[MUSIC] NARRATOR: Something special happened 6,000 years ago when the horse was domesticated.

The world was transformed.

The equine's speed and power gave man a new approach to the world.

The reign of the horse lasted until the introduction of the steam engine.

Many now say the horse is in semi-retirement with a part-time job as a recreational item.

Today in Indiana, the horse takes on several roles.

For some, their animal is still a workhorse.

Others utilize the horse in different types of competition.

[MUSIC] Or for recreation.

[MUSIC] The most recognizable role for a mount is as a racehorse.

[MUSIC] A recent study revealed how much impact the equine industry has on Indiana.

WOMAN: The Equine industry's contribution to the GDP of the state of Indiana was over $2 billion.

NARRATOR: $2 billion generates a lot of HORSEPOWER for the state of Indiana.

[MUSIC] ANNCR: Support for "Horsepower: Indiana's Equine Industry" comes from Smithville.

Fiber Internet, Streaming TV, Home Security and Automation in Southern Indiana.

More information at Smithville.com.

And by WTIU Members.

Thank you!

NARRATOR: Oxford, Indiana, a community of 1,100 near Lafayette, is grateful for its water tower.

This tower in reality brandishes a message.

This typical-looking barn, just a few blocks from the water tower, displays a proud message as well.

So, who was this Dan Patch?

Dan Patch was a horse born in Oxford, Indiana, April 28, 1896.

NARRATOR: The horse was a Standardbred pacer.

Owner Dan Messner was hoping to race his new foal someday, but he immediately had grave concerns.

When this colt was born, he was wobbly, he couldn't stand up.

It had to be held up to nurse its mother.

He had a bad leg.

A lot of people told him he ought to knock it in the head.

NARRATOR: Mr.

Messner didn't give up on his colt, and as the horse matured, they found ways to compensate for his handicap.

Down at the bottom of his foot, as he'd run, he'd kick that leg out.

And they worked a long time to correct that one bad foot.

And finally, one of the veterinarians in Pine Village came up with a special shoe.

NARRATOR: With the fix in place, Dan Patch's racing career took off.

He won races in Boswell and Lafayette, lowering his time at each contest.

Made people in Oxford feel pretty proud.

It was a time when people had horses and buggies, so what were you going to follow?

You were going to follow horseracing because that's something that was familiar to you.

And it was big time.

NARRATOR: After undefeated success at local tracks in Indiana, Messner decided to test the horse at the national level.

Dan Patch moved on to the Grand Circuit.

MESSNER: Grand Circuit was a big deal.

It was a huge deal.

It was the best of the best of the horses.

And he was winning every race he was running.

He did so well that a man by the name of Sturgis wanted to buy him.

The real story is Mr.

Sturgis was involved with the mob.

And he wanted Dan Patch, and Mr.

Messner wouldn't sell him.

Mr.

Sturgis had someone come to Oxford and poison Dan Patch's colt to scare Mr.

Messner into selling him.

And it worked.

GLASPIE: Gave $20,000 for him.

When he had him was the last time Dan Patch ever ran a race with another horse.

Because he's winning everything, they wouldn't run agin' him anymore.

So from then on, he ran against the stop watch.

He couldn't get a race.

He's just like a prize fighter.

Couldn't get a race.

[MUSIC] Mr.

Savage was the next owner from Minnesota that bought Dan Patch from Mr.

Sturgis.

GLASPIE: Bought him for $60,000.

Mr.

Savage was a marketing genius who had a great horse and knew how to sell it.

He became a sports icon.

And so he would draw huge crowds.

TAYLOR: Anywhere from 15 to 45,000 people would come out to watch this horse race.

NARRATOR: Dan Patch broke world speed records at least 14 times.

On this day, September 6, 1906, before a crowd of 93,000 at the Minnesota State Fair, Dan Patch set the mile speed record of one minute and fifty-five seconds.

GLASPIE: The record he set, 1:55, was never tied for 38 years.

NARRATOR: Mr.

Savage knew how to take advantage of the horse's accomplishments.

TAYLOR: He knew how to market Dan Patch's popularity.

Put his name advertising on everything possible.

Dan Patch cigars, Dan Patch pocket watches, Dan Patch knives, Dan Patch pedal cars, Dan Patch wagons, Dan Patch washing machines.

They had Dan Patch overalls.

I probably had some Dan Patch overalls when I was a kid, but I sure didn't keep 'em.

I wished I had a pair.

TAYLOR: He took the horse and made a star of the horse.

That's the reason he's significant to Indiana is because he came from here.

And he went on to become, as many people have referred to, the Michael Jordan of modern-day harness racing.

Dan Patch the name made a lot more money than Dan Patch the horse.

NARRATOR: On the other side of the state, owner W.B.

Barefoot of Cambridge City was having great success with his Standardbred pacer, Single G, when he started racing in 1915.

TAYLOR: Single G originally, he had several nicknames.

the main primary one was the Wonder Horse because he raced so long and so hard.

NARRATOR: Most horses reach their peak at three or four, or maybe five.

Single G didn't fit that mold.

He set his lifetime fastest interval at the age of 13.

He was the first horse to have three heats in one day under the time of two minutes.

That's phenomenal.

NARRATOR: Single G's most remembered nickname is "The Horse That Time Forgot."

It's etched on this memorial in Cambridge City at the entrance to a park.

In 1950, a group of harness veterans named the best pacers in the preceding half-century.

They picked Single-G on top, followed by Dan Patch.

[MUSIC] ANNCR: "So at last came Dan Patch.

"The best.

"The swiftest.

"The greatest of them all.

This is his story."

NARRATOR: Even Hollywood jumped on the popularity of harness racing and the homespun Hoosier culture.

The studios wouldn't make a film unless they thought there was an audience for it.

The fame of Dan Patch seemed a natural topic for theatergoers.

Not yet.

Not yet... Now!

[HOOVES POUNDING] NARRATOR: This 1944 film titled "Home in Indiana" brought the state's county-fair harness racing to the big screen.

TAYLOR: It showed harness racing's popularity in that time-frame and how it impacted everyday life.

The harness horse is a little different than a runner.

He requires quite a few heats.

Now in the wintertime, we go a lot of slow miles.

NARRATOR: This is Nat Hill back in 1968 at the Delaware County fairgrounds talking about training horses for his father.

His father started Hoosier Hill Farm.

I'm ashamed to admit, that's what my father called the place, and I've been too lazy to change it.

We are now officially the Barely Able Stable.

NARRATOR: Nat has been racing horses most of his life.

He has an insider's perspective of how Indiana lost its racing luster after the glory years of Dan Patch and Single G. HILL: Pari-mutuel betting is a form of gambling where you go to the racetrack and you place a bet on how you think a horse will perform in a given race.

It all goes into one big pari-mutuel pool.

A certain amount of it is taken out for the track and the horsemen, and taxes and what have you.

And then the money goes back to the winning persons who have placed the proper bet.

And it was big in Ohio, it was big in Illinois, it was big in Kentucky, and Indiana didn't have it.

And that hurt us badly.

NARRATOR: In 1986, longtime Standardbred horseman Ralph Wilfong expressed his concern about trying to make a living racing horses in Indiana without pari-mutuel betting in the state.

You could not... start a farm today and make money breeding and raising horses in the state of Indiana.

It's virtually impossible.

But you can in Illinois, and you can in Ohio, and you can in Kentucky and you can in Michigan.

HILL: In 1989, the Indiana voters approved lotteries and pari-mutuel racing and that was a big deal.

It was a success for the Indiana residents, but the purses were small.

They did the best they could, but quite honestly, we kind of struggled.

