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c h r o n o f h o r s e . c o m ja n ua r y/ f e b r ua r y 2 015 67 i did all the planning and went to all the major museums of western art and culture and arranged to borrow their exhibitions if i had a gallery that was secure and climate controlled, so we would never have to buy a single work of art." e mission of the museum would be to tell the story of the horse in the west through the lenses of three cultures: from mexico, the history of the conquistadors and the tradition of the vaqueros; from native Americans, whose domestication of horses changed their entire culture and way of life; and from the western european tradition and the use of the Quarter horse as a pre-industrial labor for the large west- ern ranches. to accompany this, Krieble planned an archival library. "i wanted to use the equestrian compe- tition center as 'this is what the equestrian world has evolved to, mostly competi- tions'—whether it's rodeos, hunter/jumper, dressage, barrel racing—and i wanted to keep that component for the entertainment value, but it was part of a bigger plan." sadly, despite years of effort, the museum and archive never came to fruition due to funding challenges. "so that's when it turned out to be a great equestrian center, which is what it is now!" Krieble explains. "But my interest as a longtime art historian was in the museum complex." Prevailing in PreservaTion e horse park Krieble bought in 1992 was a 44-stall facility on 82 acres, but today it offers 300 permanent stalls, space for 1,000 more temporary ones, two indoor arenas, nearly a dozen outdoor rings and a cross-country course. it's hosted the fei north American Junior and Young rider Championships three times and will again in 2016. "we can do a 100-mile endurance ride with no repeat loops," Krieble boasts. "ere aren't many places that can do that." preserving that amount of open space in such a rapidly developing state was a feat in and of itself. "when i first purchased it, i realized my first effort had to be to save enough land so we would never be unable to do equestrian activities," Krieble says. "it was very clear that the front range of the rocky moun- tains, from pueblo to fort Collins, was going to be wall-to-wall houses, so i set out to save the open space and land around me. "at was a big project and took a num- ber of years," she continues. "ere was a lot of negotiation, and i ran up against some very corrupt people. it was a difficult politi- cal environment." But for all the discouragement Krieble encountered, there were an even greater Under Helen Krieble's leader- ship, the Colorado Horse Park has grown from a 44-stall equestrian center to a show facility with 300 permanent stalls, room for 1,000 temporary ones, two indoor arenas and nearly a dozen outdoor rings.

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