Featured Article (June 2005)

East meets WEST

You arrive at the show grounds and take in the sights and sounds. Thousands of exhibitors converge at this venue to compete among some of the best horse and rider combinations on the East Coast. In the schooling arena, you see gleaming, athletic animals decorated with color coordinated saddle pads. Riders sport monogrammed spurs with chrome detailed straps and riding shirts in striking pastel hues. During the next seven days, you will watch serious junior and adult competitors ride in top form with a backdrop of breathtaking Virginia scenery. Can you guess where you are?

The answer may surprise you, as the above details could describe two highly respected, yet very different events: The Upperville Colt and Horse Show and the East Coast Championship Show. Although these events are products of two separate equestrian traditions, they have remarkably similar infrastructures. In this article, we will present some of the key components of these events and the competitors who enjoy them. The research behind this article reveals many differences in the fashions, rules and conventions of Western versus English riders. However, the key similarities between these events clearly shows that regardless of the discipline, the participants in these horse shows work toward a common goal of enjoying and supporting a vibrant equestrian community in Virginia.

A Tale of Two Horse Shows

Established in 1853, the Upperville Colt & Horse Show is the oldest horse show in the United States. The show offers events for the youngest leadline riders up to the highest levels of Olympic show jumpers. According to historians, the idea of the Upperville show was born when Upperville land owner Colonel Richard Henry Dulany was riding cross country on a bitterly cold winter morning. He spotted a struggling colt who had been cast under a snake rail fence, unable to extricate itself due fatigue and exposure. Dulany stopped and freed the colt, and then decided that something needed to be done to encourage better care of young stock. After conferring with fellow landowners, the first Upperville show was scheduled for the summer of 1853 at a centrally located Dulany property called Grafton Farm.

The first Upperville horse show featured just two classes, one for colts and one for fillies. The show evolved into a two-day showcase for field hunters and breeding stock by the turn of the century. By 1902, the show featured a popular High Jump Class, and not long after expanded into a five day exhibition. The Upperville Colt & Horse Show is still held in its original Grafton Farm location and is shaded by the centuries old oak trees that stood during Dulany’s time.

By contrast, the East Coast Championship Show is a relatively young event. Despite its age, it is now the largest Quarter Horse show on the East Coast, and one of the best attended in the United States. 846 exhibitors competed at the first show at Frying Pan Park in Fairfax, VA in 1992, then called the East Coast Amateur Championship Show. Thrilled by the success of this event, The Show Committee received permission from AQHA to move the dates from September to April and to move the venue to Lexington, VA. The show doubled in size when it moved to Lexington in 1993. While Amateurs continue to remain a major focus of the event, in 1998 the Show Committee decided to change the name to the East Coast Championship Show. The ECCS Show Committee aims to provide a "major equestrian event that offers challenge and excitement to owners and exhibitors alike."

What’s In It for Me?

Any competitor at either show will tell you that the exhilaration of competing among some of the highest levels of talent in the sport offers a reward in itself. However, hefty cash prizes, named awards and luxurious gifts offer undeniable appeal.

The ECCS Show Committee seeks to attract amateur competitors and show appreciation for all exhibitors by offering impressive prizes. Past ECCS Amateur and Novice competitors have won trailers, customized golf carts, jewelry and tropical cruises, to name a few. In 2005, over $90,000 in cash and prizes was presented to exhibitors at the show.

The Upperville Colt & Horse Show actually gives away even more prize money than the ECCS, but with a different distribution. The largest prize money event of the show is the $100,000 Budweiser/Upperville Jumper Classic. Most competitors in this grand prix are professional riders. However, the show offers other substantial cash events focused on amateur riders, such as the $10,000 Junior/Amateur Hall of Fame Jumper Stake.

Horses

While Thoroughbreds traditionally dominated the hunter and jumper rings at top shows like Upperville, the last ten years have brought about a "Warmblood revolution." According to amateur hunter rider Debbie Michelson, pure thoroughbreds have become almost the exception to the rule in hunter classes. Michelson feels that hunter riders have come to favor the warmbloods because of their typically laid back temperaments and natural athleticism.

The AQHA world has experienced its own changes in horse types as well, according to amateur competitor Connie Knight. Knight says that Quarter Horse breeders strive to produce athletes specifically suited to their future disciplines. Large national level Quarter Horse shows like the ECCS feature numerous different events, from hunter under saddle classes to traditional western pleasure. For the hunter under saddle type horses, breeders seek to include some thoroughbred influence to create a leggier, more streamlined horse. For traditional western events, the stocky, well-muscled look remains standard.

Looking the Part

Traditionally, English and Western fashions have been considered polar opposites. Most adult hunter riders remember the stern fashion admonishments of equestrian guru George Morris in his popular photo critiques from Practical Horseman. Tack was to be flat, coats dark and conservative, and the only thing that should reflect light was the horse’s coat. Conversely, Western riders conjured up images of chrome encrusted saddles, elaborate chaps and spurs and bright colored riding shirts. As evidenced at both the Upperville and ECCS shows of the past few years, the new millennium has brought on fashion changes that seem to bridge the gap just a little between the two disciplines.

