Close to 100 riders and their horses from all over the province converged at the Calnash Ag Event Centre over the weekend of July 10-12 for the 10th annual Summer Classic Horsehow for a display of equine elegance and esthetic, horse-rider harmony and great fun.
Participants at the event competed in dozens of categories with their horses, coming mainly in three distinctive breeds, Andalusians, Morgan horses and American Saddlebred horses.
Leslie Hurst, one of the organizers, said the competition was mostly to judge the skills of the horses but in some categories, riders were also judged with regard to the harmony between them and their equine partners and their ability to command the horses to take direction.
“Horses are mostly judged as to how they walk or trot, how they can adjust their pace and style,” said Hurst.
Horses are judged in their own categories as each breed has its own characteristics.
Darlene Brouwer, a Morgan horse owner said that breed was particularly “easy and fun to be around.”
“They are easy to train, they like people and they are also competitive. But mostly they are family horses,” she said.
Alongside horseback riding, competition also took place in harness driving categories.
“Winners receive ribbons or nominal monetary prizes, but no one gets rich at this competition,” said Hurst with a smile.