Kentucky by Heart: Asbury University’s equine center reaches horse enthusiasts throughout the nation


By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist

Perhaps at the outset, even the strong personal religious faith and vision of Harold Rainwater was tested mightily. That’s when a small group of Asbury College students gathered at his home in 1978 to take his class offered on the subject of horsemanship.

It was titled REC 200, and Harold used his own horses for demonstration purposes. It was a modest, but earnest, endeavor.

Amazingly, REC 200 is known today as the forerunner of the Asbury University Equine Center, Wilmore, from where a unique and popular academic major emanates—one that touches the whole nation in its scope.

The Equine Management program, which Harold directs, is a part of Asbury’s Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department. The Equine program provides both majors and minors for its current 120 students. Though many of the classes are taught on the main Asbury campus, the Equine Center base of 343 acres, sheltering about 85 horses, is located not far from the main campus and downtown Wilmore on Shanty Hill Lane.

The Equine Management program, which Harold directs, is a part of Asbury’s Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department (Photo Provided)
The Equine Management program, which Harold directs, is a part of Asbury’s Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department (Photo Provided)

Besides classes related to issues such as horse training, stable management and others, the program also includes a course called Horsemanship Ministry, Asbury’s effort to supply workers in a growing national Christian outreach.

I recently enjoyed the chance to tool around in Harold’s pickup with him as he showed me some of the latest developments at the Center. Besides his duties at Asbury, he is often called Wilmore’s “mayor for life,” as he has held that position since 1976. He is a busy man, not only professionally, but also with his family responsibilities.

We set out on the recently created gravel road that provides better access and usability to the long and narrow terrain of the Center’s acreage.

“A lot of the land was underutilized,” said Harold. He pointed to a plot of ground in front of us and continued. “That green field is now a hay field. We cut our hay off that for the first time this year, but we haven’t had a place to store all this, so we began to build hay barns. We have three now.”

Harold talked about giving priority to students, then, secondly, “their products, which are the horses. We keep the horses up close for the benefit of the students while they are here, then when they leave for Christmas, we’ll move the horses to the back fields where there is grass,” he explained.

About 26 of the 120 students board their own horses, and Harold is looking forward to the couple of “driving” classes planned for the upcoming winter semester.

“We’re getting some draft horses from Shakertown (near Harrodsburg) and some minis from the Horse Park, and four carriages were donated—some over 100 years old,” he noted.

According to Harold, the mini horses are good practice options for students who have had little experience in driving horses. “So you start a person who has never driven with a mini horse…the horses can’t run off. The students learn to drive using something that’s very small.”

A highlight of the tour was Harold showing me a special horse named Spotlight, who received his name because of a spot on his side. That isn’t all that makes Spotlight special, according to Harold.

asbury-equine

“He’s the only ‘triple-registered’ horse…probably in the world,” he noted. “He’s a palomino in color, a quarterhorse by breed, (and) because he has a spot on him, he’s eligible to be a ‘paint.’”

Spotlight was a gift from Dr. Lew Sterrett, who does horse ministry events called Lessons for Life and Leadership around the nation.

“Spotlight was 15 and Lew was ready to retire him. The horse was just worn out from doing shows and traveling 100,000 miles per year.”

Harold shared the fact that a water line was put throughout the farm, allowing for automatic watering from front to back. There are redbud trees being grown in a garden on the premises to be planted later on the farm and in the community. Miles of fences have been built. There are two show arenas, one with the Poly-track material donated by the Keeneland Racecourse after going back to a dirt track format. A summer camp at the Equine Center teaching horse-riding skills for age 7 and up is held annually, and the Center also involves itself in an equine-assisted program, which is a support activity for those with special needs.

Harold is proud of service horses trained at the Equine Center that are now serving in good causes across the country.

“We have 18 right now,” he said, “from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, to Miami, to Omaha, to Atlanta, to Lexington, to Grand Rapids, and to Nova Scotia. We (also) have two on the Border Patrol.”

The Equine Management program has been successful in preparing students for jobs all over the United States, but there is a hitch to it, ironically, because of the positive culture created at Asbury under Harold and many other teachers and officials.

“Sometimes the students don’t want to leave the area,” he said. “Their friends are here and they’ve been here four years. From ages 18 to 22 years, these are formative years.”

Another interesting fact about the gender makeup is that 110 of the 120 students are female. One might be surprised by this, but according to Harold, this seems to be the trend in the veterinarian field also.

Steve Flairty grew up feeling good about Kentucky. He recalls childhood trips orchestrated by his father, with the take-off points in Campbell County. The people and places he encountered then help define his passion about the state. “Kentucky by Heart” shares part and parcel of his joy. A little history, much contemporary life, intriguing places, personal experiences, special people, book reviews, quotes and even a little humor will, hopefully, help readers connect with their own “inner Kentucky.”

I asked Harold what direction they’d go if they received a large donation. Besides a large classroom building with state-of-the-art technology, already in the planning stages and badly needed, he mentioned another item.

“We’d probably build a new arena dedicated to use for the equine-assisted program, one that better meets the participants’ needs,” he said.
One of the biggest current needs now for the Equine Center is, surprisingly, a manure spreader.

“Manure disposal becomes a major issue,” he said. An old machine sits on the sidelines, likely unfixable. A very small one was donated, but it isn’t able to handle much volume. Another need is some golf carts to maneuver around the acreage more quickly. “A lot of times when you appear to be doing well, you have a lot of little needs that don’t get taken care of,” he said.

For sustainability purposes, he would like to see the equine industry in general take a cue from others such as the stock car racing and even the spirits industries.

“NASCAR, for example, has fans wearing their racing apparel. It’s called ‘branding’ their product,” he noted. “And, people come from all over to watch horses in Kentucky, but often there are no opportunities for people to ride them. We need to create those opportunities for them…similar to what they do with the ‘Bourbon Trail’ around here when they let people get an up close look at things in their operation.”

On its web site, a slogan boldly proclaims: “God-People-Horses—All in One Place.” You can’t be around Harold Rainwater very long before sensing that those words are meant sincerely.

For more information about the program, visit this website or email Harold Rainwater at Harold.rainwater@asbury.edu.

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steve-flairty

Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of six books: a biography of former Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and five in the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes series, including a kids’ version. Steve’s “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #4,” was released in 2015. Steve is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, a weekly NKyTribune columnist and a member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Contact him at sflairty2001@yahoo.com or visit his Facebook page, “Kentucky in Common: Word Sketches in Tribute.” (Steve’s photo by Connie McDonald)


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