One of the first major equestrian events of the 2009 fall season is the Aiken Fall Festival horse show, held at Highfields show grounds on Gaston Road. This show is put on by Equus Events and starts on Thursday, September 3. The action runs through the weekend, then horses and riders have a few days off before competition starts up again on Thursday, September 10.
The horse show features a number of exciting classes each week, including two $15,000 Open Jumper Classics, two $5,000 Welcome Stakes, a $10,000 Childrens/Adult Jumper Prix, and the Governor's Cup Medal Finals on Sunday the 13th. The Governor's Cup is the equitation final for the South Carolina Hunters and Jumpers Association. Junior equitation riders qualify during the season by winning points at Governor's Cup classes in shows around the region, with the top 20 riders eligible to compete in the finals. The first ride goes at 8 a.m.
Other spectator-friendly events include Hunt Night and the 6-bar. Hunt Night features horses and riders that can normally be found on the hunt field rather than in the show ring. Equus Events introduced field hunter classes at the show last fall, and they were so popular that more of them have been added. Aiken has five local hunts and competition should be fierce. Everyone especially likes the hunt teams class, which calls for three horses to negotiate a course in tandem. Hunt Night is September 12 and the classes will take place on the polo field at Highfields, where there is plenty of room to park cars on the sidelines and tailgate. Action starts around noon.
The 6-bar is a show jumping competition in which horses go over a line of six jumps. After each horse completes the six jumps successfully, the jumps are raised and the horses go again. This is a knock-down-and-you're-out affair. The jumps go up as the number of competitors goes down until there's just one horse left. It's a fast moving competition and can really get the crowd gasping. The 6-bar will be on Friday, September 11, and it will be the last class of the day.
During the final weekend of the show, there will be two charity events under the ringside tent. On Friday, September 11, High Steppin' at Highfields, a dinner, dance and silent auction held in conjunction with the 6-bar, will benefit the United Way of Aiken. Admission is $45 per person. On Sunday, September 13, there is a luncheon during the $15,000 Open Jumper Classic. Tickets are $35 a person, with proceeds going to Children's Place.
Aiken's horse shows always have large numbers of competitors. Megan Godard, who runs the Equus Events shows along with her husband J.P., hopes that more spectators will come out to watch this year. There will be some top quality horses and riders, and the jumper competitions in particular make for a good spectacle. Admission to the show grounds is always free.
Showing posts with label aiken horse show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aiken horse show. Show all posts
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Aiken Spring Season
Spring is upon us. The Masters of Foxhounds have blown the horn on the winter season, the foxhounds are back in their kennels and the foxhunters who were visiting from Northern climes have packed up their horses and headed home. The upper level event riders are gone, too. They spent the winter riding, training, practicing and competing at various Aiken venues. Now they are on the road, headed to competitions at The Fork (North Carolina), Fair Hill (Maryland), Jersey Fresh (New Jersey) and Rolex (Kentucky). But eventing isn’t over here: Aiken has many local event riders, and there are several lower-key competitions in Aiken and the surrounding areas throughout April and May, and even into the hot summer months.
The young racehorses that spent the winter learning their trade at Aiken Training Track are leaving, too. Many of them started shipping out shortly after the Aiken Trials on March 14. They are going to racetracks around the country: Belmont Park in New York, Churchill Downs in Kentucky, Del Mar in California, Gulfstream Park in Florida. Almost every region of the United States will have at least one or two racehorses representing Aiken. The 2-year-olds will spend at least a few more months training before entering their first races. The 3-year-olds may be racing already.
As the ground temperatures rise, the Bermuda grass on the polo fields starts to green up, bringing back the polo players. The most serious of Aiken’s players spent the winter in Florida, competing in various important national and international tournaments. Some of them will be there until the end of April to watch (or play in) the U.S. Open Polo Championship, a 26-goal tournament with finals scheduled for April 26. Others will be shipping back to Aiken throughout the month of April. Players who spent the winter in town have had their horses in work for at least a couple of weeks and many are ready to play. If they are lucky, the horses are mostly shed-out and look like athletes again after spending the winter lounging about, eating hay. When players run into each other in social contexts in late March and early April, one of the first questions they are likely to ask is “Are your horses up yet?” or, more cryptically, “You up?”
