The average Roanoker may not know much about Hackney ponies, racking horses, roadsters or equitation, but many are curious enough each June to attend one of the larger competitive horse shows in the eastern U.S. The 39th annual Roanoke Valley Horse Show returns to the Salem Civic Center complex June 21-26, with a week of competitions for medals, prize money, exhibitions and, yes, terrier racing on Friday, June 25. That’s when the lovable little pooches stage their annual exhibition race, to the delight of thousands in the stands.
Carol Whiteside, a member of the Roanoke Valley Horse Show executive board and a past president, said a number of former or future Olympic riders will take part, including several from Canada and South America. Past U.S. Olympian Joe Fargis, a 1984 gold medal winner will be here as well. “We get them from all across the country,” said Whiteside.
In fact, the Grand Prix winner from the past few years – that Olympic-caliber event will take place on June 26 – hails from Texas. Top prize that night is $50,000. Professional riders who compete on a circuit often pencil in the Roanoke Valley show as a must-attend, according to Whiteside.
She calls the Roanoke Valley Horse Show “one of the top multi-breed horse shows in the nation.” Whiteside said many horse shows now focus on a single breed. Quarterhorses, Appaloosa and other breeds will also be featured on June 21, with a draft horse exhibition on June 22. That program also spotlights antique farm equipment. Wednesday, June 23 features the barrel racing championships, after two nights of preliminaries.
“Each one of the huge tents erected in the Civic Center parking lot will stable about 100 horses,” she adds, with about 800 horses expected. “The annual economic impact in the valley is estimated at more than 13 million,” said Whiteside.
The “jumpers” bring in the most well known riders, but the American Saddlebreds will also be featured during a full week of competition. “They’re kind of like the ballerinas of the ring,” notes Whiteside, “the big high steppers. [They] are quite showy.”
Top contending horses should arrive this weekend or early next week so they can become accustomed to the ring that will be constructed on the floor of the Salem Civic Center. A “dressage” exhibition on Thursday, June 24 also features Olympic caliber riders in what Whiteside calls a “very technical” presentation. “It appears as if they are dancing to music.”
An organist plays while the American Saddlebred horses show off their fancy footwork. Also on Thursday night, children under six years old will be invited to bring their “stick horses” down to the arena floor, where they can ride them around the ring. The tradition “is quite a spectacle,” said Whiteside, who hopes that hundreds of children take advantage of the opportunity.
Whiteside figures that upwards of 5000 attend every night during the Horse Show’s six night run. She believes that most of those who do show up “have perhaps never even seen a horse show before. You don’t have to know anything about the horses or the [riders], but you can have a really good time just watching all the excitement and color.”
(See roanokevalleyhorseshow.com or call 375-3004 for more information.)
By Gene Marrano [email protected]
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