Cascading Into The Far West
Saturday, July 3, 2004
The Deschutes County Fairgrounds located in scenic central Oregon welcomed exhibitors to the 47th Far West Regional on June 15-19. The breathtaking scenery, high desert climate, and outstanding show ring competition have made Far West a favorite for many west coast exhibitors. The show again boasted some of the finest competition west of Oklahoma as horses from the western United States as well as Canada vied for the AMHA Region 8 Championships at Far West.
The competition was perfectly placed with the panoramic views of the Cascade Mountains surrounding Redmond as the backdrop for the Far West Regional. The chamber of commerce must have ordered the weather with sparkling sunny, warm days and cool, clear evenings. The weather was ideal for many exhibitors who combine the horse show with a summer vacation enjoying a variety of tourist activities in Redmond and the surrounding area. They have the chance to take in over 200 classes of outstanding show ring competition and also use some of their time to play golf, go river rafting or fishing, or simply enjoy being a tourist.
The fairgrounds feature a spacious coliseum with an attached warm up area, an outdoor ring, and many barns throughout the grounds with temporary stabling. Exhibitors were well prepared for navigating the large fairgrounds with golf carts and scooters being the travel modes of choice by many. The four-year-old facility continues to make improvements to host a horse show of this caliber with more fine tuning still needed.
The 2004 Far West Regional marked the end of an era for two ladies who have helped to make the show what it is today. On Saturday evening, show manager Sally Plumley and show secretary Edrah Spielman were honored in center ring for their dedication and hard work on behalf of Far West.
Sally Plumley and husband Neil were presented with a scrapbook with many notes, cards and photos in appreciation of their service and dedication to Far West, Region 8, MHAO and the Morgan Horse community. Shelley Bullard welcomed Sally and Neil Plumley to the show ring, "We would like to thank all the fabulous people who have helped to make Far West such a great show. There are two people whose names have become synonymous with Far West - Neil and Sally Plumley. Their commitment of time, energy, and money has been extraordinary. This is Sally's final year as Far West show manager, but we are delighted that she will co-chair the show in 2005 to help with the transition. We know we can count on both Neil and Sally to continue as committed members of the Morgan Horse community for many years."
In addition to Sally Plumley and Edrah Spielman, the Far West officials also included; Bill Carrington and Phil Goulet (announcers), Casey McBride and Vern Serex (photographers), Adele Maurer (steward), Vern Serex and Gene VanDyke (ringmasters), Bill Hazen (paddock manager), Bob Covington (barn manager), and Carole Bradford (center ring design). Mike Carpenter and Rob Wilson marked the cards in the nearly 200 classes that made up the Far West show ring action while Donna Longacre scored the dressage competition, and Judy Wright officiated in the reining, trail and hunter over fences competition.
The Far West Regional was presented by the Morgan Horse Association of Oregon for the benefit of the large animal teaching hospital project in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University. A busy show ring schedule as well as numerous stable parties and get-togethers kept exhibitors on the grounds for many hours each day. The Friday evening session came to a close with another memorable edition of the annual Far Out Far West exhibitors party. The Region 8 Championship Dog and Pet Show was a Saturday highlight with the Bunny Plumley Challenge Cup going to the crowd-pleasing Murphy Young presented by Lynn Pichette. The AMHA/USEF Rules Forum attracted a large crowd in the stands who got to enjoy watching the pet show as well. The rules forum as well as a productive UPHA meeting were held under the direction of Sandy Sessink.
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