The other events that mark the spring in Aiken are the horse shows, starting with the historic Aiken Horse Show in the Woods, held this year from April 3 through 5. There have been horse shows in Aiken throughout the winter, of course, mostly held at Highfields Event Center on Gaston Road. These included two weekends each of the “AA” rated Aiken Winter Classic and March Madness shows, which were quite well-attended this year, partially thanks to a strong contingent that shipped in from nearby Camden.
Mid-April, however, will be the main event, the eleventh anniversary Aiken Spring Classic I and II. The top draws at these shows are the $10,000 International Hunter Derby Classic on April 18, the $25,000 Aiken Spring Classic Grand Prix and Sunday brunch on April 19, and the $30,000 Carolina Real Estate Grand Prix and brunch on April 30. On April 19, Chris Powers, who is chairwoman of Women Beyond Cancer, is having a luncheon at the showgrounds to raise money for her charity. Women Beyond Cancer provides free retreats for women with cancer, some of them at Chris’s Two Sisters Farm in Windsor. The luncheon, which costs $40 per person, features lunch by Chef Miles of the Willcox, a silent auction and a sidesaddle demonstration by Aiken Ladies Aside. If you are interested in the luncheon or the retreats, find more information at www.womenbeyondcancer.org.
The young racehorses that spent the winter learning their trade at Aiken Training Track are leaving, too. Many of them started shipping out shortly after the Aiken Trials on March 14. They are going to racetracks around the country: Belmont Park in New York, Churchill Downs in Kentucky, Del Mar in California, Gulfstream Park in Florida. Almost every region of the United States will have at least one or two racehorses representing Aiken. The 2-year-olds will spend at least a few more months training before entering their first races. The 3-year-olds may be racing already.
As the ground temperatures rise, the Bermuda grass on the polo fields starts to green up, bringing back the polo players. The most serious of Aiken’s players spent the winter in Florida, competing in various important national and international tournaments. Some of them will be there until the end of April to watch (or play in) the U.S. Open Polo Championship, a 26-goal tournament with finals scheduled for April 26. Others will be shipping back to Aiken throughout the month of April. Players who spent the winter in town have had their horses in work for at least a couple of weeks and many are ready to play. If they are lucky, the horses are mostly shed-out and look like athletes again after spending the winter lounging about, eating hay. When players run into each other in social contexts in late March and early April, one of the first questions they are likely to ask is “Are your horses up yet?” or, more cryptically, “You up?”
The other events that mark the spring in Aiken are the horse shows, starting with the historic Aiken Horse Show in the Woods, held this year from April 3 through 5. There have been horse shows in Aiken throughout the winter, of course, mostly held at Highfields Event Center on Gaston Road. These included two weekends each of the “AA” rated Aiken Winter Classic and March Madness shows, which were quite well-attended this year, partially thanks to a strong contingent that shipped in from nearby Camden.
Mid-April, however, will be the main event, the eleventh anniversary Aiken Spring Classic I and II. The top draws at these shows are the $10,000 International Hunter Derby Classic on April 18, the $25,000 Aiken Spring Classic Grand Prix and Sunday brunch on April 19, and the $30,000 Carolina Real Estate Grand Prix and brunch on April 30. On April 19, Chris Powers, who is chairwoman of Women Beyond Cancer, is having a luncheon at the showgrounds to raise money for her charity. Women Beyond Cancer provides free retreats for women with cancer, some of them at Chris’s Two Sisters Farm in Windsor. The luncheon, which costs $40 per person, features lunch by Chef Miles of the Willcox, a silent auction and a sidesaddle demonstration by Aiken Ladies Aside. If you are interested in the luncheon or the retreats, find more information at www.womenbeyondcancer.org.
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