New horse barns key to 4-Hers’ safety

By Sherry Larson

People’s Defender

Just beyond Shade Tree Park at the Adams County Fairgrounds is the construction site for the two new 37-stall horse barns, which will have 74 stalls total.

Adams County is hosting a multi-county horse camp the first week of June 2024. Kristy Watters, Educator and 4-H Youth Development at OSU Extension is counting on the barns to be ready for the camp.

Planning and preparing to build new horse barns for the fairgrounds, Watters and David Baker applied for the Kubota Community Grant last year. Unfortunately, they did not receive the grant but had a business plan. The plan included moving the Fairgrounds horse barns to the area behind Shade Tree Park. Watters asked Holly Johnson, former Economic and Community Development Director if any other opportunities were available to fund the project. The very next day, Johnson asked for their plan, and the day after that, she told Watters and Baker they would receive $300,000 from an anonymous donor who wanted to do “something” for Adams County.