Eccles' foundation gives $300K for equestrian center in Sanpete County

MT. PLEASANT, Sanpete County — In what those from the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area are calling a "Happy New Year's gift" to the city of Mt. Pleasant, the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation has committed more than $300,000 to a developing equestrian center.

The money — totaling $305,000 — will be used to complete the center, which is being constructed in three phrases and should be finished in 2013, according to a news release issued by the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area, which focuses on historic areas in central and southern Utah along Utah's Highway 89.

An indoor arena at the center has been in use for more than a year, but it is considered just the first phase of the project that, when completed, will also include an outdoor arena, training and cross-country tracks, a number of riding trails and a “Cowboy and Pioneer Hall,” which will focus on the "heritage of horses" in the area.

Monte Bona, executive director of the group, said the equestrian center's reach goes beyond just the physical space.

“It will not only be a major facility for Sanpete County, but a way to interpret our rich history with horses," he said.  

Around $105,000 given by the foundation will be used primarily for "finishing touches, such as interior carpentry, exterior signage, and landscape planning and design" on the indoor arena, according to the release. Bona said he hopes those changes will provide an incentive for other donors.

“We greatly appreciate the grant, so that we can landscape and improve the arena. Those improvements will make the arena more attractive to donors, so that we can raise the funds for phases two and three,” he said.

The remaining $200,000 from the Eccles Foundation will go toward the project’s second phase, which involves construction of an outdoor arena, 154 horse stalls and a trail system around the facility's perimeter.

It is hoped that the center will achieve three purposes when finished, according to the release, including education, heritage and therapy.