By AML Publisher
Photos courtesy of Brenda Carpenter Photography
The Devon Horse Show and Country Fair is one of the largest and most prestigious outdoor equestrian events in the country.
The Devon Horse Show has been honored with the United States Equestrian Federation’s designation as a USEF Heritage Competition. A historic Pennsylvania equestrian event that has become a part of the fabric of the American horse show scene and a Main Line family tradition, Devon is only the fourth show to receive this honor. Devon opens Thursday, May 27 with a full day of equitation in the Dixon Oval and pony breeding in the Gold Ring. Children 12 and under will be admitted free on opening day, courtesy of Hartstrings, a locally headquartered children’s clothing company.
The Devon Horse Show and Country Fair, May 27th to June 6th, benefits the Bryn Mawr Hospital, to which it has donated almost $14 million. New footing in the Dixon Oval at Devon has been installed by Equestrian Services International, which has provided the footing for the 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong, and jumper riders are thrilled with it. A Devon favorite is Laura Chapot, who has ridden the Open Jumper Champion for three of the past five years and has also been Leading Open Jumper Rider three of the past five years. Chapot is bringing a new grand prix horse to Devon this year, Tsarin, a mare she got only recently in Europe. Chapot is bringing three additional horses, Bradbury, Valentia and Chili Pepper as well as a couple of young horses for the Five-Year Old, Six-Year-Old and Seven/Eight-Year-Old sections which will compete Tuesday and Wednesday, June 1st and June 2nd. Open Jumpers compete Tuesday May 31 through Saturday, June 5.
The Country Fair offers boutique shopping, great food and fun for the whole family-including the famous Devon Ferris wheel. Proceeds of the Devon Horse Show benefit Bryn Mawr Hospital.
Philip Richter returns to the Devon Horse Show to defend his championship on Glasgow in Amateur Owner Jumpers on Friday and Saturday, June 4 and 5. Richter qualified two horses to show in the Amateur Owner section, the returning champion Glasgow and Ray Ray. Glasgow is a former grand prix jumper who was campaigned very successfully by Norman Dello Joio that Richter has been riding for three years. “Riding Glasgow in High Amateurs is like taking a machine gun to a quail hunt,” said Richter. “He knows he’s so talented. He’s a real athlete and a real competitor, but he’s always a gentleman. He always tries to win.”
DHS opens with Junior weekend, including three days of equitation, hunters, jumpers, ponies and pony breeding classes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Junior hunters and jumpers and ponies compete Friday and Saturday, May 28th and May 29th, and the Carriage Pleasure Drive opens a week of adult competition on Sunday May 30th, arriving at the Dixon Oval at 2 p.m., followed by Pony Jumpers Sunday evening. Hunters compete Monday through Wednesday, June 1st through June 3rd, with Side Saddle featured Wednesday afternoon, and Saddlebreds, harness ponies, fine harness, Friesians, roadsters and coaching begin Wednesday, June 2nd. Breeding classes take over Thursday, June 3rd followed by “Devon at Sunset” at 4:30, featuring the piece de resistance of the Devon Horse Show, the $100,000 Grand Prix at 8 p.m. on Thursday night.
The beloved Budweiser Clydesdales will perform in exhibition the last four evenings of the Devon Horse Show, Wednesday through Saturday, June 2th through June 5th.
The Open Jumper’s Gambler’s Choice is Friday evening, June 4th, at 7:30 p.m., and the $50,000 Idle Dice Open Jumper Stake, followed by the awarding of the Championship and the Leading Rider title are the last classes Saturday evening, June 5th. The $25,000 Hunter Derby, competed for in a two round format, begins at 10 a.m., Sunday, June 6th. There will be a reining exhibition by Stacy Westfall on May 28-30, and the beloved Budweiser Clydesdales will perform in exhibition the last four evenings, Wednesday through Saturday, June 2nd through June 5th .
For the first time, fans of the Devon Horse Show & Country Fair will be able to purchase tickets online. TicketLeap, the nation’s fastest growing online ticketing company, has partnered with Devon to power their ticketing for the 2010 show, which begins on May 27th and runs through June 6th. Meg Wiederseim, Ticket Chairman of the Devon Horse Show & Country Fair, shared her thoughts about the partnership. “We are very excited to be offering customers an online ticket purchasing option this year. TicketLeap, a local Philadelphia company, has provided us excellent customer support, and we look forward to a long relationship with them.”
Tickets can be purchased online at www.thedevonhorseshow.org or by visiting devonhorseshow.ticketleap.com. All major credit cards are accepted for online transactions from both sites. Fans that purchase tickets online for any event over the course of the horse show will benefit from the opportunity to bypass the lines at the Gate.
Fashion at Devon is such a big part of the horse show culture. The Devon Hat Day continues, with emcee Carson Kressley, on Wednesday, June 2, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Registration begins at 12:30.
The Country Fair has redesigned and rebuilt some of its most public spaces, including the Garden Café Pavilion, the Souvenir and the Candy booths, expanded the picnic grove and renovated the interior of the Art Gallery. The Country Fair offers boutique shopping for sportswear, often appliquéd with a horse, dog or fox design, gorgeous hats, boots, beautiful gold and silver jewelry, again often with an equestrian design, paintings and prints, leather goods, collectibles and souvenirs.
Food to tempt any and all palates ranges from gourmet dining in the Garden Cafe to hot dogs and hamburgers and the famous Devon tea sandwiches, Devon fudge and lemon sticks.
Rides and games line the west end of the Fair and include the Ferris wheel, merry-go-round and all kinds of fun games with prizes. For ticket information, call 610-688-2554. The ticket office is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to noon. General admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under and seniors 65 and over. Ticket packages and seats for the Grand Prix Thursday evening will not be sold over the internet in 2010.
The Devon Horse Show and Country Fair is one of the largest and most prestigious outdoor equestrian events in the country. The Country Fair offers boutique shopping, great food and fun for the whole family. Proceeds of the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair benefit Bryn Mawr Hospital. For information please call 610-688-2554 or visit www.devonhorseshow.org. Join the Devon Horse Show Facebook page for daily updates.
