The Germantown Charity Horse Show (GCHS) kicked off on Tuesday night this week for their 66th annual edition. The Walking and Racking Horse classes will begin on Thursday night. This year’s show features a full schedule of Walking Horse classes from the Classic Park Pleasure, Country Pleasure, Lite Shod, Trail Pleasure and All Day Pleasure division. Charlie Brown of Princeton, Kentucky will judge the Walking and Racking Horse classes.
In order to attract the top pleasure horses, the GCHS is affiliated with Riders Cup and is offering top prize money, including a $1,500 All Day Pleasure Championship, $1,500 Country Pleasure Championship, $1,500 Lite Shod Championship. In the Racking Horse division there are $1,500 championships for Speed Racking, Trail Pleasure and Country Pleasure.
Other attractions for this year’s show include:
• Media/Celebrity Class on Wednesday night where local media personalities and sports celebrities will ride Walking, Racking and Paso Fino Horses.
• $1,500 Speed Racking Finals on Saturday night. Entrants must qualify and place in the top 5 in one of two heats earlier in the week to show in the finals.
• A new Exhibitor’s Lounge on the grounds with air-conditioning drinks and snacks.
• NBC Broadcaster and Olympic Gold Medalist Melanie Smith-Taylor will be at the Sponsors’ Party on Wednesday night and will provide the color commentary for the Grand Prix on Saturday night. Melanie and her late husband, Lee, raised and trained Thoroughbreds for polo, hunter/jumpers, and pleasure on their famed Wildwood Farm in Germantown. She is the author of a new book, “Riding with Life: Lessons from the Horse.”
Since 1948 the Germantown Charity Horse Show has been one of the top multi-breed horse shows in the country. This year's show, scheduled for June 3-7, will feature Hunters, Jumpers, American Saddlebreds, Hackney Ponies, Tennessee Walkers, Racking Horses, Paso Finos, Carriage Driving and Single-Footing Horses. Almost 500 horses are expected to compete for well over $130,000 in prize money and awards. The show is held at the beautiful Germantown Charity Horse Show Grounds located at 7745 Poplar Pike in Germantown, Tennessee. For more information visit www.GCHS.org, call 615-604-4616, or email [email protected].