THIS 'N THAT September,2009 ============================================================================= WOWZER! This is the only word I can think of to describe our 40th Anniversary Annual State Show held on August 28, 29 and 30. Let me start by thanking all of the many people who donated their time to work during the weekend; and, of course, a big thank you to all of the exhibitors who hauled 76 horses onto the grounds. This was an increase of three horses over the number from last year. If you missed attending this show weekend you missed an absolutely fantastic event. We began with wonderful weather on Thursday for our arriving exhibitors. This continued into Friday for the first day of the show, and even the arrival of Saturday�s all-day rain event thanks to tropical storm �Danny� couldn�t dampen the enthusiasm for the weekend. Sunday ended up with the return of excellent weather. Of the 141 classes scheduled to be held, 19 of them were cancelled due to zero entries. There were no entries in any of the stallion halter classes [Open, N/P, FPD or Hunter-in-Hand], yearling & two-year-old geldings, and the four two- and three-year-old snaffle bit classes also had no entries. Also a couple of the over-fence classes, both driving classes & open reining had no entries. With only one entry in the junior trail class, the junior and senior classes were combined & ran as an open class for all ages. Eighteen of our classes had double-digit entries with Aged Geldings being the largest with 20 entries! Most Colorful, Sr. Hunter under Saddle and Open Trail each had 17 entries. Novice Youth Showmanship and the In-State Most Colorful class followed with 16 and 15 entries respectively. Our judges told show manager Mike Grass that these were some of the largest classes they had seen during the �09 show season. I thought this was a very nice �pat on the back� for our 40th Anniversary Show! We had great weather and a huge turnout late Friday afternoon for our Wine & Cheese Party which this year was moved back to its original location in the park area of the fairgrounds. Lots of great food platters that were pretty well emptied by the end of the event. Exhibitor spirits didn�t seem to flounder any on Saturday with the arrival of the rain. One end of the arena was blocked off as a holding area, and classes continued as usual and remained well-filled. People were looking forward to the Lobster & Chicken Feed that evening. Picnic tables from the park were moved into the exhibition building for seating, and the feast went off without a hitch. Prior to the start of classes Saturday evening, we held a �Queens Ride-In� featuring four of our past royalty representing three decades of Maine ApHC queens: Sissy Woodworth Ayer [1975 Queen], Ida Richards Anderson [1978 Queen], Kim Wilson Raymond [1988 Queen] and Lynn Bailey [1997 Queen]. Ida, who is now a licensed dressage judge & instructor, was mounted on one of the horses scheduled to compete in the game classes later in the evening, and she had a �brilliantly spirited� ride around the arena! I spoke with her later before she left for home, and she told me that she�d forgotten how much FUN the Appaloosa shows are compared to the more staid dressage events she usually attends these days. Great weather returned for our final day on Sunday, and the show ended by mid-afternoon. Exhibitors gathered for the announcement of the show�s high point and reserve winners. The High Point riders took home Weaver headstalls, while the Reserve winners went home with embroidered halter/bridle bags. In spite of the rain on Saturday, we had an excellent weekend for our 40th Anniversary event, and to my knowledge I know of no complaints received by show management. By the numbers, we were more than successful! Total entries for the show were 774. Broken down, there were 95 In-State entries [down from 104 in 2008], and 672 ApHC-approved Regional entries [an increase of 74 entries when compared to last year]. To make the total work here, you have to add in the 7 entries in the Cross Rails class that doesn�t earn national points. This was the second largest show held in New England during the 2009 season. Once again, a giant thank you to everyone who helped make this event so successful. We don�t have the final figures as to how we made out financially, but with so many sponsorships donated [you�ll find a list elsewhere in the Newsletter], we�re hoping that we had a financial success also. With the end of the Regional show circuit, you will find those Point Standings printed in this issue of the Newsletter. Please pay special attention to this, and notify Point Keeper Donna Osborne if you feel that there is a discrepancy. If you�ve earned the high point or reserve position in any of the classes, you need to be thinking about what you�d like to receive for a year-end award. Our In-State shows will be ending later this month. Please be prompt in supplying Donna with the point information as she will need to get those standings out as soon as possible in order to facilitate the purchase of the In-State year-end awards. Our Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet will be sneaking up on us in just a matter of a few weeks. It�s scheduled for November 21st at the Holiday Inn in Waterville. They provide reasonably priced overnight rooms, and the banquet meal the past two years has been excellent. If you�ve enjoyed our 2009 circuit shows, we hope that you will attend and end your show season once again enjoying the company of good horse show friends in the relaxed atmosphere of our banquet. Margo Carter Condon President, MeApHC ________________________________________ |