Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

July 17, 2008 issue

85th Annual Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show Begins July 30

Hunters and Jumpers Set to Compete for Two Weeks

Story by Celeste von Mangan

The saddlebred portion of the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show was held in June, and now the second half of the oldest continuous horse show in the country—85 years to be exact—is slated to begin on Wednesday, July 30, with the start of the Hunter/Jumper I exhibition.

The first half of hunter/jumper lasts through Sunday, August 3, while Hunter/Jumper II begins on Wednesday, August 6, and continues through Sunday, August 10. Classes begin at 8:00 a.m. each day except Sundays when the starting time is 7:45 a.m. A Blowing Rock tradition since 1923, the event will be held at the L.M. Tate Show Grounds located at the Blowing Rock Equestrian Preserve.

Spectators and exhibitors can expect the same gracious hospitality and genteel ambience at this 2008 show as they have come to know in previous years. Plenty of parking and complimentary rides in golf carts to the bleachers, vendors, competition rings and shops encircling the main ring are just some of the amenities people can enjoy as the equestrian classes take center stage each day.
Exhibitors are competing in beginner classes such as leadline to advanced A-rated classes for big-money stakes, like the $25,000 Kathryn G. Clark Challenge of Champions.

Highlights of the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show for week number one include the $1,000 Junior/Amateur Jumper II class and USEF Pony Medal class on Wednesday, July 30; the $1,000 Junior/AO Jumper II class and the SC Governor’s Cup on Thursday, July 31; the USEF Adult Medal Class and the T.H.I.S. Children’s Medal Class on Friday, August 1; the $3,500 Junior/AO Jumper Prix Table II and the EJ Haun Medal on Saturday, August 2; and on Sunday, August 3, the $1,500 Children’s Jumper II and $10,000 Russell Hall Memorial Trophy and prize money will be awarded to the winner of this jumping event.

On Sunday, August 3, exhibitors have the opportunity to try for the $25,000 Kathryn G. Clark Challenge of Champions award, and on the last day of the show, Sunday, August 10, those exhibitors who qualify can compete for the $10,000 L.P. Tate Jumper Classic II.

Competition divisions include Green Hunter, Short Stirrup, Jumper division and the Junior/Amateur-owner division. A special award called the Spin the Night Challenge Trophy will be presented to the Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper who earns the most prize money. Donated by Rick Coker, the trophy will be retired to the owner of any horse who wins the award for three consecutive years.

Judging classes for Hunter/Jumpers I are Scott Hofstetter from Ocala, Fla. and Julie Winkle from Reno, Nev. For Hunter/Jumpers II, Scott Fulton from Ithaca, N.Y. and Geoff Teall from Wellington, Fla. will judge. Long-time Steward Mary Choate from Lancaster, S.C. returns once again for week one, and her father Tom Brennan, from Charlotte, N.C., will serve as steward for week two. Announcers include Mike Lowry from San Antonio, Texas and Will Tharington from Oak Ridge, N.C. Cathrin Cammett serves as the official show photographer again, and Progressive Show Jumping operating out of Aiken, S.C. provides the jumps.

General admission tickets cost $5 and are available at the gate. Proceeds from the show benefit local charities. For more information, call 828-295-4700.

Want To Go?
What: Hunter/Jumper I
Dates: Wednesday to Sunday, July 30 to August 3
Times: 8:00 a.m. daily/7:45 a.m. on Sunday
Location: L.M. Tate Show Grounds, Blowing Rock
Cost: $5

Want To Go?
What: Hunter/Jumper II
Dates: Wednesday to Sunday, August 6 to 10
Times: 8:00 a.m. daily/7:45 a.m. on Sunday
Location: L.M. Tate Show Grounds
Cost: $5