After more than 20 years operating a summer horseback riding camp in Oldsmar, Horsepower For Kids owner Armando Gort is closing the popular camp due to an ongoing battle with city officials.
After a lengthy battle with Oldsmar city officials, marked by mudslinging and longstanding animosity on both sides, Horsepower For Kids owner Armando Gort has decided to close his summer horseback riding camp.
According to a message posted on the nonprofit’s Facebook page, the popular camp will close when the 2016 camp ends in early August.
The message, posted by Gort on July 6, reads:
“It is with much sadness that I have decided to make this years summer camp my last one, after 21 yrs and over 15k kids. I no longer have the energy it takes to run the camp. It saddens me that so many kids are going to miss the opportunity to make great memories. The farm is not going to close . I’m going to concentrate on my passion of animal rescue. I feel I have given enough of myself to all for the last 21 yrs, the time has come for me to take a break. Thank you to all the parents who have trusted me with their kids all these years. Its my hope that in some way I made a difference in their life. Thank you Armando Gort.”
The news comes on the heels of Gort’s supporters making yet another appearance at a City Council meeting, part of an ongoing attempt to get city officials to open the public horse trails at Oldsmar’s Mobbly Bayou Preserve.
But although the council finally agreed on Tuesday night to put the issue on a meeting agenda in the future, Gort said it’s too late to change his mind.
“I’ve changed my mind before because I’ve felt bad for the kids, but I’m not gonna do that anymore,” Gort told Oldsmar Connect by phone on Thursday.
“I’m glad they finally got it on the agenda, but that doesn’t change things for me.”
Gort’s decision comes after a long battle with the city, one that he claims is rooted in personal animosity and even bigotry, towards him.
When asked why he thinks officials have refused to reopen the public trails at the preserve that his campers have been using for years, Gort didn’t mince words.
“All of this stems from a personal vendetta by (City Manager) Bruce Haddock, and it’s because I’m gay,” Gort said.
“He’s a grown man and he acts like a little kid, and most people are afraid to go up against him,” he added.
“But I’ve always followed my own drum, and I believe in standing up for the truth.”
Those strong statements come at what appears to be the end of a decades-long feud between the city and Gort’s nonprofit facility, which also features a petting zoo and a rescue sanctuary in addition to the riding camp.
The final straw apparently came when council members unanimously approved the zipline aerial adventure park at the preserve while steadfastly refusing to reopen the trails, even after development on the Hillsborough County side of Race Track Road forced the farm to abandon the trails on that side.
“I’ve brought more people here who’ve never heard of Oldsmar than the zipline ever will,” Gort said. “But they’ve never promoted it. All they’ve done is set up roadblocks to prevent me from being successful. If they were to do it now, it would be all about promoting the zipline park, not about helping me.”
“We have been struggling for years now, and I don’t want it any more,” he added, noting it costs $30,000 per month to operate the camp. “I’m not giving them any more of my money, because they’re all crooked.”
With less than a month to go before he closes the camp for good, Gort said he is planning one last party for past and present campers.
After that, he plans on focusing on the rescue sanctuary portion of the facility, opening it to the public a few days a week while hosting periodic fundraisers, such as his popular annual fall festival.
But while the summer camp will be closing, Gort said he’s not ready to pack up and leave the area just yet.
“I’m not giving in and leaving here, I’m just quitting the horseback riding,” he said.
“I’m just going to concentrate on my little rescue animals and fundraisers. I’m not giving in and leaving here until I’m ready to go.”
Before ending the conversation, Gort attempted to convey how much the camp has meant to him, and to the many kids who have attended it, over the years.
“This place has been an escape and a happy place for so many kids for so many years, and I hate to have to do this,” he said. “I love the animals, and I love the kids.”
“But city officials have left me no choice. They have done an injustice to me and to the citizens of Oldsmar.”
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