Starting 20 years ago, Kentucky’s horse industry asked, and the University of Kentucky delivered with the goal of becoming a world equine leader. To celebrate, the community is invited to participate in programs and events throughout the year.
By Holly Wiemers
It has been 20 years since the formation of UK’s Equine Initiative, now UK Ag Equine Programs, an effort to serve the horse and the industry that supports the horse. Formed in March 2005, the program began as a partnership between the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and the horse industry and was established through the efforts of the UK Gluck Equine Research Foundation, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association/Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders and several other prominent Kentucky equine organizations.
“We have seen wonderful examples of the benefits derived from working together across disciplines,” said James MacLeod, director of UK Ag Equine Programs. “With active engagement and the diverse expertise of faculty across eight different academic departments, complex challenges can be addressed and opportunities that require input from multiple disciplines can be pursued. We have really come a long way, as is now clearly evident in the scope and breadth of our contributions to equine agriculture.”
A year of celebration and service
UK Ag Equine Programs will celebrate 20 years of equine excellence with several alumni and industry-focused events in 2025. Events include a double-header celebration weekend featuring an alumni reunion event at Keeneland April 12 and the Horsey Hustle 5K April 13, an annual race that raises funds for the program’s Student Experience and Applied Education Fund.
In the fall, the focus will be on the equine industry with an evening of gratitude and celebration, recognizing the industry’s support that helped create and grow UK Ag Equine Programs.
A substantive part of UK Ag Equine Programs’ year of celebration with broad participation from every part of the UK equine community is Mane Mission, a service drive to give back to the equine industry and the community through a year of service efforts. Everyone is invited to track their service hours, both equine and non-equine related, and report those via a form on the website. The goal is 5,000 cumulative service hours. In addition to making a difference by giving back, participants are eligible for prizes and program giveaways.
Throughout 2025, there will also be philanthropic opportunities to benefit current and future students as well as profiles in excellence from the past 20 years — which will be prominently featured on the program’s website and social media channels.
Change born from crisis: program’s formation and milestones
Since its formation, UK Ag Equine Programs has added considerably to the size, scope and collaboration advancing equine work at Martin-Gatton CAFE. It has also enhanced awareness and allowed the public better access to UK’s equine-focused programs and resources.
In 2001, Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome caused an estimated 30% loss of the Thoroughbred foal crop that spring, and Kentucky’s horse industry suffered economic losses of approximately $340 million. Martin-Gatton CAFE scientists worked around the clock to find the cause. By July 2001, less than three months after the disease was discovered, epidemiological and field studies demonstrated that MRLS was associated with unprecedented populations of Eastern Tent Caterpillars.
This backdrop served as a tipping point, identifying a crucial need for a central access point to all the college’s equine activities. It also underscored the signature status of Kentucky’s equine industry and the importance of working together across disciplines on complex multifaceted challenges. The seeds were planted for substantial investments in areas of equine agriculture with far-reaching impact at Kentucky’s flagship university.
“The wake-up call for this initiative were the foal losses of MRLS. Since understanding those losses involved the entire environment horses are exposed to, we needed experts in pasture, entomology, nutrition, forestry, disease, water and more,” said Nancy Cox, recently retired Martin-Gatton CAFE dean, currently serving as special assistant to UK’s president and liaison to the Bill Gatton Foundation, who was instrumental in the formation of the program. “The need for the program became evident as Dean Smith initiated strategic planning efforts to support the equine industry with the full force of the land-grant mission areas of teaching, research and extension.”
In early 2005, the university began statewide listening sessions, gathering input from stakeholders within all facets and breeds of the equine industry. These sessions helped define stakeholder priorities and were instrumental in setting the course for the Equine Initiative. Today, many of the core elements of the current UK Ag Equine Programs came from this feedback.
“The appointment of the Equine Initiative Committee in March 2005 affirmed the significant value of the equine economic cluster in Kentucky’s economy,” said Lori Garkovich, who served as committee chair and professor in the college’s department of Community and Leadership Development and has since retired from the university. “The enthusiastic support of individuals and organizations for the Initiative confirmed the importance of centralizing and focusing the college’s research, outreach and instructional expertise.”
Furthermore, these sessions also identified the need for a strong undergraduate degree program, increased research on issues directly relevant to the equine industry, better communication and informational resources and an increase in outreach programs specific to the equine industry.
As a result, new and redirected faculty and staff positions were created; planning was started for an undergraduate degree program in equine science; new research programs in economics, pastures and forages, disease and reproduction were established; a horse pasture management program was pilot tested to launch in 2006; and new partnerships were developed with other universities, colleges and the equine industry.
