Cross View Horse Show Series gets a beach day for the Luau July show

BlogCV-0003 Attending a show at Green Hill Equestrian Center in Salem in the middle of July will make you appreciate trees and complain that no one ever thought of planting a few near the in-gate of the arenas. The sun was unrelenting at the Cross View Horse Show Series’ Luau show. A beach umbrella and a swimming pool would have been a very smart addition to every trailer.

BlogCV-0005 The to-be-expected July heat didn’t cool off the attendance on Saturday, July 14, 2018. In particular, the jumper classes were well attended with some classes in excess of 10 entries and the jumper division stretching until about 3 p.m.

As the over fences classes wrapped up in the afternoon, participation did seem to drop for the flat classes. Beginner walk and walk/trot classes — usually very popular — only had one entry. Meanwhile, the adult hunter pleasure classes, which are usually some of the smaller classes of the day, showed six riders competing.

The Hunter Day of the Luau show was judged by Margaret Cornwell. Cornwell, a 2002 graduate of Ferrum College where she rode for the equestrian team in the open division, joined the Ferrum staff as the equestrian team coach in the fall of 2013.

CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY FROM SATURDAY’S SHOW.

Riders were also left fighting a common summer horse show curse: dusty arenas. While watering was planned by show management, their efforts were blocked by a broken water tank at the park show grounds.

The second half of the show kicked off with a fun class for parents/spouses to get into the action: a leadline class all their own to help raise money for the Virginia Quarter Horse Association Queen. Spouses and parents will get another chance to show off some equestrian skills at tomorrow’s open class day in the Showmanship class just for them.

The Cross View Horse Show appears to still be building momentum with each year in number of riders and quality of horses shown. The Luau show continues tomorrow with its open show featuring classes for English, Western and Hunt Seat riders. Leah Metz Hylton will judge.

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Virginia Tech sends 11 riders to Harrisburg for IHSA Nationals

tech team — *Photo via Virginia Tech Equestrian Team Facebook page*

The Virginia Tech Hunter Team is making Virginia proud in its first trip to the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association Nationals, held this year at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The Nationals, held May 3 to 6, is live streamed on EqSportsNet.

Eleven Hokies are in Harrisburg representing Virginia Tech. Four are riding individually and eight are riding as part of the team competition. One rider is competing in both the individual and team categories.

Virginia Tech had several riders already seeing success on the first day of competition.

Carolyn Rosazza was named Reserve Champion as a team rider in Novice Equitation on the Flat & also receives an honorable mention as an individual in Advanced W/T/C. Rachel Burton placed ninth as an individual in Advanced W/T/C.

Tanner Paige Price placed sixth as an individual in Intermediate Equitation Over Fences. Meanwhile, Nichole Jones received an honorable mention as a team rider in Novice Equitation Over Fences. Claire Elise Arnold received an honorable mention as a team rider in Intermediate Equitation on the Flat.

IHSA Nationals features 450 men and women from across the U.S. and Canada competing in hunter seat equitation and Western horsemanship in a range of levels from Walk-Trot through Open. The riders have competed throughout the season to qualify and will vie for team, individual, alumni championships and the coveted USEF/Cacchione Cup and the AQHA Western High Point Rider national final.

Randolph College in Lynchburg also sent three riders to Nationals. Makayla Benjamin, of Sweet Briar College, is representing Zone 4 in the Cacchione Cup Finals. After the over-fences portion of the competition on Friday morning she was in third place.

Cross View Horse Show kicks off 2017 season with hunter/jumper classes

The Cross View Horse Show series kicked off on Saturday, May 20, 2017, at Green Hill Park Equestrian Center in Salem, Virginia, with hunter/jumper classes before shifting into their open show on Sunday. Saturday saw a good turnout with classes varying in size from just a few riders to numbers reaching into the teens. While the youth divisions are strong, the show still lacks good numbers in the adult divisions.

A variety of classes both over fences and on the flat were held. The day was hot for May and felt more like midsummer than spring, complete with late afternoon thunderstorms rolling in and causing the show to break until they rolled past. Meanwhile, Sunday’s show would be much cooler, with the rain holding off until near the end of the show.

Cross View’s shows feature great prizes, with embroidered chairs going to the high point champions. The atmosphere is professional, yet relaxed. The jumper and hunter rings are separate and the show runs along at a decent clip with two divisions running at the same time. This also leaves the largest arena open for schooling, as well as plenty of space behind the trailers for riding. The show is a great place to take green horses for schooling or young riders for experience. And the great prizes and fun atmosphere makes is an enjoyable show for more experienced teams as well.

While Green Hill Park has been trying to raise funds to upgrade the arenas, the hunter ring (Arena 2) still appeared to be a bit hard with course crushed stone for footing. That arena was regraded last fall and now sports temporary fencing that some may recognize from the Roanoke Valley Horse Show in Salem.

The Cross View Horse Show Series continues on July 15-16. Katie Skelly will judge the hunter/jumper classes on Saturday and Tricia Mozingo will judge the open classes on Sunday. Ken Davis will judge Gaited/Trail/Games on Sunday as well. The series will close Sept. 23-24.