Longest running farmer's exhibition in Cape Breton up for sale

Seeing the Cape Breton Farmer's Exhibition with a "For Sale" sign came as a shock to Jennifer MacNeil, especially since the grounds have been home to her family since her grandparents were kids.

"People are heartbroken. They're really disappointed," says MacNeil.

MacNeil is with the Cape Breton Western Riders Society, which has over 200 members. It has been using the facility for nearly 50 years.

But now with the property up for sale, their shows have been cancelled for the remainder of the year.

"They're sad that it may not be here this time next year. It's a huge piece of the Northside. The economic impact from it, there's a lot of small businesses that are worried," says MacNeil.

Donnie MacNeil, with the Cape Breton Exhibition Society, says their initial proposal was rejected by the Board of Directors of the Federation, along with another proposal.

The sale also means the future of Northside Downs – the home of harness racing in the municipality – is in jeopardy.

"It’s quite obvious by the amount of community support that we've had over the past several weeks that the community is very concerned about potential losing this facility, and that’s why we're trying so hard to make this happen," says Donnie.

The Cape Breton Richmond Federation of Agriculture's Board of Directors said in a statement, "as an organization that is accountable to our members, we cannot entertain offers that are below our financial responsibilities, or are not in the best interest of our members and the organizations."

The board continues to say the recommendation to sell the property came as the result of a third party feasibility study, and board membership will have the final vote.

"We would love to see an organizations that's going to keep it as the status quo," says MacNeil.

As for the local horsing community, she says losing the exhibition grounds means having to travel off-island to compete.

MacNeil adds that some can't afford the cost and worries about the decline in interest among future generations.

"If this place goes, there is nothing east of Antigonish. This is it. This is the only facility this big and once it's gone, it's gone," she says.