Racing Into the Future: Broadband Boosts Championship Horse Farm

Rural Expansion efforts in Marion County bring Spectrum’s full suite of services to a state-of-the art equestrian estate where training award-winning horses is now powered by best-in-class connectivity.

The galloping of award-winning thoroughbred horses sets the daily soundtrack at GoldMark Farm in Ocala, Florida. The premier equestrian estate is home to state-of-the-art facilities that house and develop champion horses that have won races at every track in the country, including Churchill Downs.

The property sits among the rolling hills and oak-lined pastures of north-central Florida, in Marion County, widely known as the “Horse Capital of the World.” Nearly 90% of Marion County is rural, making it a prime location for equestrian operations and until recently an area that lacked high-speed connectivity.

For owner Paul Bulmahn, a Spectrum connection means reliable, around-the-clock connectivity that supports local and international clients, on-site equestrian trainers with their own small businesses, therapy and rehabilitation devices, and daily business operations.

Reliable Spectrum Broadband Connects the Farm to the World

Paul founded GoldMark Farm in 2006, training horses that have competed and won at top-tier tracks nationwide. The farm is also a center for learning: aspiring equine professionals from the U.S. and abroad study boarding, care and therapeutic practices on its grounds.

“Teaching students here and in Europe requires fast and reliable broadband,” said Paul. “Our partnership with Spectrum is vitally important so we can be assured our connection with the rest of the global markets is fast, safe and reliable.”

Paul’s passion for horses began in childhood, watching draft horses work the fields on neighboring farms. After attending the 2002 Kentucky Derby, he turned a lifelong dream into reality and built GoldMark – a farm with over 150 stalls, specialized rehab equipment and soil and aquifers that mirror Kentucky horse country's climate and geology.

The 1,500-acre facility is one of about 6,700 homes and businesses in Marion County that now have access to high-speed internet as part of Spectrum’s Rural Construction Initiative, an effort to expand broadband to rural and previously unserved areas in Florida and across the country. With the Marion County expansion, Spectrum has activated nearly 35,000 underserved homes and businesses in Florida, spanning a diverse range of geographic areas, including farmland, small towns and coastal regions across the state.

“Marion County is where tradition and progress meet,” said Geoff Banning, Spectrum’s Southeast Regional Vice President. “We’re proud to deliver the high-speed connectivity rural Florida communities need to grow, learn and thrive. A strong Spectrum connection means access to critical online resources, virtual education, remote work and more.”

Spectrum’s multi-year Rural Construction Initiative is driven by more than $7 billion in private investment and will ultimately add an additional 100,000+ miles of fiber-optic network infrastructure and deliver symmetrical and multi-gigabit speed internet access to more than 1.7 million new locations across the country.

“Whether you’re training horses or teaching future professionals,” said Paul, “this kind of reliable broadband makes all the difference.”

More about Spectrum's broadband expansion can be found here.