Oconee equine community comes together to benefit Bishop's destroyed Brookwood Equestrian Center
A fundraising effort to help the owners of most of the 18 horses
killed in Friday’s devastating fire at Brookwood Equestrian Center in
Bishop was started Monday.
“The plan is for a silent auction, but because it’s so soon, we really haven’t worked out the details,” said Marie Greer of Covered Bridge Equine in Watkinsville, which is spearheading the effort.
A fire early Friday destroyed a stable, killing 18 horses at the Brookwood facility, located off Union Church Road.
People have already been offering donations for the auction, which will benefit the horse owners, Greer said.
Only about two of the horses were insured, and the benefit is aimed at helping those who boarded horses at the farm and not the farm itself, according to King Howington, who owns the farm with his wife, Melanie.
The state fire marshal sent an investigator to the scene, who established an electrical origin for the fire based on a burn pattern indicating it started at an electrical panel, state Insurance and Fire Safety Commission spokesman Glenn Allen said Monday.
“The insurance company may come in and do additional work but our investigation is probably over,” he said. “They are not electrical engineers, but that is something the insurance company could bring in if it chooses to.”
The fire call came in at 1:36 a.m. Friday after a farm tenant discovered the blaze, Oconee County Fire Department officials said.
One University of Georgia student on the UGA equestrian team had a horse boarded at Brookwood, but it was in a different stable and was unharmed, a spokeswoman for the team said Monday.
The Chronicle of the Horse, a website on horse events in Georgia, reported that Kristen Becker, an award-winning dressage rider, lost four horses in the fire, including a Grand Prix competition horse and another she had owned for 18 years.
“The care at this facility was exceptional,” Becker told the Chronicle writer. “Now it’s just a matter of starting from the ground up. Thank you for all your continued support and thoughts.”
The horses were valued at $600,000, while the barn, a truck and horse trailer were valued at a combined total of $350,000, according to the fire safety commission.
“The plan is for a silent auction, but because it’s so soon, we really haven’t worked out the details,” said Marie Greer of Covered Bridge Equine in Watkinsville, which is spearheading the effort.
A fire early Friday destroyed a stable, killing 18 horses at the Brookwood facility, located off Union Church Road.
People have already been offering donations for the auction, which will benefit the horse owners, Greer said.
Only about two of the horses were insured, and the benefit is aimed at helping those who boarded horses at the farm and not the farm itself, according to King Howington, who owns the farm with his wife, Melanie.
The state fire marshal sent an investigator to the scene, who established an electrical origin for the fire based on a burn pattern indicating it started at an electrical panel, state Insurance and Fire Safety Commission spokesman Glenn Allen said Monday.
“The insurance company may come in and do additional work but our investigation is probably over,” he said. “They are not electrical engineers, but that is something the insurance company could bring in if it chooses to.”
The fire call came in at 1:36 a.m. Friday after a farm tenant discovered the blaze, Oconee County Fire Department officials said.
One University of Georgia student on the UGA equestrian team had a horse boarded at Brookwood, but it was in a different stable and was unharmed, a spokeswoman for the team said Monday.
The Chronicle of the Horse, a website on horse events in Georgia, reported that Kristen Becker, an award-winning dressage rider, lost four horses in the fire, including a Grand Prix competition horse and another she had owned for 18 years.
“The care at this facility was exceptional,” Becker told the Chronicle writer. “Now it’s just a matter of starting from the ground up. Thank you for all your continued support and thoughts.”
The horses were valued at $600,000, while the barn, a truck and horse trailer were valued at a combined total of $350,000, according to the fire safety commission.
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