Georgia International Horse Park

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Entrance sign to the park. Entrance sign to GIHP.jpg
Entrance sign to the park.

The Georgia International Horse Park (referred to by locals as The Horse Park) is located in Conyers, Georgia, United States, 30 miles (50 km) east of Atlanta.

Conyers, Georgia City in Georgia, United States

Conyers is the only city in Rockdale County, Georgia, United States. The city is twenty-four miles east of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 15,195. The city is the county seat of Rockdale County. The formerly separate town of Milstead is now part of Conyers.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Atlanta Capital of Georgia, United States

Atlanta is the capital of, and the most populous city in, the U.S. state of Georgia. With an estimated 2017 population of 486,290, it is also the 38th most-populous city in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, home to 5.8 million people and the ninth-largest metropolitan area in the nation. Atlanta is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia. A small portion of the city extends eastward into neighboring DeKalb County.

Contents

History

Due to the growth of Rockdale County, Georgia, in the late 1980s, the county was looking to expand its wastewater treatment system, but they were having to find alternative uses to strict environmental regulations on the local, state, and federal levels. The City of Conyers, Georgia, found 1,139 acres (4.61 km2) of land on Georgia State Route 138 north of Interstate 20 that would have been suitable for land application.

Rockdale County, Georgia County in the United States

Rockdale County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 85,215. The county seat is Conyers.

State Route 138 (SR 138) is a 59.2-mile (95.3 km) state highway in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The highway is a west-to-east route that travels within portions of Fulton, Fayette, Clayton, Henry, Rockdale, Newton, and Walton counties that connects Fairburn and Monroe.

Interstate 20 Interstate in southern US

Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I‑20 runs 1,535 miles (2,470 km) beginning near Kent, Texas, at I-10 to Florence, South Carolina, at I-95. Between Texas and South Carolina, I‑20 runs through northern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. The major cities that I-20 connects to includes Fort Worth, Texas; Dallas, Texas; Shreveport, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; Augusta, Georgia; and Columbia, South Carolina.

Both the City Manager and the County Council were in the process of finding other uses for this land other than land application when Atlanta was awarded the 1996 Summer Olympics on September 18, 1990. This led to a change in plans from a city park to the development of the land that would later become the Georgia International Horse Park. As a result, an equestrian task force was developed to have the park developed, under cooperation with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG).

1996 Summer Olympics Games of the XXVI Olympiad, in Atlanta

The 1996 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, commonly known as Atlanta 1996, and also referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games, were an international multi-sport event that was held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. These Games, which were the fourth Summer Olympics to be hosted by the United States, marked the century of the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens—the inaugural edition of the modern Olympic Games. They were also the first since 1924 to be held in a different year from a Winter Olympics, under a new IOC practice implemented in 1994 to hold the Summer and Winter Games in alternating, even-numbered years.

The proposed site was visited on August 7, 1991, with details about the land, the proposed facilities, and their post-Olympic usage. The Georgia International Horse Park became reality when it was approved by ACOG on October 21, 1991.

Some of the outdoor scenes for the Netflix series Stranger Things were filmed in the park. [1]

Netflix American multinational entertainment company

Netflix, Inc. is an American media-services provider headquartered in Los Gatos, California, founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California. The company's primary business is its subscription-based streaming OTT service which offers online streaming of a library of films and television programs, including those produced in-house. As of January 2019, Netflix had over 139 million paid subscriptions worldwide, including 60.55 million in the United States, and over 148 million subscriptions total including free trials. It is available almost worldwide except in mainland China, Syria, North Korea, Iran, and Crimea. The company also has offices in the Netherlands, Brazil, India, Japan, and South Korea. Netflix is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

<i>Stranger Things</i> American supernatural horror-science fiction web television series

Stranger Things is an American science fiction horror web television series created, written, and directed by the Duffer Brothers and released on Netflix. The Duffer Brothers, Shawn Levy, and Dan Cohen serve as executive producers. The first season stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, and Matthew Modine, with Noah Schnapp and Joe Keery in recurring roles. For the second season, Schnapp and Keery were made series regulars, along with the additions of Sadie Sink, Dacre Montgomery, Sean Astin, and Paul Reiser; Maya Hawke joined the cast for the third season.

The Centennial Olympic Games

During the 1996 Summer Olympics, which ran from July 19 to August 4, over 600,000 people visited the track to witness events in equestrian, mountain biking, and the riding and running portions of the modern pentathlon events.

The Equestrian events were held at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, United States, 30 miles or 50 km east of Atlanta.

The cycling competitions at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta consisted of three separate categories: road cycling, track cycling and mountain biking. The road cycling events took place in downtown Atlanta, track cycling was carried out at the Stone Mountain velodrome in neighboring DeKalb County, and the mountain biking events were held at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers.

Modern pentathlon at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Among the event competitors who would gain fame ten years later were Kateřina Neumannová and Michael R. Matz. Neumannová competed in the women's mountain biking competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics would later win the gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in the women's 30 km freestyle mass start cross country skiing event. Matz earned a silver in Team show jumping event, and as a trainer, has two wins in Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing events and a Breeder's Cup win.

Kateřina Neumannová Czech cross country skier

Kateřina Neumannová is a retired Czech cross-country skier. She won an Olympic Gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics, in the 30 km freestyle event. She is one of five cross country skiers to ever compete at six Olympics.

