September 2020 Issue

The News East Coast Horse Owners Need To Know OUR TH YEAR 1993 - PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 280 LANC., PA 17604 Vol. 27 No. 8 September 2020 (Continued on page 22) …and much more! Inside... Check out these gorgeous horse farms for sale!...pgs. 14-19 By Amy Worden The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the 2020 horse show season and the fabled “indoors” are no exception. Of the three fall indoor shows, the Washington Interna- tional Horse Show (WIHS), the Pennsylvania National Horse Show (PNHS) and the National Horse Show (NHS), only the NHS will be held at its traditional location in its entirety. The two other shows were cancelled but seven hunter/jumper champion- ship finals will be held in North Carolina. The premier yearend horse shows are a hallowed equestrian sports tradition, where champi- ons are crowned under the glow of arena lights, where theme nights celebrate different riding disciplines. where young eques- trians vie for the vaunted Medal and Maclay awards and where the top national and international riders compete for large purses in the famed Grand Prix and Puissance classes. But it became clear as the pandemic worsened that the 2020 indoor shows might be in jeopardy. Two of three venues, the Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg, PA and the Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C. would not be open by the show dates in October. So, show organizers began searching for new locations and "Indoors" Move, Then Cancel, But Some Championships Will Be Held selected the 23-acre Bob Thomas Equestrian Center in Tampa, FL, with its two outdoor arenas, to host both shows. However, by mid-August, facing safety and sponsorship issues, the WIHS and PNHS announced they would cancel the events scheduled there. “As multiple issues have evolved resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, WIHS found it impossible to success- fully host the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Wash- ington for 2020,” the two shows said in a joint statement. “While key partners including Longines and Mars Equestrian made every effort to support WIHS during this extremely challenging year in the newly proposed Tampa venue, as the event drew closer the barriers and risks were insur- mountable.” Susie Webb, executive direc- tor of the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, said given the tim- ing and the uncertainty her board determined with just two months to go, it was impossible to move forward. “We had to decide now in order to put on a great product, a special horse show and we just couldn’t do it,” she said. “The health of everyone is first and foremost.” But the WIHS and the PNHS were able to salvage the champi- onships which will be held at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, NC. Relocating to Tryon will be the Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Finals, the Neue Schule/USEF Junior Jumper National Championships and the WIHS Championship Finals. The Medal Finals and Junior Jumper championships will be held Oc- tober 8-11. The Platinum Per- formance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals-East will be held October 15-18. The WIHS Equitation Finals and Pony Equitation Finals will take place October 23-25 and the WIHS Children’s and Adult Hunter and Jumper Finals October 20-25. The National Horse Show (NHS) will be held at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY., where the competition is to be held from October 23-November 1, 2020. The fate of the NHS seemed uncertain after seven COVID cas- es turned up at the Alltech Arena, causing several show cancella- tions over the summer. Four major horse shows were abruptly cancelled in August after seven individuals who were at the arena in late July and early Au- gust tested positive for COVID. The cancelled shows were: United States Hunter Jumper As- sociation (USHJA) Pony Hunter Derby Championship-East, the USEF Pony Finals, the 2020 Plat- inum Performance USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships and the Platinum Performance USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship. At the same time, Flori- da was emerging as a COVID hotspot and the Ocala Jockey Club decided to cancel its 3-Day Molly Ashe Cawley won the FEI CSI3* $134,000 Grand Prix de Penn National at the 2019 Pennsyl- vania National Horse Show. The 2020 Grand Prix, along with most of the events that would have been held at the 75th annual show, is another casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. Photo credit: Al Cook Baltimore disbands its 132 year old mounted police unit …pg. 4 Fair Hill test event, dressage in a pandemic, yoga for equestrians