The Thoroughbred Horse Show Association held it’s inaugural horse show Saturday at the Kentucky Horse Park, and declared itself pleased with 105 entries. With a range of divisions from in-hand and dressage to hunter classes there was definitely enough variety to keep everyone happy.
In a nod to their former lives, all the entrants in the show wore hip numbers, not competitor or bridle numbers.
With such a full schedule there was a lot of waiting around, and the horses and their connections all seemed to be enjoying the day out, most of them standing calmly and socialising, or just snoozing.
Many thanks to local Grand Prix dressage rider Susan Posner for judging dressage all day, Shelley Mann in the hunter ring, and to several of the OTTB adoption organisations who were well represented not only in the flesh, but with tradestands. It made a nice change to see all all the different disciplines come together in one horse show – eventers, dressage riders, hunters and fox-hunters all showing off their TBs, what a diversely talented breed this is.
Also, many thanks of course to the tireless volunteers and organisers who helped make the show today, and the gala evening the night before such a success.
Red Zipper, winner of the War Horse Class. I caught up with Michelle, his trainer, and Ellen his owner, after their big win for a brief chat.
Ellen had to take her horse into the ring for the next in-hand class, and Red Zipper was contesting some hunter classes after we spoke so many thanks to all three of them for their time, and many congratulations!
Red Zipper
TBs come in all shapes and sizes. There was no programme so it was impossible to identify horses or riders by hip number unless you heard them being announced going into the ring. However, I was delighted to bump into familiar face, Lisa Molloy, who is an absolute dynamo at West Wind Farm, just down the road from the Kentucky Horse Park, where she works miracles for the Lexington division of New Vocations
Pentagon and Lisa
Learning a dressage test last minute!
Waiting for a jumper class. There will be another all thoroughbred horse show here at the Kentucky Horse Park in the autumn on the first weekend of October so mark your calendars for that. As well as nice rosettes and goody bags, they were also giving away lovely saddle pads, and there are year end awards that you can read how to qualify for here. All in all it was a lovely way to while away a few hours and a wonderful celebration of the breed. Go the Thoroughbred, and Go Eventing!
