From its on-site stalls to its “horse bellmen,” the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center offers Vegas VIP treatment to horses and their entourages.
It’s an unwritten rule in Las Vegas that headliners are entitled to special treatment — and some take advantage with outrageous requests that would test the resourcefulness of any concierge. But taking care of pop star divas and neurotic comics is nothing compared to the challenge of keeping hundreds of horses healthy and happy, while also looking after the needs of their riders, owners, and trainers. So it is no small feat that the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center has earned its reputation as the Four Seasons for horses since it opened in 2006.
“We tried to build the nicest place in the country,” says Michael Gaughan, owner of the South Point Hotel, Casino, and Spa, which is home to the new equestrian center. “There are some that are larger, but I don’t think there’s one that’s better.”
The $25 million facility features a 4,600-seat open-concourse arena and 1,200 climate-controlled horse stalls on site, as well as a tack store, feed store, 30 wash racks, and a veterinary clinic. As different events require different footing for the horses, more than $1 million was spent on equipment that can convert the largest arena floor in the state into and out of five different dirt surfaces within 24 hours.
Gaughan, who played a pivotal role in bringing the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo to Las Vegas in 1985, had wanted to build an equestrian center for years. “I asked myself, if I was going to a horse show, what would I like?” he recalls. “When you go to horse shows you have to get your horse unloaded — and sometimes that facility is 2 or 3 miles from the arena — then find a motel to stay at, and then find a place to eat every night. The nice thing here is you and your horse check in at the same time.”
“When you enter the facility, we have a bellman for you and a bellman for your horse,” says South Point general manager Ryan Growney. “Your bellman takes your luggage, and the barn bellman will take your tack, feed, halters, and equipment, which is sent to your horse’s stall. By the time you’re in your room, your horse is in his stall and fed.”
And there’s no need to get back in the car to find a place to eat — there are 11 restaurants at the resort with food for every appetite, from the tournedos of beef at Michael’s, one of the city’s most acclaimed gourmet eateries, to the burgers at Steak ’n Shake. South Point also offers showroom entertainment, a movie theater, a bowling alley, and, of course, a casino. But the casino itself houses a secret.
“The equine facilities are fully integrated into the property,” says Steve Stallworth, the arena and equestrian center’s general manager. “The stalls are located underneath the exhibit hall and on the first level of the parking garage. Anyone who walks through the casino entrance to come here for dinner and a show would never know they were there.”
While other types of shows have also been presented (they even flooded the arena once for a jet ski race), the arena’s equestrian event calendar has become more crowded every year. In December alone the arena will host everything from the South Point Western Gift Show to the World Series of Team Roping to the Art of the American Cowboy Exhibit & Sale. The center is also home to the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association’s western championship and the Indian National Finals Rodeo.
“The challenge has been to get people here,” Stallworth says, acknowledging that many equestrian events are tied into multiyear contracts at other venues. “But when they get here, they are blown away.”
From the November/December 2013 issue.
