This award provided funding to support construction of a covered riding arena at Isothermal Community College (ICC) to accommodate growth in its Agribusiness; Equine Business, and Human Services Technology; and Animal Assisted Interaction programs. The new ring also allows students to be trained on-site instead of traveling up to one hour to other horse facilities or farms that volunteer their covered arenas and horses for training conducted by ICC. Users in addition to ICC include: Therapeutic Riding of Tryon, and Rutherford and Polk County Schools. Enrollment in the college’s agribusiness and equine-related curriculum programs has increased in recent years, and the college has also added new sections of equine-related courses in response to enrollment growth in continuing education courses. These programs will provide training to prepare more than 175 students for full-time jobs in the growing local and regional equine and agribusiness industries. Students who complete therapeutic horsemanship courses will be prepared to earn industry-recognized certifications from the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International that will make them eligible for over 345 full-time certified equine therapeutic instructor positions across North Carolina.
