Friday, March 29, 2024

Annual horse show

August 27, 2001
Justin Strain of Coatesville, Ind. combs the mane of C Weeds Nmy Shoes with owner Dawn Mullis of Mooresville, Ind., after the Appaloosa Classic Horse Show held at the MSU Pavillion for Agriculture and Livestock Education on Sunday. C Weeds Nmy Shoes, a buckskin Appaloosa, competed in the Hunter and Hand portion of the show and placed first in his class. —

The Appaloosa Classic Horse Show held this past weekend at the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education received a smaller turnout than last year, but the show must go on, and it did with an exhibit of well-groomed horses and their equestrians.

There were 662 entries in the weekend long show, about 100 fewer than last year, said Leslie Zobel, Chairwoman for the Michigan Appaloosa Horse Association horse shows. Although she is not sure why the attendance was smaller, the show had a good turnout from people all over the country, she said.

“We had people come from as far as Missouri,” said Zobel. “The participants range from 6 years old and under to senior citizens.”

The Appaloosas have been admired for their colorful, spotted coats and are considered one of most versatile horses in the world.

“They are very physical with good personalities,” said Sarah Johnson, a show participant. She has been participating the last five years and trains with her 3-year-old Appaloosa, “Chaz,” five days a week.

Although she didn’t win the Western showmanship classes, she took second and third. She said she loves to show her liver chestnut Appaloosa and participate in the regional horse show held at MSU.

One day nationals may even be a option, but for now, regionals are fine with the 16-year-old veteran.

“The shows help me deal with adults better because the judges are adults and they expect a lot from us,” said Johnson, of South Haven.

The Appaloosa association has a youth program for teens like Johnson.

“The program promotes hard work and teamwork among the young people,” Zobel said. “They have fund-raisers to purchase their awards for those who place the highest among them.”

Not all the participants had to travel far to show their horses. A few MSU students also showcased their horses. The participants scoring the highest points received trophy horse saddles as awards.

“The Appaloosa Nationals will be held in Oklahoma, and the World Horse Show will be held in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas,” said Zobel. “The show held at MSU Pavilion is a regional show but national participants love this place and come to show their horses any way.”

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