In a horse show schedule that’s increasingly filled with gargantuan multi-week circuits run as a profitable business, the Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show stands out. A small, unrated show that hosts 600 horses on Labor Day weekend each year, Ludwig’s Corner is a treasured gem to equestrians in the Chester County, Pa., area.

“It’s a pretty big deal for local riders. It’s not the Devon Horse Show,” said Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show Association President John Jacobs. “It’s an unrated show, and most people showing are 12 to 16 years old, and they train all year for it. It’s a neat event that’s been handed down for generations. We always see moms and dads and grandparents there.”

In 1943, five local families got together and began the horse show, donating the 33-acre tract of land on which the show runs in Glenmoore, within the Township of West Vincent, which has a population of about 4,500. The LCHSA now owns and maintains that land purely with the goal of providing the community with a quality horse show.

“Can you imagine five families getting together today and donating land and money to start a local, unrated horse show? It’s pretty amazing that 68 years ago these people did this. It’s amazing that they were able to do this and that it’s kept going so long. We don’t get any county funds or township money. It’s all a volunteer organization, and we pay our own way,” Jacobs said. Dunwoody Zook, a descendant of one of the original families, is on the current LCHSA board of directors.

The LCHSA also rents the grounds for other activities such as Pony Club events, dog shows and antique car shows. But 90 percent of the revenue used to maintain the grounds and run the horse show comes from proceeds of the three-day show.

Bad News

So, when on Nov. 28, the Township of West Vincent board of supervisors voted to condemn and take the grounds via eminent domain, the news came as a shock to LCHSA board members and local equestrians and incited much outcry.

The township’s press release about the decision read: “As part of West Vincent Township’s ongoing effort to fulfill the vision of its Ludwig’s Corner Strategic Vision and Community Design Plan for a compact, walkable, traditional village center containing a blend of municipal, commercial and residential uses, the Township has commenced condemnation proceedings to acquire the land owned by Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show Association for a public park.

“The acquisition will enable the Township to permanently protect this open land from commercial and residential development and provide an easily accessible public center for sports, leisure, and community activities that will benefit all Township residents and the surrounding community. 

“The Township plans to use the land for both active and passive recreational purposes, including playing fields for local youth leagues. The Township will work with the Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show Association to continue its annual horse show, a highly prized West Vincent tradition, and to continue to potentially expand other equestrian uses.”

Public Outcry

“It’s like a thief coming in and stealing your property in the night. They hold you hostage and tell you it’ll be OK. But they’ve got your hands tied behind your back. You’re not getting your house back, and they may or may not give you what it’s worth. And that’s supposed to be OK,” said Jacobs. “Somehow, you keep coming to the reality that it’s not OK, that this can’t happen in our country. What they did was probably perfectly legal, but it wasn’t for a bridge or a road. This was supposedly to keep our open space as open space, which we had every intention of doing.”

Public outcry from the local equestrian community surged and was vocally evident in multiple public meetings the township held in early December and on the township and LCHSA Facebook pages.

“People came out of the woodwork. And this Internet thing? Wow. It’s amazing,” Jacobs said. Other public officials, such as Pennsylvania State Senator Andy Dinniman and the Chester County Commissioners, joined their voices in support of the LCHSA’s struggle to stop the condemnation notice. 

In the public meetings, township officials claimed that while the land would be repurposed into sports fields, the horse show would be able to continue. “I believe they were intending to lease it back to us at a favorable price, but if they were looking to put baseball fields down, they have backstops and homerun fences and permanent structures. That would not go well with horses or horse trailers and cars,” said Jacobs.

“Something that I don’t think the township quite understood is that we use every inch of the 33 acres for the horse show. We have 120 horse trailers show up and need to park, as well as hundreds of spectators’ cars. We borrow the Ludwig’s Corner fire department’s parking lot. We use some vacant adjoining land for car parking with the owner’s permission. We have stabling tents. I think they thought the three rings were all we needed for the horse show,” Jacobs continued. 

There’s Some Background

In the furor, West Vincent Township supervisor Clare Quinn was fired from her position as executive director of the French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust, a land conservation organization that has helped preserve more than 9,000 acres of open space in Chester County. In a message about the decision on their website, the Trust said: “The Board believes that Ms. Quinn’s actions as a West Vincent Township supervisor in condemning the Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show grounds represent a fundamental conflict with the Trust’s long-standing mission of voluntary land conservation.”

LCHSA officials were caught completely by surprise when they were served eminent domain papers, but there is some history of negotiation between the township and the LCHSA about the land. In 2003, LCHSA officials began negotiations with the township about the possibility of the township purchasing Transfer of Development Rights for the land. A TDR is a form of conservation easement in which landowners sell the development rights of the land, which are then transferred to other land.

“Talks stalled rather quickly because most of our land, 26 acres of it, is zoned commercial. And for commercial real estate, particularly on a major highway like Rt. 100, fair market value is much higher than for residential or agricultural zoned. There was no mechanism for them to value the property at the commercial rate, and they stopped discussing the possibility of the TDR,” Jacobs said.

Three years ago, when Jacobs assumed the role of LCHSA president, he re-initiated conversations about the TDRs with the township.

Volunteer help with the horse show was diminishing, and LCHSA officials were exploring the possibility of hiring an employee to help with grounds maintenance. They planned to use money from the sale of the TDRs to establish an endowment fund to use in that purpose. While the township expressed interest in the possibility, no progress was made in an agreement. Then, in early 2010, the township inquired if the LCHSA would consider selling the land to the township. “I took it back to the LCHSA Board of Directors, and it was unanimous that no, we were not interested in selling the property. It goes against our mission statement and what our founding fathers wanted. They wanted to keep open space and promote equine events,” said Jacobs.

Township officials denied that they sought to develop the land for commercial purposes via the eminent domain. “The Township was and is committed to ensuring that the LCHSA’s annual event and other events continue. The West Vincent Board never had any thought or intention to allow commercial or residential development of the property, use the property for disposal of waste effluent, or do anything other than ensure the continued use of the property by the LCHSA while expanding access to our residents to enjoy the property as a community park,” they said in a press release.

Moving Forward

The township scheduled a meeting for Dec. 16 to vote on rescinding the notice of eminent domain. On Dec. 15, they posted a notice on the township’s website indicating that they would ask the LCHSA to address certain issues, including putting the land in a conservation easement, addressing storm water run-off issues, eliminating skeet shooting activities on the land, adding public restrooms and sports fields to the property, and granting the township first right of refusal should the LCHSA decide to sell the land.

“The Township confirmed to the Association that the items set forth above conform with the goals the Township wished to achieve through the condemnation proceedings,” according to the notice. In the meeting on Dec. 16, township supervisors voted to rescind the condemnation and eminent domain. But the situation highlights the difficulties equestrian endeavors encounter in the face of encroaching development.

“I applaud the supervisors’ action to rescind the ordinance to proceed with eminent domain,” said Jacobs. “As a member of the LCHSA, I look forward to discussing their ideas and how the township can help us improve our grounds and our uses for the community. On a personal level, however, I can only hope that if they have other important issues come up within the township, that they go about it differently and pick up the phone and call someone to discuss them instead of using the sledgehammer of eminent domain.”