PrintOn Saturday August 7th and Sunday August 8th, 2010, the Berks Equine Council (BEC) will be hosting its Fifth Anniversary Horse Show and Mini Prix, held at the Berks County 4-H Community Show Grounds in Leesport, Berks County, PA. This year’s Anniversary Show will introduce the following new features: Hunter Classes, Marshall & Sterling League Qualifying Classes, and a second, larger, renovated ring for the Jumpers and Mini Prix, along with new schooling areas. Also recently added to this year’s Anniversary Show is the $1,000 Hidden Pearl Farm Puissance, a style of class which has unfortunately become rare to the horse shows we all know and love.
This year’s Mini Prix will not only have an increase in prize money, but the height of the fences will be increased to 1.30m (Level 6). The BEC is also proud to announce that the Course Designers for all Jumper events, including the Mini Prix, are Jimmy and Danielle Torano, whose JET Show Stable’s Pennsylvania Farm sits in Berks County. This year’s Mini Prix promises to be an exciting and challenging course!
The Puissance, taking place on Sunday before the Leadline and Mini Prix, is sponsored by Nick Edmunds’ Hidden Pearl Farm and will showcase the farm’s new stallion, Canterbury HPF. The way the Puissance is run is quite simple yet very entertaining for the audience. The initial round will consist of at least 2 single jumps, of which at least one must be what is known as an oxer or triple-bar spread (simply 2 or three jumps placed tightly together so as to make a spread to be jumped as one) and the other a wall or single vertical obstacle. Fences in the initial round may vary from 1.20m to 1.30m (3’11” to 4’3”) in height. In the jump-offs, both obstacles will be increased regularly in height and the spread obstacle will also be increased in width. If at the end of the third jump-off there is no single clear round, the Judge may stop the competition. After the fourth jump-off, the Judge must stop the competition and the competitors left in the competition are placed equally. The Puissance is a welcome addition to this Show and sure to captivate audiences of all ages!
The show will begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. in both rings on Saturday and Sunday. The Hunter Ring will host the following divisions: Short Stirrup, Pleasure Horse/Pony, Pre-Green Hunter, Low Hunter, Pre-Children’s Hunter and Pre-Adult Hunter. The Jumper Ring will begin with the Mini Jumper Division, followed by the Hopeful Jumper and Schooling Jumper Divisions. There will be a designated Marshall & Sterling Pony Jumper class on Saturday, which will be indicated on the prize list. The Jumper Ring will conclude with a Training Jumper class, a culmination for the day’s lower Jumpers and a warm-up for Sunday’s higher Jumper Divisions. Various schooling areas are open on the grounds, including a new schooling ring.
Sunday’s Hunter Ring will open with the Children’s Hunter and Adult Amateur Hunter Divisions, followed by the Johnson Horse Transportation Marshall & Sterling League Children’s Horse Medal, Children’s Pony Medal, Children’s Hunter Classic and Adult Hunter Classic. The Hunter Ring will then be open to schooling for classes such as the Pony Prix, Open Speed and Mini Prix later in the day.
