DATE: Thursday, November 6, 1997            TAG: 9711060417

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL  

SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER  

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   82 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** The last few lines of a story in Thursday's Business News about American Warmblood horses were omitted because of an editing error. The entire paragraph is reprinted below: At 16 to 17 hands, Warmbloods are slightly larger than Thoroughbreds. Today, they're seen frequently when performing horses are televised, particularly in Olympics equestrian events. Correction published Friday, November 7, 1997 on page D2 of THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT. ***************************************************************** VIRGINIA HORSES ON A FAST TRACK ECONOMY, RACING INDUSTRY HELP BOOST EQUINE MARKET.

It's taken Patty Cohan 12 horses and 12 years to get on the right trail to marketing American Warmbloods in Hampton Roads.

But now Cohan has three of her younger horses for sale, and Summit, the gentle stallion that grazes untethered in her King's Fork Road front yard, is gaining a reputation as a prime Warmblood stud.

It's the gentle nature of the breed that she most appreciates.

``I've been messing with horses since I was 5 years old,'' said Cohan, 50. ``I've never worked with another breed that is gentler, more intelligent. They are easy keepers, and you really get attached to them.''

Depending on age and bloodline, a registered Warmblood may sell for $7,000 to $12,000.

Horses are on a fast track in Virginia, largely because of good economic times. While a Virginia Tech survey in the late '80s showed that there were 96,000 horses in the state, a survey conducted last year by the Virginia Horse Industry Board found 225,000.

Next year, the agricultural department will, for the first time, count horses as an agricultural commodity.

``We're hoping our figures from 1996 just continue to increase,'' said Andrea Heid, equine marketing specialist for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

``When the economy is good, the pleasure horse industry really increases,'' said Jim Lawson, deputy statistician with the Virginia Department of Agriculture.

Lawson and Heid agree that the growth may be related with the growing interest in racing in the state and the track in New Kent County. But there's more to it than that.

``Horses aren't really in the barn any more,'' Heid said. ``They're in backyard corrals. And horses are really a family activity, beneficial to everyone.''

Cohan knows what her horses mean to her and how much her neighbors' horses mean to them. Suffolk, with more than 8,000 horses, has nearly double the equine residents of any other Hampton Roads city. Because so much of its wide open spaces are zoned agricultural, the city is attracting more and more people who want to own horses, Virginia Tech extension agent Clifton Slade said.

Warmbloods - a relatively new breed in this country - started with the huge draft horses that knights once rode. Their cool demeanor in battle and strength to carry the heavy weight of man and armor earned them the ``coldblood'' tag.

Over the years, the drafts - in most cases Percherons, originating in France - have been mixed with ``hotblooded'' horses like Arabians and Thoroughbreds to come up with the Warmblood. There are about 2,500 registered in America.

Cohan acquired her first two Warmbloods in 1986, about 15 years after the breed first came to this country. European Warmbloods were becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to import, said Jean Brooks of the American Warmblood Society in Phoenix, Ariz., which inspects, registers and brands the horses.

At the same time, the horses were becoming more popular in this country for dressage - a kind of choreographed group dance for horses - and for competitions.

At 16 to 17 hands, Warmbloods are slightly larger than Thorough-[breds. Today, they're seen frequently when performing horses are televised, particularly in Olympics equestrian events.] ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

JOHN H. SHEALLY II/The Virginian-Pilot

Patty Conan...

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