Retired riders: Davis Ag Center gets seniors back in the saddle
The Davis Agricultural Heritage Center, located north of the USU Botanical Center in Kaysville, is a multi-use facility where Cindy Champneys spends her evenings roping and barrel racing with her husband and friends.
She also happens to be 68 years old.
Champneys, her 69-year-old husband Fred and their cohort of retired friends use the Davis Agricultural Heritage Center, known more commonly as the Davis Ag Center, two days a week to meet up, rope and barrel race.
According to Davis Ag Center facility manager Diane Huffman, they use the facility as a replacement for the old Davis County Legacy Center, which the county paved over and remade as a sporting facility in 2019.
“When they did that, the equine community got booted out of Davis County,” Huffman said. “And even though we are growing into the metropolis we are today, there is still a need.”
Champneys and her friends had to get used to the switch from dirt arenas to soccer fields — a transition she said left them without anywhere to go back then.
“It’s really hard for us in this area because the county government actually took our facility from us in Farmington,” Champneys said. “The commissioners thought that soccer was more important than the horse industry, so we actually had that taken away from us.”
According to Champneys, that was the case until Utah State Extension sponsored the development of the Davis Ag Center. Now, she is able to saddle up again and be part of the bigger agricultural community.
“It’s really good to have Utah State step in and work with the county,” Champneys said. “Because Utah State is involved, they won’t be taking this facility away from the horse people.”
According to Champneys, the facility wasn’t built in a day. Without the help of what she calls “the horse people,” she doesn’t believe the Davis Ag Center would be of much use to anyone.
“Our group, our ropers, actually set up the arena, the roping shoots and everything,” Champneys said. “They actually did the work, and it’s helped Diane put all of it together using materials from the old fairgrounds.”
According to Huffman, because of everyone who helped set it up, Champneys’s group of retired rodeo enthusiasts are not the only ones who benefit from the Davis Ag Center.
Along with group roping and racing, the facility is home to various shows and events, including a stock show, 15 team roping events, 4-H events, four barrel racing events and even dog shows.
All of these events, which draw 80-100 participants each, are a part of what Huffman believes is the bigger picture.
“I think what people tend to forget is that the agricultural community is our foundation,” Huffman said. “It’s a necessity.”
According to USU Extension, Davis County ranks as the second highest-producing county for greenhouse and nursery crops, with 34,000 tons of alfalfa hay and 26,000 tons of corn silage harvested in 2024.
“So many people forget where the food on their plates and the clothes on their back come from,” Huffman said. “The important thing about having this facility here is that we help people that aren’t involved know that it is still relevant and prevalent here in Davis County.”
Working alongside people like Champneys, Huffman thinks the Davis Ag Center plays a large role in educating people about the importance of community involvement in the agricultural scene.
“I’m a big advocate that you need to educate to inspire people,” Huffman said. “To have the opportunity for community members to participate in and watch those kinds of events will inspire them to maybe get involved eventually.”
For Champneys, a big part of that comes from having a place to spend time with her 70-year-old friends again.
“When you’re old, you have to have something to do. It’s an opportunity to stay active,” Champneys said. “We do it because we love the sport, and we love to get together.”
Champneys’s group of ropers and barrel racers are not an official group at the Davis Ag Center. Instead, according to Champneys, they are more like family.
“We are just friends who rope, and we just pitch in money-wise and provide enough cattle,” Champneys said. “All summer long, we still get together to eat food and goodies and have drinks.”
With USU’s support, Champneys and Huffman agree that the Davis Ag Center has become a beacon for them and the equine and agricultural community in Davis County.
“Not all of us are soccer players,” Champneys said. “So to have something for us here, we’re so grateful.”