Western States Expo Partners With Del Mar International

October 3, 2011 – Del Mar, California – Dale Harvey, manager of the Del Mar International Horse Show announced Monday, "We are pleased to announce that the Western States Equestrian Expo is partnering with West Palms Communication to have their trade show in conjunction with our International Horse Show. Starting in 2012, there will be excitement and energy created by clinics, exhibits and demonstrations with the World Cup Qualifier being the Saturday night highlight class. At the same time we expect over 400 vendors during the 3 day expo and our 5 day horse show, all created around the Del Mar arena."

"We are quite excited to announce that we will also be adding high performance Dressage classes to our schedule. Separate arena space and time for them will make the addition a natural for the sport and this event. Dressage and the Expo, coupled with high performance jumping, give the public varied opportunities to enjoy horses at their best."

The 2011 Del Mar International Horse Show wrapped up Sunday afternoon, October 2, as trainers loaded their stock and headed back to home locations. With a week off before the next group of high performance shows, some welcome time at home beckons.

"Dale Harvey always puts on a really nice show," said Joie Gatlin. "He makes a big difference with his approach to the awards, the prizes, coolers to the winner in just about all the top classes. He rewards us with the things we like. It’s also nice to have a show with a huge commitment to presenting jumpers in a spotlight format."

Lu Thomas, whose husband is Butch Thomas, commented with a bit of nostalgia in her voice. "Hearing the British national anthem during the World Cup Qualifier awards brought goose bumps to my arms! Helen McNaught, the winner, is British and it almost made her a bit teary! It reminded us of the priority of celebrating and recognizing the countries whose riders shine, it was so super. The efficiency of rolling the red carpet out every time there was a Classic or top class pinned was special, it helps make the win and the victory gallop for each of the riders more fun. Several of our riders do not do the top classes and to have their wins celebrated, with the victory gallop and music especially for them, is part of what sets this show apart."

Olaf Peterson, the course designer, had great observations about this show and the World Cup Qualifier class. "The good quality of horses and riders made my job easy! It’s great to be able to set a real World Cup Qualifier class in a beautiful arena where the atmosphere is pleasant. I love coming to California and setting jumps here is really nice, plus the riders are all so happy and appreciative."

Dale Harvey is pleased with the overall show in spite of the impact the economy, and an abundance of shows, had on the exhibitor numbers. "With the entry numbers looking the way they were a few weeks before the show, I decided to scale back a little on the local publicity budget," he said. "I chickened out to be specific when it came to laying out extra expenses. I was immensely surprised though, and pleased the number of the high performance riders came. Overall I was pleased with the FEI Divisions being so big in comparison to what we have seen so far."

"The World Cup qualifier was a great class. Olaf set a real course that was appropriate to what he was trying to do, and the four clear rounds made it evident his plan worked. The excitement during the jump off was electrifying fun. Having Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum return to the Del Mar ring, after so many years, added to the spectator energy. It was interesting to hear the crowd respond when she entered the ring, it is obvious she is world known and her fans showed their appreciation for her appearance. She showed here so much as a junior and having her compete here was great. Her name is on most of the perpetual trophies that are presented during this show, almost all of the Junior Jumper trophies carry her name from wins years ago."

"With the next series of shows coming quickly, our goal over the next two weeks is to work on the footing. It was certainly acceptable, we didn’t hear any complaints, but I personally think we can work at it and do better."

"Looking forward to next year we are in the middle of some planning work. First, with the facility specifically, and secondly with the horse show format in general. A new schedule and format change is currently underway and I am really excited about the 2012 show season."

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