BCHA to hold midweek evening fun show

2016 Summer show

There’s something a little different happening this week at Green Hill Park Equestrian Center in Salem, Virginia. The Botetourt County Horseman’s Association is holding an Evening Fun Show on Wednesday, July 13. The gates will open at 4 p.m. with the show to start at 5 p.m. with a Stick Horse Class.

The show will consist of 20 classes that include in-hand classes such as Model, Showmanship and Leadline, fun games such as Egg & Spoon and Ride-A-Buck, and the Command Class, and pleasure classes for all levels of riders. Lynda McGarry will judge. Dress will be casual so there is no need to find show clothes. Helmets are required by all riders. The show is sanctioned by Blue Ridge Horse Force.

Entry fees are $8 a class unless otherwise noted. Some classes will also include special prizes, including Class 19 for BCHA members. (Become a member here.) Entry fees for two classes will go to local nonprofit Barn Cat Buddies and to the Green Hill Equestrian Center’s effort to upgrade the footing at the facility (make a donation).

Advance registration is available if emailed by 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 12, to apaxton80@gmail.com. Advance entries will be entered into a drawing for a gift card.

Call show manager Debbie Mooty at 540-312-8393 for more information.

Green Hill Equestrian Center seeks donations for ring improvements

CV008 — Green Hill Equestrian Center in Salem is working to improve the footing in the facility’s three arenas.

Green Hill Park Equestrian Center in Salem, Virginia, has developed a five-phased plan to improve the footing in all three rings at the facility.

Phase 1 of the project is to correct the grading in Ring 2 so that new footing can be installed in the ring. The estimated cost of this phase is $30,000. A GoFundMe account has been created to help pay for these improvements.

The footing for Ring 2 will be Phase 2 of the project. A timeline for the work is not yet available.

Cross View opens 2016 horse show series

The Cross View Horse Show series opened Friday night at Green Hill Park Equestrian Center in Salem with a special jumpers edition, which then rolled into Saturday’s Hunter/Jumper show.

Despite rains that fell overnight, the show had a nice turnout with about four to five riders in the morning hunter divisions. More horses began to mill about the show grounds at lunchtime for the afternoon divisions, and by then the sun was shining and the temperatures were warming.

The arenas seemed to actually benefit from the overnight rains. While there were puddles here and there, the wet weather kept the sometimes-hard Green Hill Park footing softer than on a typical day.

The show continues Sunday with an Open horse show that includes classes for hunters, gaited, western, ranch and more.