Tryon International Equestrian Center this past weekend. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
UPDATED: Liz Soroka has put together a list of east coast evacuation options (both transit and lodging) for evacuees – you can see that document here and add your facility or rig to the list.)
The National Hurricane Center
announced earlier today that Hurricane Irma, following close on the heels of the already-destructive Hurricane Harvey, has intensified into a deadly Category 5 hurricane, with possible sustained winds of up to 185 miles per hour. It will hit the Leewards Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico today and Wednesday, and is expected to hit the Florida peninsula later in the week.
Tryon International Equestrian Center just finished hosting the American Eventing Championships, but have opted to turn right around and open their doors to Southeast evacuees fleeing the anticipated path of Irma on the main land.
Four hundred stalls will be available at a discounted rate on a first-come, first srve basis, and Johnson Horse Transportation is working with partners in South Florida to move horses north.
Human evacuees can also stay on site at Tryon for a discounted rate at their on-site lodging or reserve an RV spot.
Information for evacuees is below. If you know someone in the Florida area who needs to get horses out before this weekend, please share this far and wide on social media.
Evacuee Information at Tryon
Shavings, hay, and feed are available for purchase on property through the Stabling office. To reserve stalls at TIEC, please contact
(828) 863-1005. To reserve on-site lodging, please contact
(828) 863-1001 or book online at
www.tryon.com. To coordinate commercial horse shipment and transportation, please contact Johnson Horse Transportation at
(610) 488-7220. For more information on Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC), please contact
www.tryon.com.
Hurricanes aren’t the only natural disaster ravaging the western hemisphere: Extreme wildfires continue to plague Canada and the Pacific Northwest, and the Oregon Hunter Jumper Association is one of many groups trying to coordinate evacuation spaces and trailer rides out of Columbia Gorge in Oregon.
If you’re in the Oregon/Washington area and have necessary means to help, please contact Amber Henneck of Forward Stride to offer assistance and find out how you can be the most help.
Please help your fellow horsemen however you can from where you are, and don’t stop believing in the power of the horse community. We’ll make it through this end-of-summer surge together.
Go Jumping.
