To be managed by ShelbyKY Tourism, the center’s location is central to Shelbyville’s historic downtown and scenic parks system and less than an hour from the state’s largest cities, Louisville and Lexington. With three historic silos as visual centerpieces, the creation of Shelbyville Conference Center demonstrates the partnership of the City of Shelbyville, Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative, and ShelbyKY Tourism.

Including state-of-the-art capabilities for hosting in-person and hybrid events, the Conference Center and Welcome Center offers more than 16,000 square feet of space spread over one floor. Award-winning, Kentucky-based architectural and interior design firm EOP Architects led the Center’s design.

Decorated in contemporary shades of gray and brown with stone accents, an equine theme is used throughout the center to symbolize Shelby County’s designation as the ‘American Saddlebred Capital of the World.’ 

The sculpture, titled “American Saddlebred,” was commissioned for the Shelbyville Conference and Welcome Center. The full-scale horse is constructed of forged bronze.

These images illustrate the process we used to create the horse, which is mostly cold-forged with a treadle hammer. The piece is an open-framework with very gestural lines and shapes that create the body of the horse.