The horsemen at Blue Ribbon Downs in Sallisaw built the Blue Ribbon Fellowship Church in the 1990s by a mixture of means.

The Rev. Jerry Green, who prefers just Jerry, said the first donation for the chapel was from a horse owner who left $25,000 in his will to build the chapel. Ken and Reba George of Caney, Kan., who have a horse farm in the Central area, donated all the heat and air conditioning, and Reba added the trees planted in front of the chapel. The late Don Armstrong, who was president of National Bank of Sallisaw, solicited donations from merchants, and presented over $5,000 to Don Essary, the racetrack’s general manager at that time, for the church. Sallisaw Lumber donated the Sheetrock and other building materials. Ronnie Bowen, a horseman from Arkansas, donated the two-by-four lumber to build the chapel walls. A horsewoman painted a mural on the walls. Many horsemen donated their labor to build the church.

The Choctaw Nation has said the horsemen must leave their chapel by Nov. 30, two days after the last day of live racing, on Nov. 28, at Blue Ribbon Downs.

Green said he is looking for another place for area horsemen to attend religious services.

“We‘re trying to find out what options we have,” Green said Tuesday. “We’d like to be near the track, but we’re not having much luck.”

Those who attend worship services at the church are hoping the Choctaw Nation will allow the church to remain open. The small building is located near the east entrance to the grounds, and the horsemen hope the Choctaws will allow that entrance to remain open so they may continue to use their place of worship. The horsemen have even offered to put up a fence themselves, so an entrance may be open to the church but not to the racetrack grounds.

“We have lots of interest in the church,” Green said.

Sadly, Green had to hold two memorial services Saturday for deceased horsemen. A jockey, Mark Steven Pace, 58, was killed in a race Oct. 18, and a horse owner-trainer, Johannes “Hans” Borst, 65, died from a heart attack Oct. 20. Green said Borst, who came to the United States from Holland, steer wrestled a bit before he became a horse trainer, and his memorial services on Saturday were attended by rodeo stars, including Roy Duvall, three-time world champion steer wrestler and member of the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. Over 100 people packed the little chapel for the service, Green said.

The chapel also provides fellowship for the horsemen, with monthly fellowship meetings, and has been the center of fundraising efforts on behalf of horsemen who need help.

It serves as the center of spiritual life at Blue Ribbon Downs.

“We even had plans to enlarge it,” Green said. “We were going to add on a couple hundred feet and build a handicap bathroom.”

“It’s been so much fun,” Green said of the little church, built by horsemen at Blue Ribbon Downs.

Until Nov. 28, Sunday School will be held at 9:15 a.m. and the worship service will be held afterward, at about 10 a.m., but the Daylight Saving Time change on Sunday means the races will begin earlier, at 11:30 a.m., and the worship service will be held earlier so horsemen can get to their races.

A breakfast will be held at the chapel at 7 a.m. on Nov. 14 for all those people on the backside — those who work in the barn area.

“We want to let them know the status of the church,” Green said.

For information or to lend support contact Green at (918) 427-0055.