COLUMBIANA, Ohio – Seeing a cowboy hat worn by a visitor to Columbiana is not as unusual as it used to be.
With hundreds of horse competitors and their families arriving at Garwood Arena just outside of town almost weekly, businesses in Columbiana are reaping the benefits.
“They know when the cowboy hats show up,” says arena owner Justin Garwood of the town’s business owners. They know where they are coming from now.”
Garwood wasn’t thinking about tourism in 2016 when he decided to build a barn for calving show cattle. But his Garwood Arena quickly evolved into a showplace for horse and cattle sport enthusiasts, drawing visitors from across the country.
“We never did calve a single cow in there,” Garwood says of his new barn. “That winter somebody wanted to have a bull riding. So we started having bull ridings and we added on. It just went from there.”
The Garwood Arena sits on his family’s farm on Middleton Road in Fairfield Township, just outside of Columbiana. The complex is actually comprised of three arenas. Several horse organizations from across North America present events there.
The arena is known in part for hosting first cut events, with horses and riders completing timed skills, such as roping and cutting cattle that have never been around a horse.
“We buy and sell our own cattle for the events,” Garwood says, knowing that in some instances he needs more than 300 to 1,200 fresh cattle.
Throughout the year, the arena brings in rodeos. A barrel racing competition this fall will bring 600 horses and their human competitors.
The facility includes a roping and warm-up arena and spaces to hold cattle and house horses, in addition to the large competition arena.
With 159 stalls in one building, Garwood says he quickly realized more space was needed. So he built another 375 stalls in a building behind the arena space. The facility now boasts 634 stalls.
“On a Thursday night, probably 300 horse trailers show up in this area and they stay all weekend,” says Lance Willard, city manager of Columbiana.
The city’s tourism bureau is teaming with Garwood Arena to promote Columbiana businesses to these visitors, he adds.
And it is making an impact.
Outside local restaurants on a Saturday evening, Willard says you might see 10 dual-tire pickup trucks, capable of hauling large horse trailers, with out-of-state plates.
“They are very, very, very successful,” Willard says, adding the many multiday events at the arena are “definitely making an impact in Columbiana.”
Businesses in Columbiana advertise at the arena and see a direct benefit – even businesses that are not agriculture related. Other businesses sell their products at the big events.
Competition
Bob Jamison, a factory representative of Bowden Saddle Co., likes to compete in team penning and ranch events. He says Garwood Arena is his favorite place to attend horse events.
Jamison lives in Evans City, Pa., about an hour away. He traveled across North America – to Denver, Texas and Calgary – for horse events when he was a member of a team penning association.
“I don’t think there’s anything like it pretty much in the eastern part of the United States that has the facility to handle cattle and to do all the different events,” Jamison says. “Now he’s got three arenas. You can do roping in one arena, barrel racing in another and reining in the other one. It’s an amazing set-up.”
Jamison says Garwood did not cut corners when constructing his arena. The structures are well built and there is no mud.
“We get spoiled there,” says Jamison, who has become an arena sponsor and often sets up a display of his saddles during events.
“I have a great time there and the people are so nice,” Jamison says. The staff does “everything they can to make it a pleasure.”
Those attending shows at Garwood Arena come from all over the country – from Maine to Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Canada, according to Garwood.
Sherry Cervi, a four-time world barrel racing champion, brought a youth championship barrel riding event to Garwood Arena and has already booked time for next year.
Better Barrel Races in Oklahoma held its Mid-West Xtravaganza there in June, with more than $200,000 in estimated payout.
The Little Buckeye, an event of the Ohio Amateur Quarter Horse Association, was held there in July and has been the biggest show at the arena so far.
Just recently, the New York Reined Cow Horse Fall Finale took place at the arena. The first week of October, Jamison says he will be competing in a Ranch Sorting Team Penning Association event at Garwood Arena, spanning five days.
The American Professional Rodeo Association finals will take place at Garwood Arena the first week of November. Most of the events are free to watch, except the APRA sanctioned rodeos.
Garwood says enthusiasts are welcome to stop by during events,
buy something to eat at the Garwood Grill in the arena and see the horses and riders in action. He suggests children would enjoy seeing something different.
Benefits for Columbiana
While the arena is well known in horse sports circles, many from the local community are unaware of what’s happening there.
And there is something happening at Garwood Arena nearly every weekend.
“Our youth rodeo was huge,” Garwood says, noting 327 members competed and it paid out more than $20,000 in prizes and $30,000 in awards.
“Sponsors are crucial here. Sponsors help make it go and we have some good ones. But it’s easy when this many people come to town and then go spend money in town.”
When Jamison competes in events, he also enjoys spending time and money in Columbiana, especially at several of the restaurants at Firestone Farms TownCenter.
When there is a late night in the arena, Jamison says he has found a pizza restaurant that will deliver directly to his horse trailer.
Although he brings his RV for a multiday event, he says other competitors stay in the local hotel.
“It’s been good for the town, the hotels and the restaurants. They do a good business for every event,” Jamison says.
“People enjoy Columbiana,” Garwood says.
“Some of the ladies for that Little Buckeye Show, they came in early,” he continues. “They did not show [at the event] until Saturday or Sunday. But they came Tuesday or Wednesday because they can walk through town, look at things, the stores and everything. People enjoy the location. People enjoy that there are different restaurants close.”
While there is more traffic now than what some would like on the rural route on the south end of Columbiana, Garwood says he hears from many businesses in Columbiana who greatly appreciate the additional customers.
How It Started
Garwood established Garwood Cattle in 2009 with the idea of having a few show heifers so when his children were old enough to compete, they could show at the big events in Denver, Kansas City, Louisville and Iowa.
The barn for calving was the next step.
“Here we are. No show cows and she has horses,” Garwood says of his daughter, Bailey.
With all the spaces rented on the weekends, his daughter and girlfriend have difficulty finding space at the arena to ride their own horses. So many events are held there that finding a quiet time to ride in the arena is a challenge.
Garfield likes to travel with Bailey and his girlfriend, Ashley, to competitions elsewhere. His daughter competes year-round and meets people from other places.
“You don’t have to travel as much when a bunch of the events are here,” Garwood says.
The popularity of horse events continues to grow, especially following the Covid shutdown, as Garwood says more people gravitated to outdoor activities and open spaces.
Events in open-air arenas regained traction quicker than other types of recreation and Garwood Arena’s popularity kept rising.
“I had no idea it would take off,” Garwood says. “There’s a lot of other facilities that [competitors] drive by to get here. So that’s a compliment. We have a lot of organizations from
all over that are bringing their shows here.”
Garwood runs the arena, while his father and brother operate a trucking company in North Jackson.
The family has four farms, comprising about 650 acres, where they raise cattle and grow hay.
Pictured at top: Justin Garwood stands in front of the large competition arena at the complex.