After a long and harsh winter damaged the Ox Ridge Hunt Club property, the board of stewards decided to cancel the 84th Ox Ridge Annual Charity Horse Show, scheduled for June 11-16 in Darien, Conn., and will instead hold a one-day, C-rated Father’s Day show on June 15. The original competition was slated to hold a $30,000 grand prix.
“Our property was so damaged by the polar vortex, and it was difficult for us to get that ready for a AA show,” said Flavia Callari, a business manager at the hunt club. “We don’t want to put anybody in danger. We want everything to be perfect if we’re going to put together a show.”
The change to the show schedule is disappointing to hunt club members, as this year marks the club’s centennial year. The show began in 1926, but has been canceled before.
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“We’ve worked five years to rebuild this show, and we don’t want to lose that momentum,” Callari said, “We tried two other venues before we altered [the schedule]. For next year we’re already making plans of putting bigger sand rings in and replenishing the current sand rings. Next year we will have our five-day show.”
For the past few years, the show has benefited the Pegasus Therapeutic Riding program, which began at the hunt club in 1975 and has expanded to other locations as well. It previously supported the Easter Seal, Center for Hope, Equus Foundation and the Stamford Hospital Bennett Cancer Center.
