The Rare Breeds Show is getting closer; June 14th, 15th and 16th in Lexington Virginia. There will be Rare Breeds from all over the Eastern Seaboard, including Caspian horses, Canadienne horses, Lippitt Morgans and a whole slew of ponies. Oh, and of course, AKHAL-TEKES! I’ve been working on this show now for well over a year, organizing, planning and making stuff up as I go along. The last Rare Breeds Show was in 2008 and I was there, although mostly in a volunteer capacity. I helped show some horses in various classes and just enjoyed the entire show.
I am in back with the fuzzy hat, leading a colt. The dazzling rider in front is Eron Owens on Goklen. I have no idea what class this was and I can’t quite read the photographer’s name.
Anyway, fast forward to 2014 when we (the ATAA) decided to help host the 2015 Rare Breeds Show. 2015 you say? Yes, originally, it was to be in 2015, but one of the prominent pony judges had to back out, so it was postponed until 2016. Unfortunately (in some ways) the venue ended up changing also; in 2008 it was held at the Kentucky Horse Park and it was supposed to be there in 2015 also. When the dates changed, the venue ended up changing also. This might not be a bad thing, although I think Kentucky is much more central than Virginia. I guess we shall see what numbers we get.
So, I’ve been figuring classes, doing up flyers, doing what marketing I can, promoting this as I can and generally learning a whole bunch. We do have a show committee and some of those people have been fantastic! I’ve never put on a horse show, although I’ve done plenty of events and conferences, so it’s been a real learning experience. Thank goodness there are people that know what they are doing! I will say that I’ve certainly learned a lot of new things. Right now I’m learning about online sign up software for our volunteers. I’m hoping to have it go live within the next few days.
Anyway, there will be 3 days of Rare Breeds competing, both against other breeds in the Open classes, such as Jumpers, Hunters, Dressage and Obstacles, AND classes where the breeds compete against themselves. Our (Akhal-Teke and Akhal-Teke sporthorse) classes are on Wednesday, June 15th. There will be costume classes, in-hand classes and ridden classes, only for Tekes and Teke sporthorses. I hope that we will get a really great turnout, as Victoria (the head honcho) and I have been talking about the possibility of a Rare Breeds Show on the WEST COAST in a few years. But, this will only be possible if we get a really good turnout of competitors, volunteers and onlookers at this year’s event.
So, in that vein, here is a link to more information about the Show. This will take you to the ATAA website and the pages about the Rare Breed Show.
I hope we see you there!
Cathy