jcep.org/pild.  

For more on the Mississippi Horse Park, visit www.mshorsepark.com.  

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.

Friday, April 3, 2020 - 3:19 pm