The good news was that in 1995, in their third special session, the legislature approved riverboat casinos.

Out of every three-dollar admission fee, 65 cents went to promote Indiana racing.

And that's when interest really picked up.

People thought, "Wait a minute, that's a steady source of revenue, it's going to increase the purses," and breeding continued to roll on and things got better.

NARRATOR: Next came the possibility of slot machines at the tracks and the dollars they could bring to the horse industry.

My eyes just bugged out.

I thought, this is an incredible amount of money.

We need to make sure that the horse industry gets part of this, because it's our track.

In 2007, the Indiana legislature approved slot machines at racetracks.

Twelve percent of the win goes to support horse racing in Indiana.

It has generated a large amount of money that goes directly to horse racing, and it's worked.

That's why we're where we are.

NARRATOR: In 2010, many different facets of Indiana's equine industry came together with funding for research by Purdue Northwest to determine the economic value of the industry to the state.

There was no comprehensive data for the entire equine industry in the state at the time.

There had been some reports done for horse racing but not comprehensively for the state.

When you talk about the equine industry, to many people in the state of Indiana, they immediately bring horse racing to mind because it gets the most publicity.

But there are, in fact, a large number of other equine-related activities.

NARRATOR: Welcome to Schooner Valley Stables in Brown County, Indiana.

Its home to one of those other equine activities -- trail riding.

MAN: Grandpa always had horses on the farm.

This is a family farm, back in the day in Brown County.

Loved to ride them back in the Yellowwood State Forest and around the valleys and the hills.

And then in 1968, he decided to make it a business.

So I been around it my whole life.

After school, I'd come down, and just be Grandpa's little right-hand man.

I was young enough to not have to do all the hard work NARRATOR: Now, Luke is the one that keeps an eye on the business.

ROBERTSON: Seven days a week, we try to start around 9:00, sometimes earlier in the busy season.

Run the herd in.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] Every morning I come down here and I help saddle.

We get the horses brushed and ready in the morning.

Gotta make sure where the saddle and blanket goes is free of debris.

We check 'em for bites and sores and scrapes.

Make sure they have second breakfasts so they're not real hungry on the trail.

You ready to go eat?

Wanna go get some eats?

ROBERTSON: Usually first round of people start showing up about 10:45.

We really like to take the time to make sure all the people, kids, people that are nervous, make sure they have the right horse assigned to them.

That's really crucial.

You have a choice of this one, which is Ricochet or the one coming up, which is Karma.

Okay, Karma.

All right, Ricochet it is.

When you are assigning horses, it helps to know who gets along and who doesn't.

The ones that are real relaxed and chill are the ones that we give the kids.

We do give a five-minute lesson.

Make sure people know kinda what they're doing on the back of these guys.

Your gas pedal's in your heels.

So you kick just a little bit to go.

Sometimes kickin' a little goes a long way, sometimes you have to kick harder.

I'll show you something, hold on -- "Hyah."

Doesn't do much.

So you have to kick to go.

We don't have an age limit, so if you're breathing, you can ride one of our horses.

Usually if they're younger, they can ride with a parent.

[MUSIC] And if you want to stop, we have to use "U".

Slide that "U" down to the hair -- show me what you can do.

Use the "U" -- show me how to stop... Stop!

Use two hands, there you go.

Now pull back towards your belly button... [MUSIC] We'll see ya later.

There you go, you did it!

All right.

NARRATOR: With the final lessons learned and the riders settled in their saddles, it's finally time to head down the trail.

♪ Lovers on a slow ride home ♪ ♪ Reins are hangin' slack -- the horses know ♪ ♪ Every foot of this old road ♪ ♪ The sun is sinking down -- the shadows grow ♪ ♪ Soon will come the big-faced moon ♪ ♪ I sing you off to sleep with a Haggard tune ♪ ♪ As we go -- on a slow ride home ♪ ♪ Slow ride home ♪ ♪ On a slow ride home ♪ GIRL: Mollee, you have to kick it, okay?

ROBERSTON: Grandpa wanted to give people as much of a cowboy experience as possible, so he has always offered cantering trails.

Folks that have never been on a running horse or a cantering horse, their eyes light up, they get tears, the adrenaline.

And that's really what hooks folks.

Bounce the giggles out of them.

[MUSIC] COULTER: I just love observing horses in general, just how they act with each other but also how they react to new people, especially people who might be a little nervous or a little concerned about their first experience.

You can see even in somebody who is terrified, that sudden change when they realize that it's this relationship that they're being able to build with a beast that's ten times their size.

[MUSIC] ROBERTSON: Can you make a living doing this?

Whew, I don't -- I don't think so.

You gotta love it.

Umm, all of our crew... they take a hit.

NARRATOR: Schooner Valley hosts four group trail rides throughout the day.

With that many opportunities, how many horses does it take to keep the operation running?

ROBERTSON: We have 39 or 40.

We're always buying and selling.

There seems to always be about six horses injured one way or the other.

Bites, they're horribly mean on each other at night, sharing hay.

It's very hard to have enough but not too many.

Most of our horses are mutts.

Quarter horses are nice 'n bulky and they can carry a load but they don't have the endurance an Arabian might.

So we started mixing the breed and hoped for the bulkiness of the quarter horse, but the endurance and wanting to run of an Arabian.

It worked out.

NARRATOR: The horses are Luke's livelihood, but they're also a continuous expense.

There's a lot of money that comes in, but it goes almost immediately out.

And in the winter time, there's no income so you're just pushing feed towards them 24/7.

Yearly shots, that covers West Nile, and a couple flus, tetanus is in there.

Worming every two months.

You're supposed to go and check their stool for what worming they need, but we're not following 40 horses around with baggies.

Hoof care, we tried a barefoot trim.

There was a guy that thought to himself, "The mustangs don't ever see a farrier.

How in the world do they keep their feet up to par?"

So he did some studying and found out a way to trim a horse's hoof mimicking nature.

And we tried that with our herd.

About half of them took to it.

They can get really bad and grow real long and they can actually end up going split-toe, like a cow.

They'll get a big split right up the middle, the hooves will actually separate.

So it's pretty important to keep up on them and keep them trimmed.

The hoof's kinda got a white line through here and you trim down to that.

Kinda like trimming your own fingernails.

If you go too deep, or start to get a little too deep, it'll get a little tender.

If you're puttin' shoes on, about every six to eight weeks, even if you're just trimming them, they need to be trimmed pretty regular... just to keep their shape.

NARRATOR: Saddles and stirrups, bridles and halters, and what seems like an endless list of additional riding equipment -- all constitute horse tack.

The gear is a perpetual drain on income.

There is a lot in tack.

I don't know how much it would cost to replace everything in here... Thousands -- too much.

NARRATOR: Indiana's State Parks are another option for horseback riding.

Located just a few miles from Schooner Valley Stables, Brown County State Park has an extensive trail system.

The first horseback rides started in 1929 at Turkey Run State Park, and it was so popular that we continued offering horseback riding, basically since that time.

We have twelve parks that offer some sort of equestrian recreation -- either bridle trails, or overnight camping in our horse camps or through stables which provide guided horse rides for our customers.

We have six stables across Indiana.

We have six equestrian campgrounds with about 460 campsites.

We have about 25,000 guided rides through our stables a year.

And probably quite a few more come in that own horses and use our bridle trails.

Children experience their first horse ride oftentimes at a stable, and to see them light up is really special.

In Indiana State Parks, we have about 175 miles' worth of day use trails.

So it's quite an extensive trail system we offer.

We provide a lot of opportunity for equestrians to use Indiana's State Parks.

