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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
References
^"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.
_pictogram.svg)
.svg)
