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(Enlarge) The Columbia Classic Grand Prix, which is Howard Community College's biggest fundraiser, will take place off-campus for the first time this year. (file photo)

Howard Community College's biggest fundraiser and signature event has graduated.

For the first time, the Columbia Classic Grand Prix will not take place on the college's campus this year, but instead will happen at a farm in Clarksville that its owners bought just a year ago.

They are Marilyn Doetsch and her husband, George, owner of the Apple Ford dealership in Columbia. The Doetsches have attended and been sponsors of the Columbia Classic Grand Prix for all of its 21-year history.

Until this year, the equestrian show jumping competition unfolded every September on 10 acres of the campus' front lawn. Money raised is used to provide financial assistance to high-achieving and economically disadvantaged students.

Last year, the Doetsches became concerned about the event's future when their daughter, who attended the college, told them that the HCC lawn was slated to become a parking lot to accommodate the college's growing enrollment.

"We'd bought a 100-acre farm a year ago, where I have 12 (thoroughbred) brood mares in Howard County, so I offered my farm to them to use (for the Grand Prix)," Marilyn Doetsch said. "I had no idea they'd want it here because I know of many more beautiful and larger farms, but they did."

So on Sept. 20, the 22nd Grand Prix will not be held on the college's campus, but the lush, rolling hills and pastures of the Doetsch's Marama Farm on Chamblis Drive, in Clarksville, off of Route 32, nine miles from HCC.

"It's ready to go," Marilyn Doetsch said. "I had it designed for my horses, so it's perfect for a ring, warm-up area and parking. We're letting them use the entire farm."

College officials had considered other sites for the Grand Prix, including the Clark Farm in Ellicott City, undeveloped land at Maple Lawn in Fulton and Centennial Park.

But Mark Drummond, co-chairman of the event, said, "The minute we drove up to the farm, it was a no-brainer. To see pasture upon pasture -- seven of them fenced in -- wow, it was stunning and so beautiful. The fields for the Grand Prix also have to be flat, with no ruts, and Marilyn's are in good shape."

The layout for the Grand Prix at its new location will be completely different this year, with a larger ring, more activities for families and children, a greater number of booths for food and craft vendors, a much larger sponsor tent and, for the first time, a beer-and-wine tent, complete with tables and flat-screen televisions.

"The sky is the limit," Drummond said. "We were almost on autopilot in knowing how to set the event up and break it down. So, we're excited and plan to completely redo it."

Some aspects, though, will remain true to form, he added, "Our riders have said they liked the intimate feel of the ring, so we want to keep it that way."

Each year, 20 to 30 riders compete in both the junior/amateur jumper event and the Classic Grand Prix, with purses of $10,000 and $40,000, respectively.

Big names, big expectations

Tracy Magness, of Baltimore, who's had a stellar year competing on the circuit, is expected to participate and Olympic gold and silver medalist Joe Fargis of Middleburg, Va., has confirmed that he will compete in the Columbia Classic Grand Prix.

Fargis, who has won the competition before, said of the new site, "I'm going to get there on the day of the event and see it then. I loved the old site. It was nicely done with nice ambiance and I loved the crowd. I hope the new one is better."

A change that will be evident to ticket holders as soon as they arrive is the parking. In the past, parking was directly across from the event in a campus parking lot and in the school's parking garage. But this year at Marama, parking will be more than a quarter-mile from the ring, in grassy areas. Shuttle buses will be provided for those who do not want to take the walk from the main road to the competition area.

"People will have that option, but if it's a beautiful day, you'd be crazy not to take the beautiful walk down the hill to the ring and take in the stunning site," Drummond said. "This will be a true outdoor event, so don't wear heels, because we won't even have the turf carpet in the tent areas like we did in past years."

Enrollment jumping

College officials said the main reason behind the Grand Prix's move is that, since 2000, enrollment at HCC has increased by 50 percent and has put a major strain on available parking.

"When you have growth, these students aren't all walking but driving," said Kate Hetherington, HCC's president. "We hadn't anticipated such a growth spurt. In any event, the students do come first and needed the extra parking. We had no other place to put parking but the field."

Last year, the Grand Prix cut down the portion of the field it used by 10 percent. College officials had let students park on a portion of the field all year, which made that section less than ideal for Grand Prix participants.

"They parked cars where the horses actually jumped, which caused the turf not to be in optimal condition," said Oliver Kennedy, the competition's event manager. "The turf was packed down and there were ruts in some areas that made it not so dangerous per se, but not optimal for horses of this caliber."

Drummond added, "Before, at the beginning of the summer, we'd start watering the field like it was a garden and guarded it to make sure it was ready for the horses and riders safety."

And even though most of the event's organizers realized the race had outgrown the HCC site and the parking needs took priority over the Grand Prix, event manager Oliver Kennedy said he's still partial to the HCC site.

"Having run it from the first year, it fits me like a worn glove and I know every crook and cranny there and could set it up in my sleep," Kennedy said.

A new perspective

Missy Mattey, executive director of HCC's Education Foundation, has worked on the Grand Prix for 11 years. She finds the venue change a bit scary, but exciting.

"We can realize growth here (at Marama) that we didn't have before due to the size of the land we had, and I think this site is going to change the way people see the event," Mattey said. "I think they're going to be blown away when they see that this is a true horse farm with a wow factor."

Mattey said the organizers have expanded the marketing for the event in Carroll and Howard counties to attract new patrons. The regulars will know the Grand Prix has moved, she said.

"In the past, some people have walked to the event on the campus, so I hope they will still come," Mattey said.

Kennedy said the street frontage of HCC on Little Patuxent Parkway was a big advantage in attracting people to the event.

"People watched us set up the bleachers and ring daily, and their curiosity built up," Kennedy said. "The new site can hold more people, but it doesn't have that road frontage. But this is a rebuilding year, so with time, it could grow bigger than it's ever been."

Rebuilding year

The HCC competition is on the national Grand Prix circuit and attracts about 5,000 people each year. Tickets for lawn seats cost $10, free for children 10 and younger. Grandstand seating is $15, $8 for children. Tailgate space costs $100 and tent seats go for $200.

Since the event's inception, it has raised more than $2.5 million for the school's scholarship fund. According to Hetherington, HCC students needing financial assistance jumped from 33 percent last year to 37 percent this year.

Hetherington hopes the change in venue will attract a larger crowd this year, which would mean more money for the scholarship fund.

"We were at a point where we needed to make the Grand Prix more exciting, especially in this economy where the competition for money is great," she said. "The change to a larger venue has given new energy to the event, so we are hoping for a larger crowd."

And once all of the expected glitches of this year of rebuilding on a new location are worked out, organizers hope they can add additional features to the Grand Prix to attract more people. They're already discussing new classes of horses for events, polo matches and expanding the Grand Prix to a two-day event.

All of which is just fine with Marilyn Doetsch.

"I'm just happy to have it at the farm and it will hopefully get bigger each year," she said. "We told them, as long as the college wants to have the Grand Prix here on our farm, we'll let them."

If you go

What: 22nd annual Columbia Classic Grand Prix

When: Sunday, Sept. 20, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Where: Marama Farm, 5610 Chamblis Drive, Clarksville

Tickets: Lawn seats, $10 (free for children 10 and younger), Bring a blanket for the grassy slope; Grandstand, $15 (children $8), Ringside location, elevated view; Tailgate space, $100; Tent seats, $200, Mingle with corporate sponsors under the ringside tent, buffet, bar and one VIP parking pass.

More info: www.hccgrandprix.com.

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