We always say there's enough people coming to the town that want to ride a horse that we don't really consider each other competitors, and we offer something a little different.

So they also have a few things that they can do that we can't do.

The good thing about dealing with vacationers to Brown County is even the married couple that hate each other at home, when they're down here drinking wine and buying fudge and riding horses, they're having a good time.

When a pair will come up, it's usually the girl that has dragged the guy along and he's just there because he wants the next date to go well.

You guys are doing really well.

People don't have the ability to ride horses elsewhere.

A lot of those third-generation farms don't exist anymore.

So maybe their first time on a horse is out here with us, and they're 52.

We do it because we love people and we love riding horses.

Love seeing the smiles on those kids when they ride their first horse -- not a pony.

And again, when you take people on running rides, the face that you can see as a guide looking back.

You do it because you love it, not 'cause you want to make money.

♪ As we go... on a slow ride home ♪ ♪ Slow ride home ♪ ♪ On a slow ride home ♪ ♪ Slow ride home ♪ ♪ On a slow ride home ♪ [MUSIC] HILL: Come on, little buddy.

[MUSIC] Unnggh.

[MUSIC] Nothing to it.

(chuckling) NARRATOR: One of the most exciting times for a horse owner of any breed, is the arrival of a new foal.

For Standardbred owner Nat Hill, his first foal of the season arrived healthy and happy the last week of March.

HILL: Get something to eat, come on.

It's pretty impressive.

It's just, you're like wow, new life.

It's just an incredible moment when you see this.

This is the part that always amazes me.

How this thing arrives on the planet and knows how to do this.

It's just beyond my comprehension.

It just has to know.

NARRATOR: Nat says the number of foals expected at his facility varies slightly from year to year.

HILL: Anywhere from two to four.

Last year we had one.

You never know -- you breed two or three and then sometimes they all get with foal and sometimes you don't have very good percentage.

Weaning is not that big a deal around here because we let 'em go quite a bit longer than a lot of people do.

And as crazy as it sounds, we wait for the right sign in the moon.

I know that sounds bizarre, but it seems to make a difference.

[MUSIC] NARRATOR: After a quick inspection, mom finally coaxes her new foal out of the stable for the little one's first steps outside.

[MUSIC] NARRATOR: It's not long before the first nervous steps turn into a run.

[MUSIC] HILL: You turn 'em out and invariably, they run 'em around here two or three times.

I just am always amazed how coordinated they are at such a young age.

NARRATOR: Maybe not always coordinated... HILL: Floppo!

(chuckling) Whoop.

(chuckling) "Well, the ground's cold.

I don't think I'll do that."

[MUSIC] [HILL LAUGHING] Yeah, kick Mom.

That's a high percentage move.

(chuckling) When you figure all the things that could go wrong, it's pretty amazing the percentage of them that arrive like that one did, with no trouble.

NARRATOR: Like most proud new fathers, one can't help but dream about the future.

HILL: It takes a year foaling, then a year of growing up, then it's three years from the time you breed until you actually might get to the races, and it takes a while.

But man, when one of them trains well, it's one you've raised, and you go to the races, it's -- it's something.

NARRATOR: Just a couple of weeks later, Nat's second foal of the season arrived.

Its appearance was significantly more complicated.

HILL: Well, I was on vacation, and I didn't pay much attention to my phone.

And by the time I got up here and figured out what was going on, I was in trouble.

The foal was in great trouble.

She was uncoordinated and when she would try to get up, she would just go to the side.

It was really sad, sad deal.

And I'd done this before and I knew we needed to go to Purdue.

I know it's a big drop, come on.

Come on.

That a girl.

[MUSIC] They worked on this filly hard.

Every day was touch and go for two or three days.

It took her four days before she got up on her own.

And once she first got up on her own, we were in business.

We got her home today, and life's pretty good.

It's alive, healthy, active -- Hey, you're not gonna bite me, are you?

-- healthy foal and life's good.

We've had some real heartache over the years.

I don't want to compare it with losing a child or anything that serious, but I had one in particular that was really tough.

I had to euthanize it.

There wasn't any way I could get a veterinarian to come out, and it was really suffering.

I don't cry much but that was a tough day.

Tough day.

[HILL LAUGHING] Look at her -- look that baby trot now.

Look at that thing trot.

That's all it knows how to do.

[MUSIC] Are you ever gonna walk or you just gonna trot everywhere?

[WHISTLING] [LAUGHING] That thing doesn't know how to do anything but trot.

Look at that.

[LAUGHING] Look at her go.

Look at that thing trot.

Man!

We've had some babies trot, but I don't know if we've ever had a one-week-old make a lap quite like that.

[MUSIC] NARRATOR: In spite of the rough start, Nat's excitement watching the foal is the result of a lot of planning in the breeding process.

HILL: The mare was probably, if not the best, one of the best mares I've ever owned.

I quit with her after three 'cause I wanted to breed her.

The stud, last year, his yearlings at the yearling sales averaged a higher sale price than any other stud in the state of Indiana.

So you take the stud quality, you take the mare quality, you take the fact that this thing trotted at day one, and that's what gets you excited.

You're thinking, oh man, now this is gonna be the one.

This is gonna be the one that never loses a race.

Well, of course, that's unrealistic, but that's the way you have to look at it, otherwise you wouldn't get in the game.

[MUSIC] NARRATOR: Another way to get in the game is to purchase a horse.

[MUSIC] There are, I believe, two yearling sales in the state of Indiana.

The Michiana one, by and large, is not the highest quality.

At the Michiana sale, you show up and you sell.

NARRATOR: This Standardbred yearling sale at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis is much more discriminating.

There's some people who go around and look at every yearling that's hoping to be entered in the Indiana Standardbred sale.

You have to get your horse selected.

He has to be approved.

It's based on pedigree, confirmation, attitude, all sorts of things.

It takes a pretty fine eye on the part of people who grade those things to determine if your horse is eligible.

And that's why it's a higher dollar sale.

They're quote, "select yearlings."

NARRATOR: However, selection for the sale doesn't put an end to the close inspections.

Buyers track down their prospects and put them through some rigorous evaluations.

MAN: We're checking confirmation and trying to feel underneath the jaw, feel his airway, see what kind of feet he's got.

He's a good footed horse.

Checking confirmation, that's the number one thing.

The way they're put together, they way they're built.

Good strong bones, nice slope to their shoulder, nice strong rear end on 'em.

A lot of little things we look at.

MAN: On a trotter, I'm looking for the slope of the shoulder, for their stride.

When I pick up the foot and I bring it up to the elbow, I'm looking to see if she's going to reach out properly.

When I'm standing in front of her, I'm looking at the front legs from the knee down, the ankle pads, the foot, to make sure they're in pretty good alignment so that we don't travel in or out with the front feet.

When I'm looking behind on the animal, I'm looking to see how they stand correct enough to trot.

ANNCR: What a great way to start.

Here's one by Panther Hanover second crop -- [AUCTIONEER'S CHANT] ♪ They call her eye candy eye candy ♪ ♪ So pretty, hey pretty ♪ ♪ Why don't you smile back at me?

♪ ♪ They call her eye candy eye candy ♪ ♪ So fancy, hey baby ♪ ♪ Why don't you come over here?

♪ The thing that drives harness racing is you never really know.

I've seen $100,000 yearlings that couldn't trot or pace at all.

I saw a guy last summer go to a yearling sale, spend $3,000, and win ten of his first eleven races.

ANNCR: Coming in a filly by Whom Shall I Fear -- [AUCTIONEER'S CHANT] HILL: People have invested good money in a brood mare farm.

They breed those mares, and they sell the yearlings.

In a great number of cases, that's their only operation.

