Inexpensive Family Entertainment: Horse Shows

I had a fabulous weekend.  I took my daughter Kaylee (she’s 11) to the Alabama Horse Fair.  This is an annual event in Montgomery, AL sponsored by the Alabama Horse Council.

If you are looking for a great way to spend time with family that is often low or no cost, horse shows and related events are a good option.  Kids will love the chance to see the horses and organizations who present these events can use the support of the community.

We didn’t get there until about lunchtime and walked right into a live demonstration of basic tricks you can train your horse to do presented by Tommie Turvey.  Now, I had never heard of Tommie, his sister Karen or their impressive co-stars Poker Joe, Ace and Joker to name a few, but by the end of the day I was calling myself a fan.   My daughter didn’t stop talking about them all the way home.

What was so impressive about Tommie Turvey?  Just have a look at this video - nothing else needs to be said.  A horse on his back with his feet in the air, like a puppy playing dead is not something we see everyday.  Tommie directly beneath a standing horse, spread-eagle on his back crawling out from between the horses’ front hooves.  I could go on but you get the idea.  Tommie Turvey’s show offered a lot of big drama performances.  I also learned that Tommie has worked with horses in some reasonably well known movies, travels the country doing these shows and offers a variety of training services including videos and other merchandise.  He traveled about 1700 miles round trip to make this show from his current home state of Illinois.  I hope it was worth it and that he will come back again next year.

We saw the Parade of Breeds off and on throughout the entire day, the display of a few breeds sprinkled between each session.  An impressive glimpse of every breed of horse imaginable.  There was a training clinic by Donna Maye West, a nationally known horse-trainer.  She gave a presentation filled with practical, detailed instruction on ways to better enjoy your horse. I stopped by her booth and found some great pocket guides to help with basic training exercises for you and your horse.

When we weren’t taking in the shows we were visiting countless booths offering a wide variety of equine related products from saddles and bridles to home decor items.  This is another reason visiting these types of shows is fun.  If you have a family member who is a horse-lover you can find just about any kind of horse-themed object under the sun and in all price ranges.  You won’t find these at your local retailer in most cases since many only offer their goods at equine events like this one.

How do you find out about these events in your area?  There are a number of ways.  The Internet may yield some information but I’ve found many local horse events are only discovered by plugging into the horse community.  You can do this by dropping by feed stores and tack shops in the area.  These places will often have flyers posted or can tell you how to find out about horse related events in your area.  There are usually a wide variety of breed clubs and small local pony clubs functioning and these are very relaxed affairs sure to offer an opportunity for some very close-up observation.

The economy has hit us all pretty hard.  These events are a great way to get a lot of entertainment, forget about the budget for awhile and maybe learn something you didn’t know.  I hope you’ll consider seeking out the options in your area.  Please feel free to drop a comment here on what you find.