Posted April 20, 2006

Florida Horse Park's 'Festival of the Horse' Park Plans Grand Affair During its First Two-Star Three-Day Event

Festival of the Horse

Welcome the First Annual Festival of the Horse, presented by The Star Banner. In addition to competition by some of the nation's best eventers, the Festival of the Horse will feature an antique car show, arena polo, carriage rides, a Vendor Village and breed demonstrations.

On Saturday, April 22, the demonstrations will include: Marion Therapeutic Riding Association's "Symphony of the Horse"; the Friesian with Mary Rivers; with American Quarter Horse with Petty Quarter Horses; the Gypsy Vanner with WR Ranch, Gypsy Vanner Ranch, Gypsy Gold and Peltons Vanners; the Foxtrotter with Ocala Foxtrotter Ranch; the Morgan with Cheri Barber Stables; Young's Paso Fino Ranch Presentation & Paso Elegante and a Millwood Polo demonstration.

The evening's activities will include a polo tournament, called Polo at the Park. The tourney will feature a "Celebrity Chukker," where local well-known names will try their hand at polo. "To grow a sport, it is always fun to take folks involved in other disciplines and have them give polo a try," said the polo manager at The Villages Polo Club, Lord Lyall, who has helped organize the polo tournaments at the park. Also taking place during half-time will be the dedication of Horse Fever's "Copper Charm" with Laurie P. Jones.

On Sunday, April 23, there will be carriage rides, presentation of a Fashion Police Award, an antique car show, a Paso Fino demonstration by the Southern Regional Paso Fino Horse Association, a sheriff's mounted division demonstration, tailgating, shopping and award presentations.

These activities are all in addition to the non-stop action of the three-day event, which will actually take place over four days. Dressage competition will be April 20-21, followed by the cross-country rides on April 22 and the show jumping portion on April 23.

"Ocala has become a hub for our eventers," said U.S. Equestrian Federation Director of Eventing Torri Nahorniak. Combined with the number of horse people in the area, that is why the USEF has chosen to designate the Florida Horse Park as an official training site for its Eventing Team, she said. "For the sport of eventing, we try, during our winter training program, to go where the athletes are… Aiken, S.C. and Ocala are the primary southern locations for the sport."

And a good number of those athletes will be competing in the CCI**/CCI* Florida International Three-Day Event, including many who will be heading to the Rolex Kentucky Four-Star Event, held at the Kentucky Horse Park April 27-30.

Nathalie Pollard, a member of the U.S. Equestrian Federation Eventing Winter Training List, is one of those riders. She is planning on competing her four-star horse, Westfarthing, in a combined test this weekend (dressage and show jumping) and will be competing Icarus, an 8-year-old American Thoroughbred, in the two-star. She said she is looking forward to competing on the cross-country course, as it "looks like a great galloping course."

Pollard's first experience at the Florida Horse Park was April 17-19, as part of one of the Olympic-level training sessions held at the 500-acre park. She showed no hesitation in describing her initial impression: "The footing is great!"

Nahorniak agreed that the "footing in the ring is amazing," and the winner of the $40,000 Ocala Jumping Classic Grand Prix, April 9, Henrik Gundersen, said, "It is a good material. We did a fast jump-off and the horse felt very secure around the turns and corners." Gundersen feels the establishment of the Florida Horse Park "was a good initiative" and that due to the continued growth of horse sports in Florida, another showing venue was needed.