They don't race 'em.

They're just in the baby-producing business.

I brought 14 down this year.

That's the most we've had.

If we have a nice average, it'll be a successful run.

I know what I get into 'em from day one till sale ring time.

We take that, times the stallion fee we paid, and that'll determine if we made money or not.

ANNCR: Colt coming in by Rockin' Image.

This one is from Best Boss.

What a great, great, race mare she was.

Forty-nine and two, seven hundred seven thousand by Cam Best.

She dominated the Kentucky series.

[AUCTIONEER'S CHANT] [AUCTIONEER'S CHANT] [AUCTIONEER'S CHANT] [AUCTIONEER'S CHANT] HILL: I just sold two horses for more than I've ever sold two horses for before, simply because there's opportunities in other places where the breeding industry has not been so successful.

Where they're not producing enough horses.

So there's a shortage of horses in other states.

So if you've got an Indiana horse, they want him.

NARRATOR: This Hoosier Classic Yearling Sale had buyers from 15 states, Bermuda, and Canada in attendance.

Three hundred seventy-four horses were sold, with yearling Bluebird Keepsake bringing in the highest amount with a purchase price of $125,000.

Dwayne Miller sold his horse "My House" for $67,000 and was very happy with the outcome of the sale.

It was very successful.

We paid $40,000 for the mare, and we paid $4,000 for the stud fees.

So I had my time and some feed and stuff and other little expenses, but the mare's paid for, plus.

So next year, everything is a profit for her.

♪ They call her eye candy eye candy ♪ ♪ So fancy, hey baby ♪ ♪ Why don't you come over here?

♪ ♪ She is a somebody ♪ ♪ She is a handy lady ♪ ♪ She is a somebody ♪ ♪ Handy lady ♪ Talk about gambling!

The gamble is when you go to a sale, and plop down your money, and buy a horse.

It's you never know.

NARRATOR: This is Indiana Grand, near Shelbyville.

This track is the location where patrons go to watch "The Sport of Kings" in Indiana.

[HOOVES POUNDING] ANNCR: They're off and running at Indiana Grand, and checking at the start is Flower Packer.

MAN: The racing that takes place here is thoroughbred and quarter horse racing.

We have a very stout Indiana bred and sired program for both breeds.

The legislature very cleverly made sure that there would be an Indiana-bred and an Indiana-sired program.

This was to help with the economic impact that racing would have on Indiana and to make sure that a lot of the money that is generated through wagering would stay here within the state.

We run roughly mid-April through early November, 120 racing days.

Six are unique quarter horse days only.

The other 114 are primarily thoroughbred, with quarter horses mixed in.

ANNCR: And it's Captive Fuego, Captive Fuego with a two-race win streak.

NARRATOR: Before a trainer can even hope for a two-race win streak, it takes hours of preparation on the track preparing your horse for a race.

MAN: I train horses.

I have a stable here in Indiana Grand.

I'm like the coach.

Training horses, you're 24/7, because you're on call all the time, but I enjoy it, I love it.

I wouldn't want to do anything else.

NARRATOR: A trainer gauges success in wins, but the track looks for other indicators of achievement.

SCHUSTER: For me, as a racing person, safety is huge.

The fact that the horses and the riders all come back safe and sound is an important thing.

The general terminology, I guess, that people would look at racing for success would be handle, and that's the wagering dollars.

That's not what we get.

If a million dollars is wagered, we don't get a million dollars.

We get a percentage of that, the state gets a percentage of that, purses get a percentage of that.

NARRATOR: Recent numbers indicate that Indiana Grand had a one-year handle of over $145 million.

[HOOVES POUNDING] ANNCR: And they're off!

It's a good start.

Puppy on a String.

GRANITZ: We have turf racing here.

I love turf racing.

That's one thing very positive about Indiana Grand.

Usually have three turf races a day.

We race here four days a week.

All the Indiana stakes are 100,00 or more, and that's very good.

You'd like to have a horse that can run either turf or dirt, and then you got the best of both worlds.

[HOOVES POUNDING] ANNCR: And they're off!

Nacho Beanez setting out for the lead.

NARRATOR: Quarter horse races are a quarter-mile in length and the horses run full speed from start to finish.

MAN: Quarter horse is booming in Indiana, and it's getting bigger.

We've become part of the track here which races flat saddles.

We run with purses of approximately $4 million dollars over the year.

We've got a very strong program here.

Very seldom do we ever have a race that was less than ten in it, and you don't see that at a lot of tracks.

Quarter horses in Indiana probably rank in the top five in the nation.

SCHUSTER: We run about 18 percent quarter horses and about 82 percent thoroughbreds.

That's the general breakdown for it.

ANNCR: On the far outside, One Stormin' -- man, it's Louisiana Lover -- they left the bunch.

[MUSIC] NARRATOR: The stables at Indiana Grand are convenient for the horses and their trainers, but they also serve a purpose for the track operators.

SCHUSTER: They are only for horses that race here.

There are no fees.

It's advantageous for us to make sure that the horses have housing, so that we have an adequate number of quality runners here on the grounds.

It gives us a nice base to operate from as far as number of horses goes.

NARRATOR: One of the most familiar equestrian jobs is that of a jockey.

It can be a lifestyle with numerous ups and downs.

MAN: I've rode 15 years as a professional jockey.

Rode a little over 16,000 races.

Out of those 16,000, I've won a little over 1,800 races.

I made a very good living at it, actually.

Jockey's life is hard.

The majority of your jockeys are in a battle with their weight, and it's also a very dangerous career.

It's not a matter of if you get hurt, just -- when and how often.

In 2009, I was handed a script for Walt Disney's movie "Secretariat."

There were 730 jockeys across the United States that auditioned for the part of Ron Turcotte.

I was the one that got to play it.

Each jockey has an agent, and that's how they get contracted for their mounts.

Their agent makes anywhere from 20 to 30 percent of their check, which is a big cut.

When I was filming in Hollywood, the actors were complaining about paying their agents seven percent and I thought, "Man, you all don't know how good you got it."

NARRATOR: A jockey will be the first to tell you that the biggest factor of his success is the quality of the horse he gets to ride.

SCHUSTER: The first thing that I would say about the quality of Indiana horses is they are on the rise and they have been for quite a while.

Last year, we had horses in the Breeders Cup, which is our Super Bowl of horse racing.

We had horses go to Ascot over in England and compete there.

We have horses winning graded stakes around the country.

Ten years ago, that just didn't happen.

So we are starting to see an escalation of the quality in what we have here.

It's getting tougher and tougher to win races here at our track in Indiana.

Indiana is a very unique landscape, where the horseman, the commission, I'm going to say the legislature, and the racing associations are all working hand in hand together to make things better.

That's a very unique landscape in the United States.

[MUSIC] [HORSE NEIGHING] NARRATOR: Providing quality medical care for the racehorse is always a challenge.

Located in the shadows of the Indiana Grand track is the Centaur Equine Specialty Hospital.

[HORSE NEIGHING] NARRATOR: The facility is the result of a provision included in the original legislation that established pari-mutuel racing in Indiana.

It committed funding to Purdue for equine research.

Over several years, the plan came together to build the hospital here near the track where we have easy access to several interstates.

We can reach clients not only in the central Indiana area, but also basically the greater Midwest.

(horse neighing) MAN: I think the horsemanship around Indiana is great.

And the infrastructure that Centaur, now Caesar, had put about here with Indiana Grand and Hoosier was quite fascinating, going way beyond what one could expect, certainly what is the norm across the country.

[RUBBER GLOVES SQUEAKING] - All right.

