The Devon Horse Show, also known as The Devon Horse Show and Country Fair is an annual horse show which has been held late May through early June in Devon, Pennsylvania since 1896. It is the oldest and largest outdoor multi-breed horse show in the U.S. The event serves as a fundraiser for Bryn Mawr Hospital. [1] [2]
Since 1896, the Devon Horse Show is the oldest and largest outdoor multi-breed horse competition in the United States. The Annual Horse show and Country Fair promotes horsemanship and horse breeding for conformation, performance and speed. The original ideas and activities of the show have changed dramatically over the decades. The show attracts people from all over the world, as both competitors and spectators.
The first horse show was held on July 2, 1896 as a one-day event held at the Devon Race track and Polo Grounds. The show consisted of thirty classes, the largest class having only ten entries. The fenced-in show ring was constructed on grass and the judges and officials sat in a gazebo in the center. Today, there is a fenced-in sand ring and there are at least five judges' booths or stands sitting on the outside of the main arena. The Devon Horse Show grounds hosts two main rings, the Dixon Oval and the Wheeler Ring. The Dixon Oval is the main arena surrounded by the grandstands with the famous gateway reading "Where the Champions Meet." The smaller Wheeler Ring hosts the more populous classes such as pony breeding classes, USEF Medal, Regular Pony Hunters, as well as Local Hunters.
The Devon Horse Show has in-hand, jumpers, hunters, carriages, and gaited events.
Dressage at Devon is also held on the Devon Horse Show grounds, taking place September 26 through the 30th. [3]
The Devon Horse Show, instituted just 3 years after the opening of Bryn Mawr Hospital, serves as the hospital's largest fund-raising event, beginning in 1919. Since 1972, Devon has contributed over $100 million to Bryn Mawr Hospital, to support projects such as the Emergency Center, the Maternal-Fetal Medicine program and the Outpatient Diagnostic Center.
Show jumping, also known as "stadium jumping", is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows are limited exclusively to jumpers, sometimes jumper classes are offered in conjunction with other English-style events, and sometimes show jumping is but one division of very large, all-breed competitions that include a very wide variety of disciplines. Jumping classes may be governed by various national horse show sanctioning organizations, such as the United States Equestrian Federation in the USA or the British Showjumping Association in Great Britain. International competitions are governed by the rules of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports. Horses are very well-known for jumping in competition or even freely.
Equestrianism, commonly known as horse riding or horseback riding, includes the disciplines of riding, driving, vaulting. This broad description includes the use of horses for practical working purposes, transportation, recreational activities, artistic or cultural exercises, and competitive sport.
Kentucky Horse Park is a working horse farm, international equestrian competition venue, and an educational theme park opened in 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky. It is located off Kentucky State Highway 1973 and Interstate 75, at Exit 120, in northern Fayette County in the United States. The equestrian facility is a 1,224-acre (4.95 km2) park dedicated to "man's relationship with the horse." Open to the public, the park has a twice daily Horses of the World Show, showcasing both common and rare horses from around the globe. The horses are ridden in authentic costume. Each year the park is host to a number of special events and horse shows.
A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and international championships in a given discipline or breed. Most shows consist of a series of different performances, called classes, wherein a group of horses with similar training or characteristics compete against one another for awards and, often, prize money.
Riding pony is a horse show classification used to refer to certain types of ponies. Competition is divided into sections based on height and type, and include being judged under saddle in standard pleasure horse classes, as well as in related events such as sidesaddle or in-hand.
Villanova is a suburb of Philadelphia. It straddles Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County and Radnor Township in Delaware County. It is located at the center of the Philadelphia Main Line, a series of highly affluent Philadelphia suburbs located along the original east–west railroad tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is served by the SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale Line regional rail train and Norristown High Speed Line.
A field hunter, or a fox hunter, is a type of horse used in the hunt field for fox hunting and stag hunting.
