Faster Horses

The quickest growing equestrian show in the nation is in our backyard

By Lynda Wheatley | June 4, 2022

Back in the summer of 2004, Horse Shows by the Bay was born. The four-week-long regional equestrian show was held on the southern outskirts of Traverse City on a dusty patch of ground somewhere between a forest and a newly-opened Menards superstore. Within five years of its founding, HSBTB had become the largest equestrian sport event in the Midwest.

The rechristened Traverse City Horse Shows (which includes the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival) is now a 13-week series of events that draws competitors from around the continent, Olympians included. Managed since 2013 by Morrissey Management Group (MMG), a third-generation family business that produces horse shows and events around the nation, the event series is the fastest-growing equestrian circuit show in the U.S.

For most seasons of the year, the 115 acres that make up the Flintfields Horse Park grounds look like much of the rural landscape along that stretch of M-72 east of Traverse City: a lot of open fields, some trees and dirt roads, and a few outbuildings. Come summer, 2,500 temporary horse stalls, hundreds of horses, thousands of equestrians and spectators—and the cars, trucks, golf carts, and trailers accompanying them, plus tents, bleachers, and rows of food trucks and vendors—roll in from nearly every state and dozens of other countries.

Unless you’ve been living under an overturned horse trough for the last decade, you’ve likely heard about the $6,500 per day the average 9-person party of TCHS competitors funnels into the local tourism economy—mostly by way of long-term hotel and housing/farm rentals, recreating, grocery, dining, and shopping. That adds up to about $120 million by the end of the season.

TCHS also awards $7.5 million in prize money and is one of only 16 shows in the nation that has had the rights to host the historic 5-star Grand Prix known as the American Gold Cup, one of the most prestigious equestrian sporting events in the world of international show jumping.

Steppin’ In It

Now, maybe you heard about the recent skirmish between Acme Township and Traverse City Horse Shows that, for a brief two weeks anyway, suggested TCHS might be canceled this summer. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t.

The skirmish came to light after Acme Township publicly warned TCHS that the festival wouldn’t be able to open as planned unless several conditions and requirements related to the festival’s Special Use Permit were finally satisfied. By May 26, the township announced that the show would go on; Doug White, township supervisor, says that Traverse City Horse Shows had acknowledged its inability to complete some remaining conditions and requirements—a situation attributed, in part, to the market’s lack of available contractors and materials.

TCHS agreed to complete any lacking health, safety, and environmental requirements by opening day, such as modifying (and getting approvals and a maintenance plan in place for) its stormwater infrastructure; creating a plan to keep down the dust on TCHS’ unpaved roads—a frequent complaint of neighboring homeowners; constructing an emergency access road; ensuring availability of a water supply source with sufficient flow; and getting permits from both Metro Fire and Grand Traverse County for the festival’s two-story VIP and dining tent.

The group also promised that it would identify and schedule contractors to complete by November 15 remaining but less urgent issues like landscaping and irrigation, extending the asphalt paving at three entrances, and grading and adding gravel at the trailer parking areas.

With the major updates underway, TCHS opens for the 2022 season on June 8 and runs until Aug. 14 with many competitions and events to experience throughout the 13 weeks, even if you don’t know hay from straw. As Director of Community Relations Audra Jackson says, “You don’t need to like horses to come out and enjoy what we do—you just need to like sport.”

The Big Three

If you’re a horse newbie, here’s the scoop. The U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) recognizes 18 disciplines; at TCHS, you can see three: jumping, hunter, and equitation. None divide competitors by gender, so all folks compete against each other at each competitive level, making for an exciting skill v. skill matchup you don’t see in most other sports.

Jumping: Kind of like track and field’s hurdles for humans, equestrian jumping requires athleticism, agility, and an ability to leap over a series of obstacles—generally brightly colored fences set at varying heights, widths, and stride lengths between—without skipping, tripping over, or knocking down said obstacles as quickly as possible.