GUDEHUS: We provide general surgical service, diagnostic service, medical service, elective and emergency for the greater Indiana and neighboring states.

DAVERN: Back up.

We do all sorts of equine surgery, everything from upper airway surgeries to soft tissue surgeries, emergency surgeries, orthopedics.

That incision gets sutured back closed, so there's no drainage.

There's really very minimal swelling with this procedure.

We did a routine castration on a young racehorse prospect.

The castration was performed in order to augment his hormonal balances, basically as he enters training and try to remove some of the testosterone influence from his daily mindset and also make him easier and safer to handle.

GUDEHUS: Slide up into that pocket here, kinda like towards -- yep, and then up.

These are 2,000-plus pound patients.

We don't want them to be down.

And in the past, there's been quite a bit of associated risk with general anesthesia in these big guys.

So even though it's a bit more of an effort for the entire team and for us to get this done standing, in the end, ultimately it is the lower risk than to do these under general anesthesia.

[BANDAGE RUSTLING] DAVERN: Here at Centaur Equine, we have one of six robotic-arm standing CT units in the world.

What this is basically, a CAT scan for horses.

And instead of having the circular closed gantry model that people are used to seeing in human hospitals, This machine removes those spatial limitations by having two robotic arms that are open and they rotate around the anatomy of the horse that we set them to scan.

Basically allows us to get a CAT scan of various parts of the horses with the horse standing, and only under sedation, and also being able to image parts of the body that previously were not able to even fit in the gantry of a traditional closed gantry CT unit.

We are doing fairly basic things, as well as we're doing the high-end orthopedic procedure.

By basic things, I mean your orthopedic workup that hasn't been seen by anybody else because people just can't get an appointment.

Yeah, I've utilized them a couple of times.

In times before, when you'd have a traumatic injury or a breathing issue where you needed surgery on a horse, it was mainly you'd have to go to Lexington, Kentucky, to some of the top horse hospitals there.

Having Centaur Equine Specialty Hospital here has just been a godsend for us.

I had a horse last year cut her leg in a race.

We were able to get her there within 20 minutes to a half hour and they were able to stitch her leg up, so that's very positive.

GUDEHUS: You have to keep in mind that there is many more aspects to the equine industry than just racing.

There is the hobby owner that has one sport horse.

There is the hobby breeder that may have five or eight mares.

And that spectrum is very, very wide.

DAVERN: The equine industry in Indiana is pretty healthy.

We're seeing a lot of horses coming in to Indiana.

We're seeing the show horses and the race industry thrive.

GUDEHUS: And the excitement is to watch it grow further.

[MUSIC] NARRATOR: As frosty mornings begin to creep across the Indiana landscape, routines for Standardbred training start to look ahead to the next racing season.

[MUSIC] But these crisp, clear daybreaks seem to put a brief pause in workouts.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [BIRDS CHIRPING] NARRATOR: Even when the snowflakes start to fall, training for the young horses at the Barely Able Stable continues on a methodical schedule.

HILL: I have my friend and trainer Tim Gilliland work with them, come the fall of their one-year-old year.

Upcoming two-year-old year, he works with them every day -- every day!

MAN: This'll be the first time in the snow.

[TRAINER CLUCKING] Come on, boy.

We're just line-driving at this point.

It's just a technique that you use to get them used to the harness and the tail coop, and bridle, get 'em to feel the bit, get 'em to feel the lines on their side for the first time.

Basically, just wanting them to drive straight.

[MUSIC] When we come back, I'll make him go around some trees up here around the pole, just get him used to turning.

[TRAINER CLUCKING] It's a -- it's a process.

They gotta have some talent, too.

They gotta help ya.

[MUSIC] Hey!

[TRAINER SMOOCHING] [TRAINER CLUCKING] This is not very much action, but it can be.

They get away from you -- whoa.

[MUSIC] He's pretty big for a baby.

[MUSIC] Turning right and left in a race is a big plus.

We try to have 'em ready to turn when we get to the track.

He's being really good today.

[MUSIC] You never know how they're gonna react.

HILL: A lot of people have professional trainers and they send their horses away, and that's great for them.

I want to see 'em train every day, or jog every day.

NARRATOR: With the first horse in his stable, the trainer prepares the second novice for her workout.

Whoa, girl.

Basically, the same process, just a different horse.

[MUSIC] She has a closed bridle.

She can't really take seeing a whole bunch as she gets pretty fretty.

So we put the closed on her to see if that'd settle her down, and it has.

Some horses react differently.

I tried closed on him and he freaked out, so he wants to be able to see.

She doesn't need to see, so.

And most fillies are a little more high-strung than the geldings or the colts.

We raced her mother.

She was my first sired stake winner.

She won a sired stake.

[MUSIC] [TRAINER CLUCKING] [MUSIC] She done great -- she done great.

Whoa, girl.

NARRATOR: Tim says his next student is a little more skittish.

So he watches with a cautious eye.

All right.

[MUSIC] Whoa.

See how twitchy she is?

Just tell 'em no to reassure 'em you not trying to hurt 'em.

Whoa, girl.

This is the one that tore down the fence.

I was just leading her out of the barn, and she went to buck and got right out there and just went, shew.

Just backed right through it.

Easy, girl.

[MUSIC] Easy.

[MUSIC] [HORSE SNORTING] Whoa, girl.

[MUSIC] Whoa!

Over the years, the ones that give me the most trouble are the best ones.

[MUSIC] Whoa.

She needs more practice.

[MUSIC] She improves every day.

It takes a horse with some "want to" to do this, I mean, a dead-head horse is no good.

None of us got hurt and none of us got knocked down.

I call that successful.

[MUSIC] NARRATOR: The horse and buggy is often the first thing people see when entering Indiana's Amish country.

Nineteen percent of the Amish in America live in Indiana.

Wherever you find a large Amish congregation, there is a substantial number of horses.

These horses are termed working horses.

One of the ways the Amish utilize their horses is for transportation.

Because a former racing Standardbred has already been trained to pull a cart, it's a perfect candidate for hitching to an Amish family's buggy.

[MUSIC] NARRATOR: The majority of Amish still do not use tractors or other machines in their fields.

Instead, they use a draft horse, or a team of horses, to pull plows and other farm equipment.

Horsepower, literal horsepower, is the mainstay of their existence.

They consider horses a gift from God to enhance the strength of humans, and as such, do a wide variety of tasks around the farm.

[MUSIC] NARRATOR: Mounted police units are not as prevalent as they used to be.

Their mounts are part of the working horse group.

They often break down the barriers between the police and the public.

Horses used for carriage rides like the ones in downtown Indianapolis are also part of the working group.

If not a carriage ride, how about a sleigh ride?

[MUSIC] When the snow flies, one has to believe that even the working horses like to take time to play.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] NARRATOR: Work continues for the Standardbreds from the Barely Able Stable.

They have moved on from line training, to workouts at the Shelby County Fairgrounds track.

HILL: A harness horse wears harness, and it takes a lot, and it takes a lot more for some than others.

I get frustrated, and I'm like, "Well, Tim, how come it takes us so long to do this?"

And yet I watch him, and he's working the whole time.

Not much I can do to help him, and you're like, "Well, that's just what it takes."

That's just what it takes to race or train a horse.

It's a move.

[MUSIC] HILL: Come on -- let's go this way.

Twenty different ways to break a baby, and everybody's got a different plan.

They're all on their own clock.

You just can't put it on the calendar.

It's all up to the horse.

He decides when it's time to go.

You don't ever ask 'em to go more than they can.

Whoa, son -- whoa.

I want to drive 'em when they train.

What other sport allows that?

I can't ride a thoroughbred, but I can drive a harness horse -- not very effectively.

