Saturday was a difficult day at the Mount Hope Training Center.

"It's been an absolute nightmare," said Mount Hope Training Center Owner Rich Banca. "I got a call at 3 o'clock in the morning that there was a fire, and I live an hour away. So I got there around 4 o'clock. And by the time I got there, the barn was pretty much gone."

A barn burned to the ground, and all 24 horses inside were dead. Banca says workers at the property tried to save the horses, but the conditions made it impossible.

"Between the smoke and the fire, I think they got one, they were able to get one out, and it ran back in," Banca said. "You know the horses, they're creatures of habit, and that's their stall. They got the one out, it ran back in. By then, everything was coming down and there was just nothing anyone could do."

Officials say almost a dozen fire departments came to the center, and stopped the flames from spreading to a nearby barn that held 30 horses. But for the trainers who did lose horses, the center's owner says the fire took a lot from them.

"There was a trailer parked next to the barn, a horse trailer, which probably helped probably save the barn next to it, but they lost that ... I mean, they lost everything," said Banca.  

The training center is still open, and there are GoFundMe pages for the trainers. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.