The Georgia International Horse Park Is Booked Almost Every Weekend Until Christmas

There are nine weekends between Friday night's Conyers Pro Rodeo and the Dec. 19 to 20 Southern Series Games, and events are scheduled at the Georgia International Horse Park on eight of them. If you ride its trails, bike its Olympic course, or walk a dog along its pastures, the calendar matters more than the forecast this fall. Shows and races decide where you can park, which areas stay open, and whether you get a free seat by the arena or find a barricade across the trail.

The park covers 1,400 acres, and the GPB feature from August 2026 describes it as a working post-Olympic venue with equestrian events, trails, greenspace and exhibition space all on one property. Events and everyday visitors share the same ground, and from now until Christmas the events are booked close together.

Eight Booked Weekends and One Gap

Here is the late-fall schedule as the City of Conyers and the park list it. Events get rescheduled, so check each organizer's page before you go.

Nov. 7 to 8 is the most crowded weekend in the stretch. A saddle club open show, the Mounted Games, and a youth dressage challenge all fill the arenas, and on Sunday a 5K and 10K trail race brings runners and their dogs onto the park's paths. Nov. 14 to 15 comes close, with a breed show, a regional hunter/jumper finals and a mounted games series sharing the same two days.

Most of the Shows Are Free to Watch

The park's own spectator FAQ says most horse shows there offer free admission for spectators. So many of the weekends in the table above are open to anyone who wants to bring a folding chair and watch good horses go.

Some listings spell it out. Circle of Friends Dog Agility is free for spectators all three days in early December, and the Five Star Hunters Holiday Classic on Dec. 12 lists free admission and free parking. If you have someone in the family who loves horses but has never been to a show, H.J. Fox Medal Finals on Nov. 20 to 22 is an easy place to start. Along with its hunter/jumper classes, the show runs a costume contest and a Fox & Hound Derby, with up to $2,500 in prize money.

The rodeo works differently. The same FAQ notes that some equine events and rodeos charge admission, parking, or both, and that each event sets its own parking areas and fees. According to the Professional Cowboys Association listing, this year's Conyers Pro Rodeo is the fourth annual, with Southern Rodeo Co. as the stock contractor. The city's event page sends ticket questions to Southern Rodeo Company, so get your price there rather than from a resale site.

The Same Weekends Can Close Your Trail

Busy show weekends cost everyday visitors something. The park's horse trail page says trails are open sunrise to sunset but may close on occasion because of other events in the park. The spectator FAQ says the same about the Big Haynes Creek Nature Center and the Arboretum, which sometimes close to the general public during events. Parking for a quiet visit is free, but an event weekend can change where you park and what's open when you arrive.

Timing makes it harder. The park posts trail closures on its calendar, but it also says closures for safety or hazardous conditions can happen at any time and may never go online. If you're unsure about a trail, the park asks you to call 770-860-4190. That office is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed on government holidays. You can't reach anyone on a Saturday morning, so the call has to happen by Friday afternoon.

A section of the Blue Trail between markers #64 and #86, which used to run through the Cherokee Run Golf Course and behind Hawthorn Suites, is permanently closed. If an older trail map still shows the full loop, the map is out of date.

Trailering In Your Own Horse This Fall

Riding the park's trails with your own horse costs nothing. The park says there is no fee to ride for passive recreation, though organized rides during events may carry fees. Before you load up, here are the park's rules:

• Paperwork: according to the park's horse rider requirements, every horse on the property, whether it's there for a show or a trail ride, needs proof of a negative EIA test from a licensed veterinarian within the last 12 months. Anyone with a horse on site must also follow Georgia Department of Agriculture rules.
• Trailheads: the main horse trailhead is Blue Parking off Mane Street. Bald Rock Meadows and Steeplechase are secondary trailheads. Each trail entrance has a shelter with a large trail map and take-along copies.
• Show areas: stay on the trails and in the trailer parking areas, and keep away from arenas and special-event areas. Groups reserve those spaces, and the park says riding near them can cause safety problems.
• Group rides: any organized trail event has to be contracted and permitted with the park in advance.

The arena rule matters more than usual this season. On weekends like Nov. 14 to 15, three separate equestrian events can be running at once. A trail horse that drifts toward a warm-up ring with show horses in it is the kind of trouble the park's rule is meant to prevent. These are the park's posted rules, and your veterinarian is the right person to confirm your horse's paperwork is current before you haul.

More than 15 miles of horse trails cross the old Olympic Endurance Course, through woods, open pasture and stream crossings. You can link shorter and longer trails to make the ride you want. On a show weekend, a shorter loop from a quieter trailhead may be the better choice.

When the Arenas Fill Up, Head for the Edges

The rest of the park's 1,400 acres is spread out, which helps on busy weekends. The Iron Hoof disc golf course is an 18-hole course at Bald Rock Meadows off Costley Mill Road. It opened in spring 2025, and the city held its ribbon-cutting on April 16, 2025. The course keeps sunrise-to-sunset hours, and the park notes that event closures there are possible too and get posted on the event calendar.

Big Haynes Creek Nature Center is a 173-acre conservation area with more than five miles of trails, a kayak launch, a pollinator garden, wildlife observation spots and an outdoor learning center. In late 2024, the city announced that a new accessible kayak launch had opened there. On a weekend when the arena side is full of trailers, the creek side is the one to try first. Still check the calendar, since the Nature Center is one of the areas the park says can close for events.

Mountain bikers have their own 9-mile course, the first Olympic mountain bike course ever built, with 1,032 feet of elevation change. It's open daily, and there's no fee for passive riding. The bike trail is the Red Trail. It runs one direction only, and helmets are required.

A Friday Routine for the Rest of the Season

With events on eight of nine weekends, it helps to check a few things every Friday until Dec. 20:

1. Find your Saturday on the park's calendar of events and the City of Conyers calendar. If an event is listed, click through for its fees and contact information.
2. Call 770-860-4190 before 5 p.m. if you have any doubt about your trail. The office won't be open again until Monday.
3. If you're bringing a horse, put the EIA paperwork in the truck the night before.
4. Choose your trailhead based on where the event is. Blue Parking off Mane Street is the main one, and Bald Rock Meadows and Steeplechase are the alternatives.
5. If the event is a free horse show, plan an hour at the rail to watch.

Thanksgiving weekend is the only one in this stretch without a listed event. If you've been waiting for a long, quiet ride on the endurance trails, Nov. 28 is the open Saturday.

Horses, trails and good neighbors fill our own weekends too, so we keep calendars like this one handy for our clients. If you're thinking about land near Conyers with room for your horses, or you want a second opinion on a barn and pasture setup before your next trailer purchase, Home and Farms Realty is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.