Fair Out, Arabian Horse Show In

By Jeffrey Smith, News On 6

TULSA, OK - About 2,000 horses from around the world are making their way to Tulsa. They will be in town for the Arabian Horse Show that is starting this weekend and there isn't much time left to get everything ready at the fairgrounds.

On Sunday, the whole area was littered with funnel cakes and children's rides. Now, it's covered in four inches of dirt. The county is racing to the finish line to get ready for the big show.

It isn't just dirt getting dumped at the fairgrounds, Expo Square officials say it's progress.

"This will be Tulsa's Super Bowl event this year," said Marketing Director Amanda Blair.

Blair is talking about the Arabian Horse Show which rolls into town in five days with 1,800 equines.

"We've got more than 1,000 truckloads of dirt coming into this complex," said Blair.        

There's barely enough time to clean-up the Midway. Sunday night, people just didn't want to say goodbye.

"We had to disappoint children who were still in our just for-kids-building, and say, please, the fair is over. Please come back next year and at 10 o'clock this morning, that same kids building was filled with dirt," said Expo Square President Mark Andrus.

Dirt from Owasso, Oklahoma will cover the floor of every single building.

"Let's see, 10 cubic yards for each truck, that would be somewhere between a ‘wow' amount and more dirt than I've ever seen in my entire life," said Andrus.

It's not as easy as it looks. Last year, Expo Square did a dry run after the fair ended just to make sure the lemonade stands could be torn down in time, but this year it's for real. Officials say the mess coming in, is as good for the bottom-line as the mess left behind.

Andrus says hosting the Horse Show will have a $40 million impact on the local economy.