Molly Ashe Crawley won the 2019 $134,000 Grand Prix de Penn National at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, PA. The show will not be held in 2020 though some divisions will be held at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in NC. Credit Al Cook
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 International 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 championship finals will be held in North Carolina.
The premier yearend horse shows are a hallowed equestrian sports tradition, where champions are crowned under the glow of arena lights, where theme nights celebrate different riding disciplines. where young equestrians 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 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 successfully host the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Washington 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 insurmountable.”
Susie Webb, executive director of the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, said given the timing 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 championships which will be held at a previously scheduled show at Tryon, 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 October 8-11. The Platinum Performance/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 cases turned up at the Alltech Arena, causing several show cancellations 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 August tested positive for COVID.
The cancelled shows were: United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Pony Hunter Derby Championship-East, the USEF Pony Finals, the 2020 Platinum Performance USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships and the Platinum Performance USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship.
At the same time, Florida was emerging as a COVID hotspot and the Ocala Jockey Club decided to cancel its 3-Day Event, an Olympic qualifier, set to run from November 12th to 15th at the 950-acre Ocala Jockey Club farm in Reddick, Florida.
“We have wished to serve our part in the economic recovery of the community and the competition needs of the eventing sport,” said Pavla Nygaard, president of the Ocala Jockey Club. “However there has been increased concern on OJC’s part regarding the significant increase in community transmission of Covid-19, and a corresponding concern regarding current and continuing insufficient availability of local and national tools to combat such community transmission of this virus.”
Organizers of the National Horse Show said they are confident they can hold the show safely at the indoor Alltech Arena by setting extensive new rules and putting health protocols in place.
“It’s tough to pull off a horse show in a time of a world pandemic,” said Jennifer Burger, president of the NHS. “But we are a go. We are anticipating a great show.”
She said they are holding the stabling area at 50 percent capacity and there will be no spectators allowed. The roughly 600 to 700 exhibitors and others entering the area each day will be required to wear masks at all times and undergo temperature checks at the gate. Burger said a security company has been hired to ensure protocols are followed.
“There will be zero tolerance [for violators],” she said.
While horse show enthusiasts cannot attend in person, there will be a high-quality livestream at the National Horse Show’s website (www.nhs.org) and daily newsletters posted for the duration of the show from Oct. 23 to Nov. 1, said Burger.
Ericka Houlihan of Clarksville, MD, said she was looking forward to competing in the low junior amateur-owner jumper division at the WIHS with her Dutch Warmblood Petrushka III.
“I think [cancellation] was the right decision given the circumstances,” she said. “I feel sad for those looking forward to it, but there will more horse shows to look forward to once this is behind us.”