Showin’ Off at the Arkansas State Champion Horse Show
When it comes to horse shows, it doesn’t get any more prestigious than the Arkansas State Championship Horse Show.
The four-day show, held over Labor Day Weekend in Little Rock, is 50 years old and home to 1,700 competitors and horses.
“This is the granddaddy of all the horse shows,” says Mack Hayden, who is in charge of the show and has competed in it himself as well as his children.
A competitor can’t just decide to enter – they have to qualify to get there. Some 12 associations offer competitors a chance to qualify in 35 events ranging from barrel racing to dressage. Points are kept throughout the year on various events, and the top competitors go to the finals.
It all started in 1963 when the Central Arkansas Horse Show Association, Hillbilly Horse Show Association and the Northeast Central Arkansas Horse Show Association joined efforts to hold an Arkansas equestrian championship competition.
Over the years, the partnership has expanded to include 12 horse show associations from across Arkansas. For the past 50 years, the top five contenders from each association compete to earn the honor of being named the Champion Rider of Arkansas.
The show is a natural for competitors as well as those who love to watch the competition. Tickets are $8 for adults and children, with a portion of proceeds benefitting the Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
“This show has quite an economic impact,” Hayden says. “Besides at the show itself – with vendors selling everything from feed to jewelry to saddles – the city benefits too. A lot of folks shop in the Little Rock area while they’re in town for the show.”
Like their football, Arkansans take their horse riding seriously. Horses are owned for sport and pleasure, and horse shows across the state attract fans who want to see first-hand the athleticism and agility of the horses as well as the riders.
While riders may make competitions look easy, horse riding requires a great deal of balance, coordination and physical strength, Hayden says. And each rider must exemplify self-discipline, responsibility and patience with their horse.
“Riding is something we all take seriously,” Hayden says. “My family has been in the top 10 several times. My granddaughter has won champion pony poles, and my daughter won as well. We’ve been showing horses for 38 years. And when it comes to showing, this is where it’s at.”