What began as the Equine Initiative was renamed UK Ag Equine Programs in 2012 to better reflect the breadth of equine offerings at UK and the college’s long-term commitment to serving the state’s signature equine industry. The name also cemented equine being a pillar of Kentucky’s ag landscape.
Equine excellence spanning 20 years
The program’s accomplishments across the land-grant mission of teaching, research and extension have been plentiful. The creation of the equine undergraduate degree program is considered to be one of the most transformative for Kentucky’s equine industry and workforce. Its rapid growth and popularity with students from across the country and beyond, solidifies its importance and value.
“The phrase, ‘’build it and they will come,’ was especially true for this program,” Cox said. “I would like to complement the leadership and faculty of the program for matching passion for the horse with a best-in-class education. Ag Equine Programs also allows coordination of research that meets the needs of clientele and extension programs that are unique in the horse world. I am immensely proud of this program and will forever be grateful to those who built it.”
Student enrollment numbers reflect the program’s popularity. The first class in Equine Science and Management numbered 46 in 2007, with the first official graduate of the program walking the stage in 2009, also the year the major was officially approved by the university. Now, the major is the largest in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment with a fall 2024 enrollment of 331 students. Three-quarters of those come to UK from out-of-state to live and learn in horse country. There are also now 704 alums of the program, with about 65% of graduates initially remaining in Kentucky to work within the horse industry.
“I came to UK from Virginia in large part because I wanted to take part in a wide range of internships and work experience available in the area. I didn’t realize how often I’d use the academic skillsets I gained as part of my degree. I still think back to the basics of equine anatomy and conformation, veterinary science and welfare and ethics that were part of my time there — and I use those basics in my career daily,” said Natalie Voss (‘10), now editor-in-chief of the Paulick Report and three-time Eclipse Award winner.
The career options students have vary as much as the industry itself and the careers alums are currently established in reflect that diversity. The major has evolved and expanded over the years, from offering either equine science or equine business in the first iteration of its curriculum to the current customizable degree program that offers the three different emphasis tracks of equine science; equine management and industry; and communications, leadership and education. Professionalism and career development are heavily emphasized, as is a spirit of community and support. Nearly a third of graduates go on to enroll in post-secondary education programs, with many pursuing equine veterinary medicine.
The research and outreach work being done at UK impacts all equine breeds and disciplines —, providing solutions for operations big and small and continuing to show the program’s impact globally. Since the inception of the program, there’s been a greater emphasis on interdepartmental collaborations in solving research problems important to the industry. Key extension and outreach programs benefiting horse owners and horse farm managers have also been created — expanding support into additional areas such as pasture evaluation, surface safety, facility design, biosecurity, environmental sustainability and business decisions.
The college also administered the 2012 and 2022 Kentucky Equine Survey, a statewide comprehensive demographic and economic assessment that considers all horse breeds in Kentucky. This was the first time that work had been done for Kentucky in more than 30 years prior to the 2012 survey.
The horse is at the heart of everything we do
In the past 20 years, the program has operated under three deans, five different program directors and a project chair at its inception. Importantly, the university has also actively collaborated with equine industry professionals and equine-affiliated organizations and businesses. These collaborations have been bi-directional and substantive, enriching the programmatic initiatives at every level.
“The formation of the program also revealed the continued cultural significance of the horse in Kentucky history, folklore and community life,” Garkovich said. “Those supporting and participating in UK Ag Equine programs – sport horse competitors; trail riders; Thoroughbred and breed owners, breeders, trainers and enthusiasts; 4-H Horse Club and Pony Club kids; show ring participants and backyard one horse owners and those who are simply in awe of the beauty, strength and versatility of our equine companions – all share and cherish the magic of our horses. On top of all the other accomplishments of UK Ag Equine Programs, discovering what unites us is pretty special.”
The mission statement of UK Ag Equine Programs reads, “The horse is at the heart of everything we do.” Twenty years later, those words still ring true.
“For 20 years, UK Ag Equine Programs has played a vital role in advancing equine education, research and outreach, always keeping the horse at the heart of its work,” said Laura Stephenson, vice president for land-grant engagement and dean of Martin-Gatton CAFE. “The program’s contributions to the equine industry and its commitment to developing future leaders are truly remarkable. We look forward to seeing it grow and thrive in the years ahead.”
Learn more, celebrate and get involved at https://equine.ca.uky.edu/20years.
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Writer: Holly Wiemers, hfwiem@uky.edu
The Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment and authorization to provide research, education information and other services to individuals and institutions that provide equal opportunities for qualified persons in all aspects of institutional operations and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, uniformed service, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information or social or economic status.
Media Contact:
Holly Wiemers
hfwiem@uky.edu