The World's Championship Horse Show, held at the
Kentucky State Fairgrounds in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, in
Freedom Hall
Freedom Hall is a multi-purpose arena in Louisville, Kentucky, on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is best known for its use as a basketball arena, previously serving as the home ...
, is a large
horse show
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 ...
that includes the
American Saddlebred,
Hackney pony
The Hackney pony is a breed of pony closely related to the Hackney horse. Originally bred to pull carriages, they are used today primarily as show ponies. The breed does not have its own stud book, but shares one with the Hackney horse in a ...
, Dutch Harness Horse, and
Standardbred
The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace i ...
breeds. It is usually held annually in late August, coinciding with the dates of the
Kentucky State Fair
The Kentucky State Fair is the official state fair of Kentucky which takes place at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville. More than 600,000 fairgoers fill the of indoor and outdoor exhibits; activities include sampli ...
and in the middle of the show season for the three breeds. Any horse or rider who wins there earns the title of World's Champion (abbreviation: WC), and a second-place finish is identified with a Reserve World's Championship (abbreviation: RWC) title. In addition to the WC and RWC titles, a horse can also earn the World's Grand Championship (WGC) or World's Championship of Champions (WCC) title. The winner of a championship class which requires a qualifier is given one of these titles.
Competition
American Saddlebred horses, Hackney ponies and horses, and Standardbred horses compete in the World's Championship.
In each division, there are always several classes specifically for amateurs, ladies, amateur ladies, and junior exhibitors. There are also specific age classes for younger horses, namely two- three- and four-year-olds, and for Saddlebred ponies and horses.
The Saddlebred divisions of the show's classes contain about six to thirty classes each, and the number may depend on the number of entries that will be showing, since larger classes are usually split into two separate sections. Saddlebreds compete in the divisions found in most of their shows, including the three performance divisions,
five-gaited, three gaited, and
fine harness
Fine harness is a type of driving competition seen at horse shows, that feature light, refined horses with high action. Popular breeds in this event include the American Saddlebred, Morgan, Arabian, Dutch Harness Horse, and Hackney (horse).
S ...
, as well as park and
pleasure divisions.
Saddle seat
Saddle seat is a style of horse riding within the category of English riding that is designed to show off the high action of certain horse breeds. The style developed into its modern form in the United States, and is also seen in Canada and S ...
equitation classes are also offered for junior riders.
The Hackney ponies compete in four divisions,
road
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation.
There are many types of ...
, Hackney (cobtail),
harness, and
pleasure driving
Pleasure driving is a horse show class seen in the United States, which features light breeds of horses and ponies hitched to a two or four-wheeled show cart. Horses are driven at a walk and two speeds of trot, generally designated as a workin ...
. Standardbreds are shown in only one division,
road horses.
Multiple World's Championship titles are awarded, but there is only one World's Grand Championship in each division.
The most prestigious World's Grand Championship is for
five-gaited Saddlebreds, meaning horses that perform the standard gaits of walk, trot, and canter plus two
four-beat gaits, the slow gait and the rack. Saddlebreds in the Three-Gaited World's Grand Championship compete at the walk, trot and canter, but are still judged on their breed type and animation.
History
The World's Championship Horse Show has been held every year since it was founded in 1902 with only two exceptions. The first missed year was 1904, when no fair was held, and 1945, when the fair was cancelled due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. The World's Grand Championships were first held in a modern sense in 1914. It is one of the three horse shows that compose the Saddlebred "Triple Crown," in addition to the
Lexington Junior League Horse Show
The Lexington Junior League Horse Show is an annual horse show held in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1937.
History
The Lexington Junior League Horse Show was begun in 1937 by Marie Kittrell as a way to make money for charity. The first ...
in
Lexington, Kentucky, and the
American Royal
The American Royal is a livestock show, horse show, rodeo, and barbecue competition held each year in September – November at various sites in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The Future Farmers of America (now the National FFA Organiza ...
in
Kansas City, Missouri. The schedule always ends on a Saturday night with the Five-Gaited World's Grand Championship, which carries prize money of $100,000.
In 1953, the stallion
Wing Commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
, trained by
Earl Teater became the first Saddlebred to ever win six World's Grand Championship titles, all in the five-gaited division.
[http://www.imh.org/exhibits/online/wing-commander-great-american-show-horse] After him, a mare named
My-My matched his feat from 1963 to 1968, but she died before she could win a seventh title. More recently, a
fine harness
Fine harness is a type of driving competition seen at horse shows, that feature light, refined horses with high action. Popular breeds in this event include the American Saddlebred, Morgan, Arabian, Dutch Harness Horse, and Hackney (horse).
S ...
horse named Callaway's Copyright won his sixth World's Grand Championship in 2006 and retired shortly thereafter. In 1988,
Michele MacFarlane became the first woman to win the Five-Gaited World's Grand Championship on
Sky Watch. Since then, she has had two more wins of the same title, on two different horses in 1996 and 2007. The latter year was also notable, for another amateur woman,
Mary Gaylord McClean, won the reserve title to MacFarlane. Some other horses that have made recent history with their performances are An Heir About Her, who became the first three-year-old Saddlebred to win a World's Grand Championship in 2002, and A Sweet Treat and HS Daydream's Heads Up, who won World's Grand Championships in both the three-gaited and fine harness divisions, which is particularly unusual and proves a horse's versatility.
In 2006, the Kentucky State Fair offered a
western pleasure
Western pleasure is a western style competition at horse shows that evaluates horses on manners and suitability of the horse for a relaxed and slow but collected gait cadence, along with calm and responsive disposition. The horse is to appear to ...
division for Saddlebreds and the
hunt seat
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 ...
pleasure division was introduced in 2019. It also has begun offering futurity and junior park pleasure classes and a junior exhibitor park division.
Winners
This is a partial list of World's Grand Championship winners at the World's Championship Horse Show.
See also
*
Saddle seat
Saddle seat is a style of horse riding within the category of English riding that is designed to show off the high action of certain horse breeds. The style developed into its modern form in the United States, and is also seen in Canada and S ...
*
Horse Show
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 ...
*
Kentucky State Fair
The Kentucky State Fair is the official state fair of Kentucky which takes place at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville. More than 600,000 fairgoers fill the of indoor and outdoor exhibits; activities include sampli ...
*
References
{{Reflist
Saddlebreds
Equestrian sports in the United States
Sports competitions in Louisville, Kentucky
Recurring sporting events established in 1902
1902 establishments in Kentucky
World's Championship Horse Show