Harm And Tulleys Preps For Horse Show After Flood

During the flood in March, many people in Bloomfield tried helplessly to keep their basements dry and sandbag businesses down Broadway Street. The relentless water rose so quickly, no one was prepared for it. The Knox County fairgrounds were no exception as the entire area was flooded.

Jolene Greckle stared in shock outside Harm and Tulleys event center. The water was easily knee deep and the doors wouldn’t open against the weight of all the water.

According to her, flooding of the fairgrounds is nothing new, but the most recent flood was a different category.

With the first horse show in the buckle series coming up, there is much work to be done.

“We pumped 15,000 gallons of water out of there and scraped all the muck out,” Greckle said.

The water left a mess everywhere, the main area as well as kitchen and bathrooms.

“I had to use a mop and bucket to clean it up, I couldn’t just spray it with a hose or I would have just added to the water,” said Greckle.

All of the sand needs to be replaced before the upcoming event. There are some things that will not be fixed in time for the show, like a sprung door but Greckle is confident they can get the arena in good shape before the horse show.

“Some areas need more TLC than others, but we plan to make a list for FEMA and hopefully we get some help,” she said.

The horse show of the buckle series is scheduled for April 20 at 10 a.m. This show usually has a good turnout. People come from Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa to show. It is important to Greckle to make sure everything is in order.

“Some of them are showing for the very first time, we want to treat them like they are special,” she said. “We don’t like to disappoint.”