They need to be pretty well trained before I can jump in the jog cart and go with 'em.

But it's a blast!

Sittin' behind a harness horse trainin' and pullin' out, it's just unbelievable.

First time or two you take 'em over there, it's always a puzzle as to how they'll act when a horse comes the other way.

'Cause all they've seen at our place is just joggin' on a path by themselves.

They get over there, and they see a horse coming the other way, and some of 'em just could care less, some of 'em get all excited.

We've had some horses where about the second time you hit the track, they want to go, and they want to go fast, and they can go fast.

We've had some, like this year, where they'd just go out there and dawdle around, and you do what you can.

They just don't seem to be all that interested.

You can feel the power -- and when you've got a good one, you can tell.

They're just fluid.

It's just a rhythmic, amazing gait.

Come on!

This is too much fun!

To sit behind a 1,000-pound animal and pull that right line and have 'em come out, and they just GO!

This colt, he's everywhere.

His butt's everywhere and he's everywhere.

Well, that was supposed to be a warm-up mile.

We were supposed to jog nicely for a couple of laps, and then turn and go a mile in about three minutes.

He just decided today he was gonna go out there and go as fast as he can, as quick as he can and we finally got him under control and turned him the right way.

And our mile in three minutes turned into a mile in two-forty.

[HOOVES CLOPPING] We're not done yet.

Our goal is just to get him to have some idea what a race horse is.

In the spring, we're just trying to go a little faster every week, just try to get 'em a little stronger, trying to get 'em sound, trying to get 'em to where they can compete.

Wish he was a little more controllable.

That wasn't part of the script.

And every day is not perfect -- that's why you train.

It's called training, it's not racing.

So hopefully by the time you get to the race track you've got all the bugs worked out.

We hopefully worked one out a little bit today.

[MUSIC] NARRATOR: Stable chores are just a small part of the duty roster for students at the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Mari Hulman George School of Equine Studies in West Terre Haute, Indiana.

The Equine Studies program here is the only one in the state, and one of only 20 in the United States.

We currently have three equine majors.

One is just a general Equine Studies degree.

Then we have an Equine Training and Instruction and an Equine Business Management.

[MUSIC] I've always loved horses.

I grew up riding them around.

I thought I knew a lot -- and then I came here.

Took a riding class, and I didn't know as much as I thought I did.

[MUSIC] SCHULZ: Stalls have to be done by ten o'clock.

Horses have to be in for feeding by three o'clock.

If they're sick, they have to take care of 'em regardless of what time or day it is.

It's not like going to class like any other major, because you do have that commitment.

Too many horses.

Okay, so let's test her a little bit.

Go on the outside circle.

Again, you're gonna go big.

[MUSIC] GINGERICH: It does get overwhelming.

When that happens, I tend to come out here, I talk to my coach, we have some riding practices.

Good, look, eyes up, lift.

GINGERICH: It's kind of a good way for me to just kind of let my mind do its own thing... 'Cause when I'm riding, it's like nothing else matters.

[MUSIC] SCHULZ: Then there's a very intensive science side to it.

Okay, so you guys remember the parts.

I teach all of the Equine Science courses.

There's a lot of anatomy that they have to learn, equine nutrition, genetics, reproduction, exercise physiology.

That's the navicular.

You got that one, yeah, you got that one.

Then what were these?

We try to expose them as much as possible to the different scenarios that they might encounter when they leave.

You don't want them to go out there and say, "Well, that's not the way you do it."

My major is Equine Training and Instruction with a minor in Equine Science.

I went through a bunch of different other majors, and every time, I came back to my parents and said, I really just want to ride.

I just want to do something with horses.

NARRATOR: Jourdan's desire to do something with horses became a reality due to ties the program created with Indiana's horse racing industry.

SCHULZ: Some of our Indiana connections are with the Hoosier Horse Park, the racing industry.

NARRATOR: Indiana's racing industry in return benefits from the Equine Studies program.

SCHULZ: We have a colt program that we have now people lined up from the Indiana Horse Racing Association that have found out about us.

that now those trainers are like, "How many colts can you take?"

Yep, nope, that's what you have to do.

Yeah, it's what you have to do.

NARRATOR: Is Indiana an attractive option for graduates of the Equine Studies program?

SCHULZ: There are jobs here, and that's where most of them go back, in the state of Indiana.

Some of them go back to their own family-owned businesses, so they'll be taking over for their parents.

Other ones begin their own training programs.

We have a lot of them that work in the vet clinic industry.

There's some that go on to be Veterinarians, once they've been through our program.

After I graduate, I am looking for a training job at a top hunter jumper facility.

SCHULZ: I would say we're in the 90 percentile as far as placement, and I'm speaking in equine-related jobs, not just going out and being employed.

They're either doing that, or they're going on to grad school.

We are extremely proud of that.

NARRATOR: Just like the students at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Nat Hill's Standardbreds have to eventually test their new skills in the real world.

For most harness horses in Indiana, that means facing their first competition on the County Fair Circuit.

ANNCR: Guys, a reminder from the judge, both hands in the hand-holds till you hit the stretch.

No excessive whipping.

ANNCR: Two-year-old fillies will kick off today, pacing fillies.

It's the first of five divisions.

HILL: For a long time, that's all we had was county fairs.

When Hoosier Park came into existence, breed development figured out they needed to have county fairs for the horses who weren't quite ready for Hoosier Park.

It's not a high-dollar place to race, but you can get by.

WOMAN: I'm hoping to make a check.

Everybody hopes to make a check.

The first five that cross the finish line earn money.

HILL: (chuckling) All the money comes from the big track.

That's where the purse account is generated.

Primarily, in all honesty, through slot revenue.

It's a negotiated settlement between the horsemen and the track and that's the cost of doing business to them, as they have to support the Standardbred industry, and part of that money goes to breed development, and breed development puts the money into county fairs.

[MUSIC] [HOOVES POUNDING] HILL: It's fun.

It's turning the clock back.

Go to Corydon, Indiana, you just feel like you're settin' the clock back 50 years.

The county fair is primarily used to get horses early in their career, and horses that haven't shown the ability to compete at the big tracks, give them a place to race.

It's especially valuable for two-year-olds.

They don't know anything, and they've not been on a track with other horses, and it's kinda kindergarten time.

Well, I think you can see clearly that the three horse is kinda in and out, and the one horse can't keep up.

Number two horse is going to make or break.

This is baby time.

It's baby time.

We've got five two-year-old baby pacers, and they don't know what they're doing yet.

Number three is leaving very nicely.

Number four here is clearly gonna -- looks to me like he's leaving very fast.

(Laughing) Whoa, too fast.

That's how you learn.

He made a break.

He paced himself right off his feet.

NARRATOR: There are two types of harness horses, pacers and trotters.

Each is determined through breeding.

The difference between the two is their gait.

A pacer's gait is similar to the wheels on a locomotive.

The legs on the same side move forward and backward in unison.

A trotter's gait is more like that of a dog.

The left front and right rear legs move back and forth simultaneously, and then the right front and left rear legs step together.

Pacers often wear hobbles.

These straps, which connect the front and rear legs on the same side, help to balance stride and maintain the pacing gait.

HILL: The hobbles keep the horse on the pace, is the theory, and they're pretty effective.

That's why I think it's easier to train a pacer.

You just put those hobbles on there, and they've about got it.

Well, we've got two-year-old baby pacers, third start of their life.

Some of them probably less than three starts.

We're up in the grass.

We're having a little trouble keeping up.

It's just kindergarten.

Horse at the rail is good.

Two horse is gonna come up, I assume, and try to fill the hole.

