World's Championship Horse Show
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The World's Championship Horse Show, held at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds in
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
, 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 Kentucky State Fair Board. 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 pony, ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrianism, equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days ...
that includes the
American Saddlebred The American Saddlebred is a horse breed from the United States. Descended from riding-type horses bred at the time of the American Revolution, the American Saddlebred includes the Narragansett Pacer, Canadian Pacer, Morgan horse, Morgan and ...
,
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 they compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace its bloodline ...
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. More than 600,000 fairgoers fill the of indoor and outdoor exhibits; activities include sampling a wide variety of ...
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 Five-gaited horses are notable for their ability to perform five distinct horse gaits instead of simply the three gaits, walk, trot and canter, canter or gallop common to most horses. Individual animals with this ability are often seen in the Ame ...
, three gaited, and
fine harness Fine harness is a type of driving (horse), driving competition seen at horse shows, that feature light, refined horses with high action. Popular horse breed, breeds in this event include the American Saddlebred, Morgan horse, Morgan, Arabian h ...
, as well as park and
pleasure Pleasure is experience that feels good, that involves the enjoyment of something. It contrasts with pain or suffering, which are forms of feeling bad. It is closely related to value, desire and action: humans and other conscious animals find ...
divisions.
Saddle seat Saddle seat is a style of equestrianism, horse riding within the category of English riding that is designed to show off the high action of certain list of horse breeds, horse breeds. The style developed into its modern form in the United States ...
equitation Equitation is the art or practice of horse riding or horsemanship. More specifically, equitation may refer to a rider's position while mounted, and encompasses a rider's ability to ride correctly and with effective aids. In horse show competitio ...
classes are also offered for junior riders. The Hackney ponies compete in four divisions,
road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...
, Hackney (cobtail),
harness A harness is a looped restraint or support. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types: * Bondage harness * Child harness * Climbing harness * Dog harness * Five-point harness, a type of seatbelt * Horse harness * Pet harnes ...
, and pleasure driving. 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 Five-gaited horses are notable for their ability to perform five distinct horse gaits instead of simply the three gaits, walk, trot and canter, canter or gallop common to most horses. Individual animals with this ability are often seen in the Ame ...
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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. 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 in
Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...
, and the
American Royal The American Royal is a livestock show, horse show, rodeo, and Kansas City Barbeque Society#Competitions, barbecue competition held each year in September – November at various sites in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The Future Farmers ...
in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
. 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 or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...
, trained by
Earl Teater Earl Teater (1905/06-1972) was an American Saddlebred horse trainer. He was best known for showing the stallion Wing Commander to six World's Grand Championships, although he later won another World's Grand Championship on Dream Waltz. Life and ...
became the first Saddlebred to ever win six World's Grand Championship titles, all in the five-gaited division. 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 (horse), driving competition seen at horse shows, that feature light, refined horses with high action. Popular horse breed, breeds in this event include the American Saddlebred, Morgan horse, Morgan, Arabian h ...
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 Mary Gaylord McClean (born 1950/51) is an American horse breeder, horse owner and exhibitor, businesswoman and philanthropist. McClean owns and shows American Saddlebred horses and Hackney pony, Hackney ponies, on which she has won multiple Champ ...
, 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 pleasure division was introduced in 2019. It also has begun offering futurity and junior park pleasure classes and a junior exhibitor park division.


See also

*
List of attractions and events in the Louisville metropolitan area This is a list of visitor attractions and annual events in the Louisville metropolitan area. Annual festivals and other events Spring * Abbey Road on the River, a salute to The Beatles with many bands, held Memorial Day weekend in Louisvill ...


References


External links

* {{Official website, https://wchorseshow.com/ 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