Upper Marlboro, Md.—Oct. 24
Barn Night at the Washington International Horse Show always brings out the spirit of local equestrians in the Delmarva region. On Thursday evening, Prince George’s Equestrian Center was filled with fans young and old representing their barns and cheering on international riders as they jumped in the $63,000 FEI Welcome Stake to qualify for the show’s big jumper class, Saturday’s $340,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Washington.
Then, things got even more exciting with the fan-favorite International Jumper $32,000 1.45-meter Costume Accumulator class. While it might not be the biggest or richest class at Washington, the annual costume class is certainly among its most popular. This year, 27 horse-and-rider pairs from 11 nations got creative with their fancy dress then took on the class, in which they collect points over each fence on course and can attempt a “joker” fence at the end—if they dare to risk 20 points being added to or subtracted from their score depending on whether they cleared it.
ADVERTISEMENT
Check out Kristen VanderVeen and Faustino De Tili, who won the Delta Air Lines Trip of the Day award dressed as Little Bo Peep and her sheep:
Here are a few of our favorite moments.