Whoop, we met sideways... and the two horse reacted, and now everybody's messed up.

So it's a recall.

NARRATOR: Today, Nat brought his trotter Mr.

Buckaroo to Corydon.

This horse has more than just the competition on the track to overcome.

He's nervous.

I think you can see he's fretty.

He gets nervous.

He knows what's about to happen, and he needs to be warmed up, and so you take him out there between races, and you go a mile or two or three or whatever, and just try to calm him down a little bit.

Put a little -- put a little calmness into him -- at least that's the hope.

'Cause he gets nervous.

NARRATOR: Nat also has to find the right driver for his trotter.

Well, we got Charlie Conrad today.

He comes from here at Corydon, and he knows this track better than anybody, and he's a good horseman.

He's ready, I hope.

They run the races fairly close together, and he literally had to bring his sulky and run over from the barn, and jump on our horse and go.

CONRAD: Where we hooking, first one?

How about we hook it in the third?

HILL: That's the thing that has changed.

It didn't used to be that way.

But now, every driver pretty much has his own sulky and he likes it and he brings it.

They're familiar with where the feet sit, and it's just theirs.

ANNCR: Okay, guys, line em up.

[MUSIC] NARRATOR: It's finally Mr.

Buckaroos's time on the track.

He is yellow number six and his driver is in green.

He drew a number five starting position, so he is starting from behind the first four horses.

HILL: Now, see, these are three-year-olds, and they kinda know what they're doing.

See how much more relaxed they are comin' to the gate?

They're three years old.

Some of them have been at Hoosier Park.

See the difference in the way they leave?

I mean, even though they're trotters, they're aged.

They're three-year-olds, and they've done this drill before.

That's always just breathtaking to me.

I've seen enough stuff happen at the start where you just kinda hold your breath.

Look at him trot.

Man, I'm tellin' you, he wants to do it.

[MUSIC] What's happened is Indiana has become so good, that horses that race at Hoosier Park have trouble, pretty good horses, and a lot of them have come back from county fairs.

Made county fair racing a lot tougher than it used to be.

That's okay, it's the price you pay for quality.

It's affected me, because it's hard to win at the fairs.

and that's where I enjoy racing the most.

But yeah, county fair racing is big.

[MUSIC] TAYLOR: Not every horse is going to be the greatest horse of all time.

He's going to make baby mistakes, so take him to the fairs, get him an education, and the drivers.

Even the drivers who are extremely talented, most of them got their start at a county fair level.

That's the reason the county fairs are important in order to make the next great star or the next great world champion.

They have to have time to develop.

NARRATOR: Ultimately, it was not a good day for Nat and Mr.

Buckaroo.

They only managed a fifth-place finish.

HILL: A lot of 'em haven't been this year with my two-year-olds.

[LAUGHING] He couldn't grab the track.

He made a break.

He just -- that track was kinda loose, and he's a little horse, and just couldn't grab a-hold of the track.

Not a good day.

If you can't survive those days (chuckling), you better not be in the business.

Chicken one day, feathers the next.

One, two to the skeletons -- Three is the bats.

WOMAN: This is called stadium jumping, and they jump sticks, as the jumpers like to refer to them.

They have to jump the jumps in varied assortment of patterns and you have to take them as they are numbered.

GIRL: Jumpers is -- it's timed, so you want to be -- you don't want to knock anything down, but you want to go as fast as you can.

And then hunters is more about your equitation, how you look, making sure your form is right, your horse takes the correct leads -- and also you don't want to knock anything down.

NARRATOR: The horses utilized in this event are part of a large general category referred to as competition horses.

The types of competition can vary greatly, but most usually take place at horse shows.

CONNERS: The entities that put on those horse shows sometimes are horse owners, sometimes are horse clubs putting on the shows to generate some revenue for their organization.

Or sometimes they are actual commercial operations, whose purpose is to make money by putting on horse shows, which gives all of us with competition horses an opportunity to get out and give them our money so we can show our horses.

One, two, three -- oh my goodness (laughing).

ANNCR: Riders, please walk and line up with your numbers facing the gate.

[MUSIC] V. HILL: If you go off pattern, you get disqualified.

So they are looking for the form of the horse, functionality, and scope, which means how wide they jump and how natural the ability of the horse is.

[MUSIC] As the horse matures and the rider's level of experience matures, they graduate to higher skill level, which means higher jumps, more level of difficulty.

JANDA: The first one was a bit rough, because I mixed up my courses.

But my second time through with Optimum Time, we did pretty good.

He was clear.

So today, we are at a jump show with school.

Last weekend, we were at a dressage show, which my daughter did independently with her horse from home.

The weekend before, we were at a jump show through school, and then the weekend before that, we were at a barrel show, which was barrel racing.

That was done with one of her horses from home.

So the last four weekends, we've been to four shows in three different disciplines.

CONNERS: The Indiana Horse Council tries to represent all the areas of equine activity in the state.

They run a horse show in October.

- Its official name is the Indiana Horse Council Octoberfest Charity Horse Show.

We put that on in conjunction with the Hoosier Horse Park in Edinburgh, Indiana, and the main goal is to raise funds to help maintain and improve the grounds at the Hoosier Horse Park, and monies to go to our scholarship program for the IHC.

The horse show operations have the obvious revenue generation of entry fees.

In order to show, you must pay a fee, usually per class.

There's usually multiple classes that each horse enters.

V. HILL: We are up to nine different disciplines now.

We have an open English horse show.

We have an open Western horse show.

We have a couple of classes today, and hopefully we're gonna do real well.

V. HILL: We have an all gaited horse show, which is new this year, working equitation, Western dressage.

GIRL: I will be competing in half Arabian classes, and it's gonna be a fun day.

Ready to go out there and have fun.

It's the last show of the season.

[SNAPPING] [MUSIC] All right, wish us luck.

Our stallworth items are our hunter jumper show and our combined training and dressage shows.

[MUSIC] Dressage is a very refined and disciplined section of our show.

There is a certain maneuver that they have to do that's very, very intricate and very detailed.

She came up a little bit more in her shoulders and that was easier for her to turn that way.

I would give her a little tap over riding stronger with your body.

V. HILL: They're looking for the fluidity of the horse's movement, the cadence, their foot falls, their steps, their length of stride, the lengthening of their body, the rider's position, the movement that the rider conveys to the horse, and just an overall picture of the horse and the rider.

WOMAN: I am very pleased with how I did today.

I rode a first level test at eight o'clock this morning in the rain, and my horse was kinda ballistic, and leapt into the air, and didn't behave very well.

So she came out for this test very quiet and calm, and I felt like it went very smoothly.

[MUSIC] ♪ We're gonna see a rodeo I know ♪ ♪ It's gonna be a hell of a show ♪ V. HILL: This is called barrels.

A rider comes in and does a specific pattern.

They cross a timer.

They take -- it's kind of cut like a cloverleaf pattern.

If they stay on pattern, don't knock any barrels down, fastest time wins.

[MUSIC] This is a pole class.

That is also another contesting class.

It is called pole bending.

There's a series of poles set up in a straight line.

And once again, you cross a timeline, you run straight down to the end pole, and you weave back through the poles, round the end pole, weave back up to the end pole, round it and run straight back to home.

And once again, if you leave all the poles up, you're in good shape.

Fastest time wins.

The horses that we have nowadays are very versatile.

They can show in a confirmation class early in the day.

It's called halter, or depending on what type of class it is, it could be called ranch horse confirmation.

Confirmation is how a horse is put together.

Thank you.

[MUSIC] NARRATOR: Horse show entrants often start competitions in 4-H programs, like this one in Monroe County, Indiana.

