The Lakeville Open Horse Show: a classic

LAKEVILLE — The Lakeville Open Horse Show takes place this weekend, on Sunday, Sept. 19. Sponsored by the Lakeville Pony Club (one of the oldest pony clubs in the region) it is now in its 53rd year.  

The LPC has 25 members ranging in age from 7 to 17. The horse show is their biggest fund-raising event of the year and the members andtheir families have all been working hard to get ready for the big day. Any member who is not competing will most likely be volunteering at the show.

While the majority of the children live in Salisbury, residency in the Northwest Corner is not required; some of the members are weekenders from New York City, some live in towns over the border in Massachusetts.

Perhaps most important to know, members do not need to own a pony (or even have access to one) to be part of the club. Pony Club activities involve riding, horse care and management and unmounted meetings that feature a guest speaker.

Salisbury resident Lelee Brandt, who grew up over the border in Amenia, remembers competing at the show as a little girl, when it was on Lucy Drummond’s farm.

The Pony Club has moved around a bit from farm to farm, and it now makes its home at Riga Meadow Equestrian Center, just down the road from the original Drummond farm.

Brandt said one of the attractions of the annual Open Horse Show is that it still retains the outside course, which many jumping shows have done away with. (The outside course has cross-country-style jumps and natural fences, such as coops and posts and rails.)

For the uninitiated, the Open Horse Show is a classic jumping show. All the action takes place in one of two rings: the outside course and the stadium ring.

The jumping categories include hunters and jumpers and  there are equitation and pleasure classes.

Hunters are judged on their  form and style. Jumpers are about speed and height. Equitation has simple walk, trot and canter exercises. And the pleasure classes let riders demonstrate how relaxed their horse can be under saddle on a loose rein (and if you think that sounds easy, just remember this happens in a ring surrounded by a lot of noise, activity and distractions).

One of the other attractions of the horse show is the prize money. While it can’t compete with the recent $1-million prize purse at Horse Shows in the Sun (HITS) in Saugerties, N.Y., it does give winners a bit of a boost to the bank account, or at least offset the cost of entry. The combined prize purse is $1,500.

Nannie Clough, the current head of the Lakeville Pony Club said, “The show will get underway at 8 a.m. and usually wraps up by 3 p.m or so. For those looking for a great Sunday activity in a beautiful locale, this show is it!â€

In addition to the horse spectacle, there will be hot food, bakery items, cotton candy and merchandise vendors on the grounds. Sally Haver, who boards her horse at Riga Meadow, will hold an equine-inspired tag sale with a mix of the decorative (framed horse portraits, scarves, possible Christmas presents) and the practical (assorted tack and accessories).

The Lakeville Open Horse Show will be held at 339 Undermountain Road (Route 41) in Salisbury. For more information, go to lakevilleponyclub.org.