Mindy Williams, trainer, barrel races Chloe at the 2018 Pennsylvania Farm Show
Picture a draft horse competition and you probably don’t think of barrel racing.
But once a year, riders saddle up their giant mounts to try to beat the clock to the delight of hundreds of visitors at the Pennsylvania Farm Show.
I was once one of the onlookers. In 2008 I bought a “might be pregnant” Belgian mare from an Amish farmer in Chester County, PA. The following spring a chestnut-blonde filly arrived. We named her Chloe. In 2015 as I watched the parade of 2,000-pound horses lumbering around the barrels I thought, Chloe will be there one day.
The Draft Horse Pleasure Show may be one of the most watched horse shows you never heard of and is certainly the best show deal in Pennsylvania.
It’s really a show within a show, within a show. One of the most popular events at the annual Farm Show – the largest indoor agricultural exhibition in the country-- is the Draft Horse Hitch Show. This multi-day event features teams of four and six Belgians and Percherons, harness bells clanking, high-stepping around the arena competing for prize money. They also face off in halter classes and pulling contests.
But every Thursday (and as of 2019 also Wednesday night) is dedicated to draft horse pleasure horses as a way to showcase the versatility of the heavy-horse breeds in western and English riding and driving classes.
“Pleasure horses don’t fit the definition of hitch horse, which is more animated,” said Eric Thomas, chairman of the pleasure show since its founding in 2009. “We felt there was a desire for a show for those who couldn’t compete in the hitch show.”
In other words, it’s a great opportunity for individuals who may not be able to afford the time or the expense for a team of horses, carriages and harnesses, but who may own one or two draft horses.
The Pennsylvania draft horse community is small and family-oriented. Generations of breeders compete at the Farm Show and many support their avocation with commercial carriage businesses.
Every so often close-out sales of horses, harnesses and carriages are posted on the PA Draft Horse and Mule Association Facebook page as older breeders retire. Thomas says while draft horse exhibitors are aging, he’s noticed some younger exhibitors coming up. Still, the overall decline may be reflected in the shrinking number of exhibitors in the pleasure show, which has dropped from almost 50 to about 25 this year.
That doesn’t mean potential exhibitors aren’t out there.
Given the demand for working draft horses among the Amish, there are many draft horses in circulation in Pennsylvania who end up at auction or are sold privately to non-Amish like me.
Entry Process
For someone interested in showing but not connected to an established breeder, the Farm Show entry process is tricky to navigate.
Entry forms are buried deep in the Farm Show’s crowded website under “Equine Forms.” Entries open in mid-September, but close only about six weeks later. (This year the deadline is Nov. 3.)
What are known as prize lists in all hunter/jumper shows are called premium lists at the Farm Show. The cost to enter the show? $20. That includes entry to as many classes as one wants to enter, a stall with bedding and a parking pass. That’s the hands down best deal in showing.
Make sure to read the fine print in the section “rules and regulations” about health certificate, attire and arrival time requirements.
Horses must be full drafts, but do not have to be registered, they only have to reside in Pennsylvania.
There is prize money for all who place, with first place receiving up to $32. Winners get a bonus ($74) from the Farm Show Foundation. I was able to almost cover the costs of competing for my show day in winnings.
There are adult and youth classes in English and Western pleasure and youth classes in showmanship and decorating. In addition to the barrel racing, the feed scurry provides lively entertainment as horses hitched to sleds move among stacks of hay bales while team members on the ground compete to see who can load and unload sleds the fastest.
The horse barn atmosphere at the Farm Show is a family affair. Exhibitors help each other find replacements for missing or broken harness pieces or do a quick tack change. There’s always coffee brewing and someone will have chili in the slow cooker. “There is a comradery,” said Thomas.
The midday Tribute to Veterans has become a popular tradition at the pleasure show. Veterans of all ages are invited to hop aboard wagons and take a spin, led by a mounted color guard, around the arena. Each branch of the armed forces is recognized with its hymn and veterans saluted with a standing ovation. This year 80 veterans participated in this moving ceremony.
In 2015 Chloe made her Farm Show debut. She took third place in her first barrel racing class. By 2018 she claimed the blue ribbon and this year successfully defended her title as the draft horse barrel racing champion of Pennsylvania Farm Show – a badge of honor we both wear with pride.