According to Donna Baker of The Riders Shoppe in Staunton, Virginia, East Coast hunter riders favor horse and human fashions that subtly introduce colors, rhinestones and personalization. Striped European-style helmets such as the GPA and the Charles Owens GR8 have all but taken over the traditional look of the velvet hunt cap. Juniors and adults alike add personal touches to these helmets with subtle rhinestone detailing and specially made "striping" kits. Medium blue, brown, and olive-brown hunt coats reign supreme, and riders favor styles with color coordinated linings in colors like pink and baby blue.

Baker adds that other current trends for the rider include brightly colored ribbon belts, rhinestone belts, engraved spurs and spur charms. For the horse, trends include customized ribbon-trimmed saddle pads for schooling and contemporary plaid dress sheets in wild color combinations like pink and purple – even for geldings.

In the Western World, flamboyant colors and plenty of chrome still remain popular. Connie Knight says that some western riders try to make their short rides memorable to the judges through dramatic fashion statements. Knight adds that fashions change very rapidly in the AQHA world, and laments that she will need to buy a whole new show wardrobe to look current after a two year respite from showing! By contrast, Debbie Michelson says that hunter trends have stayed traditional over the years despite the subtle influx of color and sparkle. Michelson says that turnout can sometimes make the winning difference between two flawless rides, and that judges look for an exhibitor with impeccable attention to detail and tradition.

The Hobby Horse Clothing Company provides a wealth of fashion information for the western rider on their website. Visitors to the site can even try out an interactive portion and select different outfit color combinations to match their horse’s coat colors. Hobby Horse also provides a chart to help riders figure out appropriate turnout based on their gender, event, and level of competition.

With the inputs of Hobby Horse and The Rider’s Shoppe, the below chart shows a examples of winning outfits for female riders at the national level in both hunter and western pleasure classes.

Exhibitors’ Perspectives

One common thread between the Upperville Colt & Horse Show and the ECCS seems to be exhibitors’ appreciation for the levels of excellence of both events. Though differing in their origins and target audiences, both events offer competitive and recreational opportunities rivaled by no other shows in the state.

Amateur rider Meg Bailey currently shows AQHA horses, but also showed rated hunters in the past. Above all, Bailey stresses that she could not fairly say that she prefers showing in one discipline to the other. She says that both the ECCS and Upperville shows provide fun and unique experiences unlike any others. As a current AQHA rider, however, Bailey has plenty to say about what she loves about Quarter Horse Shows like the ECCS. She finds that the AQHA shows lend themselves to family involvement, and frequently sees husbands, children and other family members as grooms for top competitors. She attributes this to the versatility of the Quarter Horse as a breed, and its "all-around" ability to be enjoyable in different events for the whole family. Bailey sees the ECCS as a good example of how AQHA strives to reward its largest group of participants, adult amateurs. The prizes and money, level of competition and professionalism of show management keep exhibitors wanting to return again and again.

Connie Knight shares Bailey’s feelings about the high standards of the ECCS and the responsiveness of AQHA. Knight says that AQHA has adapted to members requests by sending officials to many AQHA shows to monitor the training practices and care of the horses. Knight says that as a result, the Quarter Horses she sees showing are for the most part in excellent weight, not over-schooled before classes, and treated like the champion athletes they are.

Debbie Michelson and Meg Bailey share equally positive feelings about the Upperville Colt & Horse Show. As a two-time champion at the show, Michelson says that Upperville provides tremendous tradition, a beautiful setting, and some of the best horses in the country. She adds that the show coincides with Devon, making it accessible for riders’ schedules. Michelson says that Upperville’s show grounds boast a unique setting and that competitors love the grass rings shaded by towering oaks.

Preserving Virginia’s Traditions, Old and New

A team of only five or six people from the Northern Virginia Quarter Horse Association originally conceived the idea of the ECCS and continue to organize it today. According to Connie Knight, this small team of people have worked tirelessly to bring the Virginia to the national level for Quarter Horse showing. Sadly, Knight says that with the loss of the Virginia State Fairgrounds in Richmond to NASCAR racing, Virginia Quarter Horse enthusiasts have very few places to show. Knight says that Virginia has all but lost its mid-range market for competitors wanting to show on a regional level due to lack of show space. The ECCS now provides practically the only high level showing opportunity for Quarter Horse riders in the state. Many Quarter Horse riders are forced to travel to North Carolina due to the strong support that state offers to AQHA competitors.

While the Upperville Colt & Horse Show has remained strong for well over 100 years, the historic countryside which gives the event its special flavor becomes more threatened with each passing year. Suburban sprawl continues to move west from the Metro D.C. area as families seek to avoid the skyrocketing home prices and climbing taxes in Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William Counties. While Middleburg and Upperville remain historically well preserved, Virginians will have to take special care to ensure that events like the Upperville Colt & Horse Show do not get pushed off into the wings and remembered as a quaint tradition of yesteryear.

Whether Western or English, Quarter Horse or Warmblood, Virginians clearly know how to put on a great horse show. Despite our different viewpoints about styles of riding and training, Virginia competitors can all agree that riding at a well-run, national level show provides a great sense of pride and camaraderie. Recognizing our common goals, we can bridge the gap between East and West to make sure Virginia keeps its reputation as "horse country" for the next 100 years.