Business View Magazine | June 2022

177 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6 The Town of Lexington is rather unique, too. In addition to having the VHC, it’s also the home of Washington & Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute. This, Petty, explains, creates a lot of higher end amenities usually reserved for larger cities. Lexington offers boutique hotels, diverse restaurants, and interesting museums. For the history buffs, there are Civil War historic sites, and for the outdoorsmen, there are a slew of rivers, lakes, and trails to explore. “There really is so much to do here,” Petty says. “It’s just a great place to live.” The VHC and the community benefit each other. Lexington knows the value of its horse center. It brings people in. And those people, of course, spend money. The horse center is a combination of Ag Tourism and Sports Tourism. It basically promotes tourism, in general. An Economic Impact Study was conducted in 2019 to assess the impact of the VHC on the local community of Lexington, Rockbridge County, and the entire Commonwealth of Virginia. The results are impressive: the total economic impact on Lexington is an estimated $7.4 million. For Rockbridge County, the numbers increase to $47.7 million, supporting 518 jobs. And the economic impact of the VHC for the entire state of Virginia is estimated to be $94.9 V I RGINI A HORSE CENTER