Construction of the Saddle Club continues during the pandemic

A crane lifting massive steel girders and a concrete slab signal the progress of the Clark County’s new riding arena.

Jackie Phillips, chairman of the board of the Clark County Saddle Club, said the area will be more than twice the size of the previous location.

The facility will enable indoor barrel racing with the ability to run standard outdoor barrel patterns, Phillips said. There will also be space for vendors to set up business during the events.

The Saddle Club hired Robertson & Olson Construction, a general contractor for Camas, to complete the project.

Club members expect construction on the project to be completed this spring, but Phillips said it was difficult to pinpoint an exact opening date at the moment.

To make the new facility possible, the Saddle Club raised over $ 38,000 through an auction in August 2020. The rest of the funding came from donations, the club’s cash on hand, and a loan, Phillips said.

“It’s a pretty big project, it’s pretty time-consuming, but it’s moving forward,” she said.

The previous location comprised 14 acres at 10505 NE 117th Ave., which was sold to developer The Cosmopolitan, LLC in January 2019 for $ 2.5 million.

In October 2018, the club purchased 40 acres of land at 11407 NE 174th Circle that will include an indoor arena and bridle path. The new property was purchased for approximately $ 767,000.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a delay in approval and construction as the county staff did most of their work remotely, Phillips said.

“We can at least make progress now,” she said.

Members can still drive at the previous location through a lease between the club and the developers of The Cosmopolitan, Phillips said. Members who used the old location paid a monthly fee of $ 10.

The lease ends on October 1st, so there will be a period during the winter and early spring months when the club will not have access to the facilities.

In the meantime, the association has held a number of general meetings at the new location.

Phillips mentioned that the new area is likely to add to Clark County’s economic value. Several hundred club members would use the facilities, and the annual Vancouver Rodeo would resume after the project was completed.

The construction of the new facility, together with the pandemic, led to an interruption of the annual rodeo, which has not taken place since 2018.

“I think everyone is pretty excited to see (the facility) finally get up and running,” said Phillips. “It will likely be the premier equestrian facility in southwest Washington and perhaps the entire west side of the mountains.”

Phillips attributes a drop in membership to belief that members thought they had no place to drive during construction, which they don’t.

“We’ve been getting new members lately because I think people can see the facility from 503 federal highway. You can see the arena, ”said Phillips. “It was encouraging.”

Phillips said the venue move talks began when the group felt they were “displaced” from their former location, largely due to new residential buildings and increased road traffic.

“I would never have thought that I would get involved so intensely,” says Phillips, who has been an active member of the board for five to six years. “It took a tremendous amount of my time and a lot of time, energy, and work from other people to achieve this.”

The Clark County Saddle Club has been the equestrian hub for everything in the county since 1946.