In the equestrian case, however, the horse is doing the jumping, but how her physical strength, timing, and agility shows up depends largely on her rider’s ability to assess and respond to each jump and communicate with his horse. Jumping, says the USEF, is a true test of the partnership between horse and rider.

Part of the Olympics since 1912, jumping is one of the most recognizable and popular equestrian events. At TCHS, you’ll see multiples levels of jumpers competing, from kids and ponies taking on a few 18-inch-high fences to Olympians soaring on stallions over fences standing up to 1.6 meters (that’s 5 feet, 3 inches, Americans) and spreads of up to 2 meters (6 feet, 7 inches)—a challenge you can witness only at 5-star Grand Prix competitions. 

Don’t Miss: There’s a new concept afoot in the equestrian world: Major League Show Jumping. A franchise model like the NBA or NHL, Major League Show Jumping is a league that pits eight franchise teams of six top-ranked riders to compete in 10 5-star events around North America. TCHS will host all eight teams as they compete Aug. 3–7.

Hunter: Jackson calls hunter events—descended from the European art of fox hunting—“the beauty pageant of riding.” Depending on the level of competition, hunter horses are typically bathed and brushed to a high shine before the event, with their mane and forelocks braided or plaited, their whiskers and muzzles clipped, their hooves polished, and their tail braided.

Unlike the objective timed approach jumping takes, hunter competitions are subjective. No foxes are involved, but horses are judged on their style and suitability for field hunting. A smooth gait, calm disposition, and good manners matter, old chap. So, too, does the horse’s style and technique in navigating the obstacles, which are made to simulate what a horse might encounter in the countryside, such as hay bales, brush and white board fences, or even stone walls. You’ll find kids and pros here, too, but the maximum height of an obstacle tops out at 3 feet, 9 inches.

Don’t Miss: The Adequan/USEF Junior Hunter Championship East, which showcases the best junior hunters in the nation. Each year, more than 2,000 eligible hunters qualify to compete in the prestigious final, which is held on each coast. You can watch the juniors face off June 28–July 2. The World Championship Hunter Rider competition follows World Championship Hunter Rider July 13–17.

Equitation: Most popular among junior riders under age 18, equitation is an official NCAA sport for which more than a dozen colleges offer scholarships. Like hunter competitions, equitation is also a subjective discipline. Unlike hunter competitions, however, judges in equitation focus on the rider’s style and technique, not the horse’s. The word equitation means “the act or art of riding on horseback,” and the rider’s job in this competition is to maintain a correct position through every gait, movement, or even over a fence—all of which depends on her ability to direct the horse so subtly that it is invisible to viewers.

Don’t Miss: In honor of Dudley Smith, the longtime altruistic member of the community who passed away in 2018 but played a formative role in supporting TCHS (as well as Northwestern Michigan College, Munson Medical Center, and the Cherryland Humane Society), the Dudley B. Smith Equitation Championship, brings together some of the discipline’s best riders under age 21 July 27–31.

Local Tradition: My Little Polo Match

If you bleed green or maize and blue, you’ll want to hoof it over to Flintfields Horse Park in August to watch your team in a bout you won’t see televised in your local bar: the Go Blue/Go Green Arena Polo Match. The two state’s rival polo clubs—University of Michigan Intercollegiate Polo Club and the Michigan State University Polo Club—will hit the pitch as they have almost every year since 2017 to raise scholarship dollars for U of M, MSU, and Northwestern Michigan College students in the Grand Traverse area.

Also new for spectators this year: Fast-action horses (and their riders, of course) will compete in barrel racing’s breathtaking Rebellion Series Finals. Don your fancy hats and best Derby attire, plus or minus your old college T-shirt, and plan to bring the kids; both events are action-packed (read: perfect for short attention spans), and live entertainment, kids’ activities, and food and beverage options are available too.

 

Photo by Brooke Giacin, courtesy Traverse City Horse Shows.