Taylor County approves Iron Horse Ranch special-event permit with conditions after noise concerns

Taylor County commissioners held a public hearing Feb. 3 and approved a special-event permit for Iron Horse Ranch for two 2025 event windows — Feb. 27–March 2 and Oct. 9–12 — subject to updated documentation for the October event and administrative updates to the applicant’s paperwork.

County staff said the application packet was complete except for an updated certificate of insurance and an updated statement from the fire chief that will be required for the October dates. Staff recommended approval contingent on those documents and on updated entry and hold-harmless statements revised to 2025.

During the public hearing, several commissioners and members of the public raised concerns about loud music and noise late into the night. Neighbors reported calls to the sheriff’s office in past years about music after 10 p.m., and commissioners pressed the event representative on operational details.

The applicant — speaking for Iron Horse Ranch — described event protocols: security checks at the gate, searches or confiscation of contraband and a promise to involve law enforcement when necessary. “We confiscate it. We call in law enforcement, and they take care of it for us,” the event representative said on the record when asked about drugs or alcohol at the site.

The applicant also said that nighttime riding and vehicle pits are shut down at 7 p.m., and that Friday and Saturday nights typically have music until midnight; staff said those later hours have been used previously and that the October date documentation must confirm safety controls.

The board approved the permit with the contingency that the October event supply the updated certificate of insurance, a updated fire-chief statement and updated hold-harmless/entry statements dated 2025. No formal roll-call vote with tallies was recorded in the transcript; the motion passed by verbal assent.