Pat Boyle and Phil De Vita Jr., two respected horse show managers who have experience with competitions across the country, will be at the helm for the 2023 Devon Horse Show, following the resignations earlier this month of the men who ran the Pennsylvania multi-breed fixture for decades.
David Distler and Peter Doubleday had a total of 85 years at the show between them when they stepped down on June 6. The two will continue managing shows elsewhere, but as Peter noted, he felt he and David were kept out of the loop on important discussions and decisions at Devon, a U.S. Equestrian Federation Heritage Show.
Pat runs dozens of competitions under the banner of Illinois-based Showplace Productions. They include the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, where he succeeded Peter Doubleday in 2021, and the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s marquee year-end championship in Las Vegas. He is also a judge, course designer and trainer.
Phil, who lives in Florida, is a course designer and judge as well as managing the hunter/jumper portion of the Germantown, Tenn., charity show and the Menlo Charity show in California, among many other fixtures..