Michael R. Matz equestrian

Michael R. Matz is an American race horse trainer and former Olympic equestrian team member who was inducted into the show jumping Hall of Fame. He lives in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. As a trainer, he has scored two wins in the Classics, the 2012 Belmont Stakes with Union Rags and the 2006 Kentucky Derby with Barbaro. Matz also was named "person of the week" by ABC News for his heroism in saving four children from the crash of United Airlines Flight 232 in 1989 on which he was a passenger.

2006 Winter Olympics 20th edition of Winter Olympics, held in Turin (Italy) in 2006

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Turin 2006 or Torino 2006, was a winter multi-sport event which was held in Turin, Piedmont, Italy from February 10 to 26, 2006. This marked the second time that Italy had hosted the Winter Olympic Games, the first being the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Italy also hosted the Summer Olympics in 1960 in Rome. Turin was selected as the host city for the 2006 Games in June 1999.

Post–Olympics Legacy

After the 1996 Summer Olympics, the area around the Georgia International Horse Park experienced growth surrounding the facility. This growth including several residential developments, the movement of First Baptist Church of Conyers from downtown Conyers in late 2000, and the horse park has become a multi-use facility hosting public events such as horse shows, festivals, fairs, dog shows, trade shows, concerts, obstacle course races and mountain bike events. The venue also offers facilities for private social events, such as weddings, receptions, showers, birthday parties and more.

Concert venue

The venue hosted several concerts over the years, primarily utilizing the main horse park arena and bleacher seating.

The Allman Brothers Concert (1997)

The facility hosted several high-profile concerts in the years following the Olympics. The first was a performance by the Allman Brothers Band on July 4, 1997. The legendary Southern rock band played a lengthy 21 song set, that was followed by an Independence Day fireworks show.

99X Big Day Out

Atlanta Alternative rock music radio station 99X produced two editions of their Big Day Out radio festival concerts at the Horse Park. The September 28, 1997, show featured Foo Fighters, The Offspring, Goldfinger, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Cowboy Mouth, Ear 2000, Local H, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Kingsized, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, DownPour, and Memory Dean. The September 12, 1998, edition featured Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Better Than Ezra, Goo Goo Dolls, Semisonic, Fuel, Fastball, K's Choice, Atheneum, Everything, Addict, Urge, Guster, Amazing Royal Crowns, Shawn Mullins, Jump, Little Children, Albert Hill, The Marvelous 3, Shock Lobo, Blacklight Posterboys, Wil's Drama, Another Man Down, and Seven Foot Politic.

Celebrate Freedom Atlanta 2007

On September 1, 2007, the park played host to the Celebrate Freedom 2007 concert, including evangelist Luis Palau. Among the sponsors were Ford Motor Company, Bugaboo Creek Steak House, and WFSH-FM in Atlanta. The event was televised by the Gospel Music Channel. Included were kid activities which also featured the VeggieTales, including The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie .

Celebrate Freedom Atlanta 2008

On August 30, 2008, the park hosted the Celebrate Freedom 2008 concert. Training involved for field ministers took place on the evening of August 27, 2008 at the First Baptist Church, located 2 miles (3 km) south of the park.

Sporting Events

The Georgia International Horse Park is not only the home of many equine events throughout the year, but hosts a number of outdoor sporting events. The Georgia International Horse Park's trail system offers scenic trails for mountain bike races, trail races and obstacle course races. The Horse Park has hosted Spartan Race, Ragnar Trail Atlanta, BattleFrog, Rugged Maniac and Down and Dirty Obstacle Course Race over the years.

Georgia Perimeter College

Georgia Perimeter College planned on constructing a facility nearby by 2008, but negotiations between the city of Conyers and Georgia Perimeter College building a facility failed. The college instead constructed a facility in neighboring Newton County, Georgia.

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The individual dressage event, part of the equestrian program at the 1996 Summer Olympics, was held from July 26 to August 3, 1996, at the Georgia International Horse Park, in Conyers, Georgia. Like all other equestrian events, the dressage competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division. 48 horse and rider pairs were entered, with round one scores from team event.

The team dressage event, part of the equestrian program at the 1996 Summer Olympics was held on 27 July 1996 at the Georgia International Horse Park, in Conyers, Georgia. The results of the first round of the individual dressage were used to award rankings. Like all other equestrian events, the dressage competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division. Nine teams, each consisting of four horse and rider pairs, entered the contest.

The individual eventing event, part of the equestrian program at the 1996 Summer Olympics, was held from 23 to 26 July 1996 in the Georgia International Horse Park, in Conyers, Georgia. Like all other equestrian events, the eventing competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division.

The individual jumping event, part of the equestrian program at the 1996 Summer Olympics, was held from 29 July to 1 August 1996 at the Georgia International Horse Park, in Conyers, Georgia. Like all other equestrian events, the jumping competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division.

The team jumping event, part of the equestrian program at the 1996 Summer Olympics was held on 31 July and 1 August 1996 at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, Georgia. The results of the second and third round of the individual jumping were used to award rankings. Like all other equestrian events, the competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division. Fourteen teams, each consisting of four horse and rider pairs, entered the contest.

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References

  1. ↑ "Georgia Locations for Netflix's 'Stranger Things'". Deep South Magazine. Deep South Media. July 28, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2017. Georgia’s small towns outside of Atlanta, including Douglasville, Conyers, Jackson, Winston and Fayetteville, easily pass for the Midwest, and Jackson’s intact downtown isn’t a far stretch from 1983 Hawkins on film.

Official Georgia International Horse Park (GIHP) Facebook Page

Coordinates: 33°39′41″N83°55′57″W / 33.66139°N 83.93250°W / 33.66139; -83.93250

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