The 2011 show generated a record donation of $402,000 for the Hospital that will be used for a variety of much needed equipment including two Cardiac Catheterization Lab Fast Track Holding Bays, a pediatric anesthesia monitoring and gas system and a SonoSite ultrasound machine. Thousands of volunteers work year-round to ensure the success of the show, and their work paid off in a major way last year.
This year will continue this great tradition, as along with top competition in a large variety of disciplines, the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair, May 24 to June 3, also offers a number of exciting exhibitions and Special Events. Lizzie Traband will exhibit Western riding over the first, Junior Weekend, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 25-27. The Radnor Hunt hounds will parade on Saturday evening, which features the Hunt Teams class. The Wells Fargo stagecoach will perform the final Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the Philadelphia Mounted Patrol Unit will perform Thursday evening and Carriage Racing will be contested on Friday and Saturday, June 1 and 2.
Among Special Events, the Hat Contest on Ladies Day, Wednesday, May 30, is always one of the most popular events, and this year there will be only one category, Best Hat, which Carson Kressley will again judge.
Another very popular event, the Doggie Dog Parade, will be held on Memorial Day at 1 p.m. in the Dixon Oval. Back Barn Tours will be conducted on Tuesday, May 29.
An additional Family Day, including numerous events for children, has been added to the final Sunday, June 3, the day of the prestigious Hunter Derby.
Devon, which was named the fourth best horse show in the U.S. by the North American Riders Group, will host two Show Jumping Team Observation Events.
The first is the Grand Prix at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 31 and the second is the Idle Dice Stakes, which will be held Saturday, June 2 at 4 p.m.
These two classes, which will help to determine the show jumping team at the London Olympics, are critically important this year, as McLain Ward, injured in a fall at the Winter Equestrian Festival, missed the selection trials in Wellington in March. He will have to use the two Devon classes to convince selectors that he and his mounts, Sapphire and Antares, are fit and able to compete in London. Ward, with two Olympic team gold medals in his resume, is certainly a rider everyone wants to see on the team.
Two years ago, Devon redid the footing in the Dixon Oval, which received rave reviews, and last year the same footing was installed in the Gold Ring. This year, the entire schooling area will also receive new, state of the art footing.
The Country Fair offers boutique shopping for men’s and ladies’ sportswear, fine prints and paintings, silver and gold jewelry, ladies’ hats, antiques, souvenirs and collectibles. Food for all palates ranges from gourmet dining in the Garden Cafe to tea sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, pizzas, lemon sticks and, of course, the famous Devon fudge.
Rides and games include the Ferris wheel that towers over the show grounds, a carousel and other rides plus many fair-type games.
The ticket office opens April 9, and tickets are available over the phone, 610-688-2554, or on the internet, www.devonhorseshow.org.
General admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under and seniors 65 and over. Reserved grandstand tickets are available ranging from $12 to $55 depending on the performance.