The Hunter division is a branch of horse show competition that is judged on the horse's performance, soundness and when indicated, conformation, suitability or manners. A "show hunter" is a horse that competes in this division.
Hunt seat is a style of forward seat riding commonly found in North American horse shows. Along with dressage, it is one of the two classic forms of English riding. The hunt seat is based on the tradition of fox hunting. Hunt seat competition in North America includes both flat and over fences for show hunters, which judge the horse's movement and form, and equitation classes, which judge the rider's ability both on the flat and over fences. The term hunt seat may also refer to any form of forward seat riding, including the kind seen in show jumping and eventing.
Bryn Mawr Hospital, founded in 1893, is a Pennsylvania hospital in the western suburbs of Philadelphia that is part of Main Line Health, a community-based not-for-profit health system, comprising Lankenau Medical Center, Paoli Hospital, Riddle Hospital and Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital. It is located at 130 South Bryn Mawr Avenue in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
A sport horse or sporthorse is a type of horse, rather than any particular breed. The term is usually applied to horses bred for the traditional Olympic equestrian sporting events of dressage, eventing, show jumping, and combined driving, but the precise definition varies. In the United States, horses used in hunt seat and show hunter competition are often classed as sport horses, whereas the British show hunter is classified as a "show horse."
Draft horse showing refers to horse shows exclusively for horses of the draft horse breeds. In North America, though a small number of draft horses are also shown under saddle, the term "Draft horse showing" refers to a specific horse show competition that primarily features driving exhibitors presenting their horses to be judged in harness. Worldwide, some draft horse shows also feature riding classes.
A cob is traditionally a draft type pony. Should be of a stout build, with strong bones, large joints, and steady disposition; it is a body type of horse rather than a specific breed. Historically, in the United Kingdom and, to a lesser extent, the eastern United States, a 'cob' may be a common horse used for everyday riding but in the past was used for driving carts.
Halter is a type of horse show class where horses are shown "in hand," meaning that they are led, not ridden, and are judged on their conformation and suitability as breeding stock. Depending on breed and geographic region, such events may be called "Halter," "In-Hand," "Breeding," "Model," or "Conformation" classes.
The show hack is a type of ridden show horse, exhibited to a standard first established in England.
Equestrian Canada, formerly known as Equine Canada and commonly known by its acronym, EC, is Canada’s comprehensive national governing body for equestrian sport. It is the executive branch of Canada's Olympic and Paralympic equestrian teams; the national association and registry of Canadian equestrian athletes; the national regulatory body for equestrian coaches, competition organizers, and judges; and the national federation of Canadian horse breeders and Canadian breed registries.
The Hants County Exhibition is an annual fall fair held in Windsor, Nova Scotia. It is known for being the oldest continuously run agricultural fair in North America. It was first held on the grounds of Fort Edward beginning in 1765 and has been running continuously since 1815.The fair has been held at the nearby Hants Exhibition Arena and exhibition grounds since the land was purchased in 1949. September 2015 marked the 250th anniversary of the Hants County Exhibition. Five years later, the fair went virtual.
Mountain and moorland ponies form a group of several breeds of ponies and small horses native to the British Isles. Many of these breeds are derived from semiferal ponies kept on moorland or heathland, and some of them still live in this way, as well as being kept as fully domesticated horses for riding, driving, and other draught work, or for horse showing.
The Pinto Horse Association of America (PtHA) registers horses, utility horses, ponies and miniature horses of various pedigrees with certain kinds of pinto coat colors. The word pinto is Spanish for "paint." In general terms, pinto can apply to any horse marked with unpigmented pink-skinned, white-haired areas on its coat. The Pinto Horse Association of America provides the owners and riders of pintos with a show circuit and a breed organization. The primary requirement for PtHA registration is coat color; the pinto is not a true breed, but a color breed.
The North American Sportpony is a relatively new pony breed in the United States. Its origins are from a diverse group of breeds, because the "Sportpony" is not derived from specific bloodlines, but rather is a conformation type, akin to the American Warmblood.