A Community Event: Christmas Fundraising Horse Show

Miss Ashley holding up one of our raffle prizes

Winner of the costume contest.

Laughter, prizes, jingle bells, and warm food were in plenteous supply this Saturday at the Virginia Horse Center. The occasion? A fundraiser Christmas horse show hosted by Hoofbeats!

Debbie Work was the mastermind and manager of the successful event. Her hard work and organization pulled this show together and created a great time for everybody. All proceeds – from the class fees, raffle, and silent auction – went directly to support Hoofbeats.

The whole community showed up for this event. Local vendors lined the top floor of the Coliseum. All of them donated a vendor fee to Hoofbeats and contributed a prize to the raffle pool and silent auction. Families and farms from all over Virginia came to compete in the fun classes. The costume class, ugly sweater contest, eggnogg competition, and bloomer race were the highlights. For the eggnog competition, riders had to balance a cup of the holiday drink and compete in a regular walk, trot, canter class. We had a few spills! For the bloomer race, riders galloped down the ring, with an oversized pair of boxers pulled over their riding pants, to a clothes line with more bloomers on it. Dismounting, they had to change bloomers, jump back on their horse, and race back to the finish line.

There were quite a few in the audience who traveled to Lexington just to watch this cheerful show. Ronnie and Jodi, frequent visitors of the Horse Center, drove down from Luray Caverns to watch.”There is quite a turnout,” Jodi said, surprised that so many people made space in their schedules even during the busy holiday season. Ronnie and Jodi said that they had not heard of Hoofbeats before they came to this show. “But [therapeutic riding] is something that I really want to get into when I retire,” Jodi said. An elementary teacher and an avid horsewoman, Jodi said that she is a firm believer in the power of horses helping people.

With all of the fun and activity, people were hungry and the Hoofbeats Hospitality table was busy. The Virginia Horse Center donated delicious hot pans of chili, potato soup, and cornbread. For lunch, people just made cash donations, all of which went to Hoofbeats.

Thank you so much to the Virginia Horse Center, the vendors, the riders, the judges, the announcer, and all those who participated and donated. Check out some of the fun picture highlights below. And follow us on Twitter @HoofbeatsTRC. And Merry Christmas!

— By Beth Jinae Kennedy