New to the Herd

We welcome you!

Fresh Start Farm Therapy – Corporate Bronze

Dowman Family Foundation – Individual Leader

Renewing Organizations

Corporate Gold

Imagine – Marne Fauber – Corporate Gold

Corporate Silver

Great American Insurance – Corporate Silver

Corporate Bronze

Next Level Farm – Corporate Bronze

Renewing Individuals & Families

John S. Gaither

Individual Leader – RENEWING

Nancy deCavaignac

Individual Patron – RENEWING

Individual Renewing Founder

In 2019, Kimberly Van Kampen moved her Hampton Green Farms from Wellington to Ocala. The move to Marion County was inspired by the opening of WEC; so much so, that in 2021 Hampton Green Farms and Discover Dressage became Founding Partners of WEC.

Van Kampen’s move to Marion County is big news for the dressage world, as she is one of the founders of the Global Dressage Festival in Wellington and a member of Wellington Equestrian Partners. But after 20 years, she decided to move her investments to Ocala because of WEC.

Van Kampen is one of the most respected breeders of P.R.E. (Spanish) horses in the world and is the past president of the US P.R.E. Association. She is also one of the largest supporters of youth dressage, supporting Lendon Gray’s Dressage4Kids program and the Emerging Dressage Athlete Program through the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF). Van Kampen’s sponsored rider Sophia Schults, had two big wins at the 2022 FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC). Schults and Conocido HGF, owned by Hampton Green Farms, won an Individual Bronze Medal (Freestyle) and were also part of the NAYC Team Gold Medal.

Individual Renewing Founder

Individual Renewing Founder

Horse Farms Forever is happy to have Nicole Hornblower and her husband James Denman as Founder Members. Their primary residence is in Massachusetts, but they fell in love with Marion County’s picturesque countryside after visiting Ocala for several years for horse shows. In 2017, Hornblower and her husband decided to buy their own horse farm.

“This is such a beautiful area and my husband, James and I, are very excited to be part of the Horse Farms Forever community to help make sure that there is land for horses,” she said.

In 2018, shortly after they purchased their property, now named Little Creek Farm, they learned about the proposed Coastal Connector toll road from their realtor, Matt Varney of Ocala Horse Properties. They are grateful that the road was stopped, but they became concerned again when the Northern Turnpike Extension was recently proposed.

Corporate Renewing Founder

Corporate Renewing Founder

Corporate Renewing Founder

 Corportate Renewing Founder

The zoning hearing on Tuesday, March 19th went into overtime and extra innings as the County Commissioners, weary and skeptical from the three-hour testimony of RaceTrac’s experts trying to convince them that a truck stop was “agricultural related”, voted unanimously to give RaceTrac strike 3 and deny the zoning request.

In the fall of 2023, RaceTrac applied to rezone an 11-acre parcel, located deep inside the Farmland Preservation Area, from Agricultural to Rural Commercial to build a convenience store, gas station, and truck stop. The original site plan from RaceTrac included a 6,000 sf convenience store and 16 fueling lanes for cars, 6 fueling lanes for semi-trucks and 19 parking spaces for the big rigs. That was before they realized that truck stops are not allowed in the Farmland Preservation Area, so RaceTrac threw a curve ball and removed the semi-truck parking but kept the fueling lanes for the semi-trucks.

Commissioners didn’t fall for the shenanigan and neither did neighbor Mike Huber who put an end to all the fancy expert talk during his public comments, “If a truck stops in there, it’s a truck stop!”

At the hearing, all the players showed up, including over 160 neighbors, with 50 of them signing up to speak to ask Commissioners to deny the rezoning request. In addition, Commissioners received over 300 letters in opposition, including from the top switch-hitters and sluggers in the community: Chamber and Economic Partnership, the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association, 1,000 Friends of Florida, and the Principals of North Marion Middle School and High School.

After the seventh inning stretch, Attorney Matthew Brockway and Land Use Planner Evangeline Linkous, representing Horse Farms Forever, made strong pitches to support denying the rezoning request.

County Commissioners cited several examples of safety concerns, and the transportation and congestion issues, as some of the main reasons why they voted to deny the rezoning request. The Marion County Growth Services staff report included statistics on the intersection, which showed it averages one accident a week. Several neighbors also gave powerful testimony about the numerous accidents that occur at the intersection.

“I cannot get over the transportation aspect and putting 18 wheelers onto CR 329,” said County Commissioner Craig Curry.

The dust has begun to settle from the Tuesday, February 20 public hearing on Jumbolair’s application and it still feels like a big win for the community. Residents went home after the nearly six-hour meeting with a sigh of relief as the meeting ended with a moratorium on new fly-in communities and a commitment to study and revise the County’s regulations.

The feeling on Tuesday morning was much different when, just two hours before the public hearing, Jumbolair withdrew their application to expand the fly-in community.

This calculated maneuver did not deter nearly 350 residents and neighbors, as they showed up at the Marion County Commission Auditorium to protest the development. Also, in a show of solidarity, 220 people signed up to speak in opposition.

Since the application was withdrawn, the Marion County Commission could not vote, but they could still take public comments from residents, the attorneys representing Horse Farms Forever and John Travolta, as well as comments from Save Our Rural Area, who helped organize the community.

Concerned neighbors gave impassioned speeches to the Commission about how the proposal to build 240 homes and 198 new aircraft hangars would forever change their quiet, rural farmland community. Several residents also shared their serious and grave concerns about the numerous low-flying military airplanes and helicopters that have spooked horses and livestock and rattled residents with the constant noise and safety concerns.

While the application was officially withdrawn by the applicant, not denied by the Commission, this meant that Jumbolair could reapply at any time. However, at the recommendation of County Attorney Guy Minter, Commission Chair Michelle Stone directed staff to revise the Land Development Code (LDC) with clear criteria for private airfields and fly-in communities. Minter also recommended hiring a consultant due to the complexity of the issue.

The Commissioners agreed to study and revise the LDC and, to also not accept any applications for new fly-in communities until the revisions to the LDC have been adopted. This process will take approximately 18 to 24 months. Horse Farms Forever will be closely monitoring this process and we will update the community on any upcoming meetings or workshops.

Horse Farms Forever was instrumental in pointing out the deficiencies in the LDC regarding fly-in communities as we submitted a letter to County Administrator Mounir Bouyounes addressing this issue about a week before the public hearing. For example, the LDC has definitions for things like Aviary, Boat Yard, and Equine Center, but it does not have a definition for the terms Airport, Fly-In Community, Hangar, or Runway. This deficiency in the LDC justifies the moratorium on fly-in applications, especially considering that Marion County has nearly 20 existing fly-in communities.

Horse Farms Forever (HFF) also worked closely with Save Our Rural Areas (SORA) on this proposed development as it not only threatened the Farmland Preservation Area (FPA), but also several rural communities that border the FPA. It was the combined forces of hundreds of residents, along with the powerful legal team that included several attorneys representing HFF, SORA and John Travolta, as well as over 2,000 emails, which sent a formidable message to the Commission about how important it is to protect our quality of life and rural communities.

We thank the County Commissioners and the Growth Services staff for their professionalism and also for the leadership of Commission Chair Michelle Stone, who allowed public comment, even though the application had been withdrawn. Each and every resident that sent an email or spoke at the Commission meeting made a difference.

Like our horses, we are stronger together!