It's their first exposure to the grooming and prepping that is needed for a show.

Nevertheless, they're most interested in horsemanship.

V. HILL: In horse showing, you have a partner that has its own brain.

Sometimes things don't go so well.

Sometimes they work out perfectly when your brains start functioning as one.

But it's our innate desire to be the best we can and to show others what we've accomplished.

It's our desire to show off our beautiful horses, and it just makes our heart swell with pride.

Congratulations!

You're welcome.

NARRATOR: The largest show produced by the Indiana Horse Council is their annual Hoosier Horse Fair and Expo.

V. HILL: We have vendors that come and bring the goodies that we need, or want, or have drooled over.

It's also to bring to the forefront maybe new innovations in technology, or new saddle types, new pads that are more ergonomically suited to the horse's back.

NARRATOR: Over the course of the show, there were over 120 clinic sessions presented by some of the most-requested nationally known instructors.

We offer the clinic spots to people that wouldn't generally get a chance to ride with some of these big-name clinicians that we bring in.

MAN: And do you see how, even though he's uncomfortable, he's giving me his face?

I like that a lot.

That's the finished horse, this is the young horse.

I'm more comfortable with the young horse than I am the old, finished horse.

Why?

Because whenever that horse is uncomfortable, [RUSTLING] he took the steering wheel away from me.

This horse, when he gets uncomfortable, [RUSTLING] he's still looking for my leadership, he's still looking for my guidance.

I prefer this.

NARRATOR: One of the biggest crowd-pleasers of the event is the parade of breeds.

V. HILL: We showcase at least 20 to 24 different breeds of horses that you don't see very often, and some of them are actually quite rare for the United States.

ANNCR: Tennessee Walking Horse should slide his back feet directly behind his front feet in the same track, in what they call an over stride.

Tanner is buckskin in color, but is called a dunnskin, due to his primitive markings such as his dorsal stripe and barring on his legs.

NARRATOR: The Purdue report was the first analysis of the horse shows in the state.

It revealed these shows had a $2 million impact on Indiana.

V. HILL: But it's all about the education, and the comraderie of the horse person.

We're like a great, big equestrian family.

I would say she's more of a horse person than I -- like, it's all horses all the time, like -- It's not a hobby, it's a lifestyle.

Yeah.

[MUSIC] V. HILL: There's something there for everyone.

[MUSIC] NARRATOR: As we have followed Nat Hill and the development of his Standardbred horses, this is what he has been striving for -- an opportunity to race here at Hoosier Park in Anderson, Indiana.

ANNCR: And they're off and pacing.

And out with a flash is Dr.

J. Hanover.

HILL: Hoosier Park is a tremendously difficult place to race.

Our emphasis on quality has made the horses up there really tough.

And if you can race and do halfway well at Hoosier Park, you can go anywhere and do all right.

The quality has arrived.

MAN: In order to participate here, we set standards.

It's performance standards, based on time.

MAN: When the horse is two years old, he'll show up here and try and qualify.

And if he's good enough to qualify, then he'll race here at Harrah's Hoosier Park.

And that satisfaction of raising a horse and seeing it from its infancy to becoming a mature athlete, out on that race track, competing, winning.

I don't know if you can put into words the kind of self-satisfaction that gives you.

MAN: We race approximately the end of March through the middle of November.

We race five days a week.

MOORE: Typically we have 12, 13, or 14 races a night.

They feature anywhere from eight to ten horses in a race.

[MUSIC] MAN: For Indiana-sired horses, we have a stakes program sired by Indiana stallions.

MOORE: Indiana sire stakes are some of our premier races.

They're for additional monies that are dedicated just for those races, for those horses who were by an Indiana stallion.

MAN: If you or I owned one of these decent to solid Indiana horses, and you're winning $30,000 races, $250,000 races, the return on investment is much better than with thoroughbred racing.

Because if you buy a $500,00, million-dollar horse that can't run, how you gonna break even?

[MUSIC] We've actually built a very successful Grand Circuit.

They call it open stakes races, where we get out-of-state famous horses to compete.

We've had a lot of success with that.

Our biggest race is named after Dan Patch, and that purse is over $300,000.

With the enhanced quality of the Indiana horses, the Indiana horses have now been a major player in these races.

Ten years ago, once in a while you'd get an Indiana horse that could compete.

Now, they're a factor in every race.

That's how good they've gotten.

TAYLOR: Great horses can come from anywhere, but it's a source of pride that they come from the Midwest because the east coast thinks -- this is a little bit elitist, they think they have the best horses.

But Indiana is at the top of that.

MOORE: We are now breeding as good a harness or Standardbred as you can find in the United States.

Three out of the last four years, the North American Horse of the Year has been a horse that was sired here in Indiana.

We're pretty proud of that.

I think there's a mistaken notion that horse racing is all about gambling.

We face this constantly, that, you know, "It's all about gambling."

Well, of the gambling dollars in the state of Indiana, horseracing is less than three percent of the money gambled.

I would submit that horseracing, despite its small gambling impact, has a huge economic and agricultural impact here in the state of Indiana.

TAYLOR: Pari-mutuel is extremely important, but to me even more important is the history that's behind it, because you have to have a solid foundation for the house to stay standing.

The foundation is all those people who invested their time and effort to build an industry to make sure that pari-mutuel, when it came, was a success.

MOORE: Horseracing, whether it be harness racing, quarter horse racing, thoroughbred racing, has an impact on all 92 counties here in Indiana.

Whether it be through ownership, training, breeding, we have an impact on every county.

PEINE: In terms of a facility, it's by far the best I've ever -- I've ever been to, being customer-friendly in terms of the amenities for horse people and the horsemen.

This place is by far the best I've ever seen.

MOORE: Success is people coming out to the track, people having a good time.

It's our handle, which is the amount wagered on a nightly basis.

Does that continue to grow?

We're considered major league.

We're up there in the top four or five harness tracks in North America.

NARRATOR: Recent numbers for Hoosier Park reveal an annual handle of just over $96 million.

As impressive as that may seem, there is no assurance for success.

MOORE: It's always a big gamble.

There's no guarantees in horse racing.

And I think that's what makes it so exciting.

Everyone's trying, everyone's working hard.

But at the end of the day, that doesn't necessarily guarantee success.

A lot of things involved, and a little bit of luck isn't bad either.

As my dad said, "I just want one more good one."

And that was when he was about 87 and a half years old.

And I said, "You're kinda selfish, 'cause you've had your share."

And he looked at me and he said, "That's right, but I still just want one more good one."

[LAUGHING] NARRATOR: "One more good one" could be the motto for many long-time horse owners.

Their resolve has not gone unnoticed.

The 2010 Purdue Northwestern study led by Dr.

Susan Conners, revealed the diversity of Indiana's equine industry and its unexpected financial impact.

CONNERS: One of the conclusions that came from the study, was that all these diverse components of the equine industry, when looked at and measured together, create a significant economic impact at the state of Indiana.

When the study was completed, the equine industry's contribution to the GDP of the state of Indiana was over $2 billion.

I believe a lot of people were surprised at that $2 billion economic impact, because they tend to think of the equine industry in segments.

Either they only know the racing piece, or they only know the recreation piece.

They aren't thinking normally in terms of the entire equine industry, which is interrelated and they do as a group contribute a large amount to the economy of the state of Indiana.

NARRATOR: Indiana's equine industry is proud of the economic impact it has on the state.

The individual horse owner powers those economic effects as each tries to find that one great horse -- whether it's Luke Robertson looking for a faithful trail horse, Emma Janda hoping for that gifted jumper, or Nat Hill looking for the next Dan Patch.

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