Equestrian Training Center Groundbreaking on STX

St. Croix Times Staff

St. Croix - Governor Albert Bryan Jr. presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the VI Equestrian Training Center, a historic state-of-the-art facility to be constructed in Estate Body Slob on St. Croix. 

The center will serve as a hub for horsemanship where young people can develop skills in equine care, agriculture, animal science, and related fields. 

The state-of-the-art center, championed by the Bryan-Roach Administration in collaboration with Senator-At-Large Angel Bolques Jr. and former Senator Javan James, will be built through a public-private partnership between Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks and Recreation and MCN Build.

“The partnership represents the best of what can happen when government and private industry come together with a shared purpose,” Governor Bryan said at the ceremony. “Horse racing and horsemanship are already a part of who we are as a people. By investing in this facility, and working with MCN, we are not only preserving that tradition, but we are also building pathways for our young people to turn passion into purpose, and purpose into opportunity.”

The Governor described the facility as an investment in future generations and a model for modern training environments that can serve as a blueprint for similar spaces throughout the Territory. The center is expected to create opportunities for horse enthusiasts and the broader community while expanding access to education and workforce development. 

The project is being financed through a $900,000 Community Facilities Trust appropriation and is expected to be completed in six months. It will focus on jockey training, stable management, youth mentorship, horse racing pathways and veterinary programs. 

“A new facility will help divert young Crucian children from life on the street by giving them discipline, structure, and a professional pathway,” said Stanley Acoy, a spokesman for the Flamboyant Horseman Association.

Senator Angel Bolques Jr., who co-sponsored the legislation that created the appropriation, said the equestrian training facility is part of a larger vision for the future of the horse racing industry in the Virgin Islands.

“I want to say that this is the precursor of what is yet to come. This is the missing link between creating what is considered to be the true continuity of a horse racing industry in the Virgin Islands,” declared Sen Bolques.

Governor Bryan said the new facility would benefit not only St. Croix, but the wider Virgin Islands economy. 

“We’re getting a ferry that can take horses, trailers, everything between St. Thomas and St. Croix on a daily basis. That is amazing. It’s huge! It broadens both economies with the possibilities of what we are creating here.”