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The Vermont Summer Festival By The Numbers
After some location hopping, the Vermont Summer Festival
settled in East Dorset to better serve the largest concentration
of their exhibitors, which existed in the Manchester
area. It was then that the Vermont Summer Festival as we
know it today was born and began attracted competitors
from far and wide.
“I am proud to say that after 25 years, we are still here and
continuing to grow and thrive,” said Vermont Summer Festival
Show Manager John Ammerman, who saw the show
celebrate its 25-year anniversary last year. “The show has
experienced quite the evolution, but myself and my staff
have poured countless hours into the current location and
could not be more proud of what it has become.”
When you go: Dine out! Take a stroll through the streets of
Manchester, VT, and indulge in the restaurant options. Also,
be sure to pick up a Manchester Designer Outlets coupon
book in the horse show office for even better deals! Finally,
stay the night! From the historic charm of The Dorset Inn
and Barrows House to the luxury of the Kimpton Taconic
and Equinox Resort, you will want to stay for all six weeks.
Any rider with year-end finals on their radar can accomplish
their qualifying goals at the Vermont Summer Festival.
Qualifying opportunities span the disciplines, but the most
exciting offerings are served up to hunter and equitation
riders by way of a World Championship Hunter Rider
www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com 39
(WCHR) week and “Equitation Tuesdays.”
Tuesdays at Vermont see a flurry of young riders and
national champion hopefuls focused on qualifying and
preparing for year-end finals. Their hope is that the summer
competition will land them spots in prestigious year-end
equitation finals. The “Equitation Tuesday” schedule, which
is held in addition to equitation offerings taking place each
week, features classes ranging from the THIS Children’s
Medal to USEF National Hunter Seat Medal and ASPCA
Maclay Horsemanship qualifiers. The idea for “Equitation
Tuesdays” was introduced in 2013 and they have quickly
become known among equitation riders and trainers as an
“Equitation Bootcamp.”
Some of the country’s top hunter competitors make the pilgrimage
to the Vermont Summer Festival for WCHR week,
held annually during the third week of competition. After
gaining points at member horse shows across the nation,
including the Vermont Summer Festival, the top 10 nationally
ranked riders and top six regionally-ranked riders in
each category go head-to-head in the WCHR Finals at the
Capital Challenge Horse Show in Upper Marlboro, MD.
When you go: Watch hunter riders cash in during the
$15,000 NEHJA Hunter Derby on Thursday, August 8.
Want to find out more about the Vermont Summer Festival?
Visit www.vt-summerfestival.com, or find it on Facebook
and Instagram.
3. Points Palooza
• When it started, the Vermont Summer festival included 200 stalls and two
competition rings.
• Today, the event has grown to nearly 1,400 stalls and five competition rings.
• Each summer, the Vermont Summer Festival hires 20 seasonal crew members to
impeccably maintain the grounds and show rings.
• There are 750 tons of sand that are mixed with fiber to create the footing. The
fiber arrives in roughly 15 square bales totaling 80,000 lbs. in weight.
• Each summer, Eastern Hay and Grain, the official feed supplier of the Vermont
Summer Festival, delivers 1,500 bales of hay (supplemented by other deliveries)
and 1,000 bags of Purina grain for the hundreds of hungry horses that come and
go each summer.
• The last delivery in the preparation of each season is the delivery of the stars
of the show - the horses! Roughly 1,000 are trucked in from all corners of the
country by the official horse carrier of the event, Johnson Horse Transportation.
Photo by Jump Media
David Jennings and Cesar de Lison Z
Jennifer Jones and Carlos by Andrew Ryback Photography
by Jump Media
/www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com
/www.vt-summerfestival.com