Monthly Column by Carol Dean-Porter |
NEW SHOW
FACILITIES
In the Western United States the availability of open land is shrinking by the day. For this reason, it is such a pleasure to have new show facilities.
Blenheim Farm
Blenheim is located in San Juan Capistrano (southern Orange County), California. It is located across the river from The Oaks, a well known Hunter & Jumper breeding and show farm.
Blenheim has an enormous grass field, over 900 feet long. This permits the show organizers to move portable fencing to a variety of configurations. There is a berm which runs the length of the field and has room for tents and seating for thousands.
There is also a huge sand ring, which will be the site for some of the Show Jumping Olympic selection trials to be held in August.
There are two sand rings separated by a grass area for vendors.
Under construction is a Derby field with banks and permanent water.
The show office is large and roomy.
The stabling area is well designed and has room for more than 1000 portable stalls. The stable area is easily accessible for trucks and trailers.
The show management team is headed up by top Grand Prix professional Robert Ridland and Stephanie Pinske. This team is also managing the World Cup finals to be held in Las Vegas April 19 - 23, 2000 in addition to the GTE Summer Classic at Huntington Beach, CA and the Showpark (Del Mar) series of shows.
ShowPark HomePage
Lake Tahoe
Another new facility is the Minden, NV facility currently under construction. This facility will be home to the new Tahoe Summer Circuit of shows scheduled for June 28 through July 30, 2000. There will be 5 horse shows, culminating with the $100,000 Grand Prix of Tahoe on July 30, 2000.
This facility is 100 acres located on highway 395, just north of the quaint town of Minden, NV and south of the Nevada state capitol, Carson City.
The facility is well laid out, with 8 rings each with its own warm up area and a "main street" for vendors down the center. The Grand Prix field will be adjacent to Highway 395 with the scoreboard and jumps visible from the road. This should bring in lots of spectators!
The barn area is spacious with wash racks at the end of each group of stalls and plenty of truck and trailer access.
Lake Tahoe is 20 minutes away and has casinos, golf courses and other exciting outdoor activities for families spending their summer vacation attending the horse show.
The HITS management team of Tom Struzzieri has thought of all details and planned a wonderful new circuit of shows in beautiful Carson Valley. This team also manages circuits in Indio, Ocala, Catskills, Culpepper and Tucson.
Horse Shows In The Sun (HITS)
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