The Pennsylvania National Horse Show will have a new look for its 75th anniversary this October, and new management to go with it.
The Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg, its longtime home, has been through a $21 million re-do, according to the show’s executive director, Susie Webb.
And Pat Boyle is taking over as manager from Peter Doubleday, who is retiring from the show after 45 years, a period during which he also served as an announcer. Peter, whose foundation has contributed $230,000 to the show over the last 18 years, will still be active elsewhere, continuing in management with Devon and the Royal Winter Fair, as well as announcing at a variety of competitions.
The manager of the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s successful year-end championship show in Las Vegas, Pat has ties to the Penn National that go beyond his new job. He and his children both rode in the show and he brought students there when he was a trainer.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation has awarded the Pennsylvania National its traditional two featured events for junior riders, the Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final and Neue Schule/USEF Junior Jumper National Championships. They will run at the show through 2023.
Until 1966, the Medal was held with the ASPCA Maclay at the National Horse Show in New York, but that year, it made the trip west. It draws the biggest field of any hunt seat equitation championship.The 10-day Penn National had to scale back in the face of Covid last year, when it staged the venerable junior features at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in North Carolina after the Farm Show Complex was not available due to the pandemic.
The original idea was for all three shows on the U.S. portion of the North American Fall Indoor Circuit to take place in Tampa, but that didn’t work out and the National went to its usual home in Kentucky, while Washington and the Penn National migrated to TIEC.
“It was nice that Tryon was able to allow us to do this; I was determined to make this Medal finals happen and keep our foot in the door. We were persistent and dedicated to make it happen,” Susie explained.
“Things couldn’t have worked out any better in our favor on the day of the Medal finals,” She recalled.
“The kids had to school outside in the rain and come inside, where they actually competed. Everybody said, `We really miss the Farm Show facility. We never thought we’d say that,’” she chuckled..
Susie said she has been told by personnel at the Farm Show venue, “you’re not going to recognize the place” following its re-do.
Having a second competition ring for the first time means the show can add some divisions and raise the number of entries in the divisions.
“We’ve been listening to the people saying, `We don’t have things to do,’” Susie noted.
“We’ve taken into consideration the kids who come for the Medal and the horse puts on on the brakes at the first fence. What can we do to have these kids have a better experience and feel like they accomplished something and not be disappointed when they leave?”
The answer was a chance to compete and practice more, as well as getting into the ring before riding in the Medal.
“We want to make it a better experience for everybody involved,” said Susie.
She noted that for all the bad things about 2020, “it taught us think outside the box. At this time last year,” she pointed out with a chuckle, “the words `social distancing’ weren’t even in our vocabulary.”