(Riverton, WY) – The Fremont County Fairgrounds date back to the early days of Riverton, with sections over a century old. Major renovations were made 75 years ago in the early 1950s, but the heart of the fairgrounds hasn’t changed a lot.
There have been renovations, improvements and innovations over the years, but the facility is a venerable one.
The Fremont County Commissioners addressed the need for expansion of the facility when they voted to purchase the former Central Wyoming College Equine Center for $600,000. The Equine Center was abandoned when the new CWC Arena was constructed near the campus adjacent to Roy Peck Field.
The tentative name of the newly acquired facility, the Fremont County Fairground Annex, will be formally approved or changed at the next commissioners’ meeting.
Fremont County Fairgrounds General Manager Pat Hart has high hopes and big plans for the next facility.
“We want to be able to use the facility year-round,” Hart said. “We want people to be able to ride year-round. We want them to come and enjoy it.”
Changing a facility from an equestrian center for equine management classes and JUCO rodeo practice to a multi-use concept will have its growing pains and challenges.
The former Equine Center office has been converted to a meeting room, and the former college classroom just north of the main center will be open for people to rent for special events or meetings.
One use is for people traveling through Riverton with horses or other livestock.
“It’s a great benefit for people coming through in the winter,” Hart said. “We’ll have shelter and heat in the winter.”
Another use is for 4H and FFA youth living in Riverton who don’t have the opportunity to raise and care for livestock since they live in town.
“Kids that live in town can apply and have an animal in the facility,” Hart said. “These kids will have an opportunity to bring an animal to fair.”
Currently, the fairgrounds staff are building a mountain trail course for riders to use.
Other organizations like the Fremont County Recreation Board, Fremont County School District 25, and Friends of the Fair are donating funds for the facility.
The Fremont County Commissioners allocated $600,000 for the facility, and they’d like to see it used immediately.
That’s where problems have arisen with a handful of people who think the Fremont County Fair Board is moving too fast, and all of that contention is centered around horses.
“Numerous concerns have been raised about logistics as well as safety issues. One of the reasons that I’m here is because, essentially, the Fremont County commissioners have been invoked as the reason for this change. And I thought you should be aware of that,“ Maralyne Middour said. “It’s been extrapolated through several conversations that it’s at the behest of the commissioners that this is being moved to the annex, that the county has spent money on this facility. It needs to be utilized, and it needs to happen pretty quickly. (As) with anything, haste makes waste. You know, we’ve all learned that we need to make a plan and work that plan and stick to the plan. And that’s what I’m seeing missing in this move is adequate time to really plan it and make sure that everything is there as far as logistics, wash racks, safety issues are addressed, that type of thing.”
Middour said this at a meeting of the Fremont County commissioners and was followed by Joan Eisemann of rural Shoshoni.
“I’m not against change. Please, please don’t get me wrong. But I think rushing into this this fast and putting it out there, we have more junior horse kids this year than we have had in 15 years. So, we have that many more little 8-year to 11-year-old kids coming in that we haven’t had before. And I’m just worried that mom and dad with older kids can’t watch both kids. It’s a safety issue up there,” Eisemann said. “We can’t get enough kids inside that arena. I mean I’m grateful for it and the kids are great for it in the wintertime but we already feel like we’re not part of the county fair so we’re really not wanting to be moved off the fairgrounds. The highway right next to it and the daycare is a safety (concern) where they’re going to hold the trail class. And I just feel if we’re going to be putting a whole bunch of money into something, let’s put it into something that’s really going to matter and not keep dwindling.”
Hart addressed similar issues.
“The commissioners would like to see the facility becoming self-sustaining,” Hart said. “We need community support to keep it going.”
As far as parking and safety issues are concerned, the former pasture along North 8th West is being converted into parking. The ditch along Gasser Road is being covered, and handicapped accessible port-a-johns will be in place at the arena.
“We’ll have handicapped parking with easy access, and handicapped accessible doors are already in place,” Hart said. “We have the same level of accessibility as the main fairgrounds. We’re slowly figuring out what we need to do.”
The present round pen in the arena is a permanent structure, a portable round pen would allow more interior usage, whether that’s for baseball or soccer practice or some other activity.
An evacuation plan has been designed by Milan Vinich and is in place in the event of an unforeseen emergency.
With any new offering there will be concerns and setbacks, but the progress has been positive and the new offerings for the youth and adults of Fremont County is badly needed.
“I’m excited to offer it for the county,” Hart said.