Cleveland Classic Horse Show Future is Bright
Friday, March 11, 2005
SPRING VALLEY, Ohio - UPHA Chapter 13 members gathered at Cape Cod Farm Saturday, March 5, for a buffet dinner, live and silent auction fund raiser for the Cleveland Classic Horse Show.
Kathy Boggs and event co-chair and chapter chairman Phil Price, in conjunction with the Cape Cod Farm crew and many, many helping hands from Chapter 13 members, put on an event to remember and the result by night’s end was more than $18,000 raised through the generosity and deep pockets of those in attendance. The total profit from the event was more than $11,000.00.
The day began at Cape Cod Farm as Bobby Murphy, of Murphy Stables, Tina Stodd and Phil Price, of L’Ambiance, and the crew of Cape Cod showed horses to an appreciative audience.
More than 150 people gathered Saturday evening in the heated arena to enjoy a tremendous buffet dinner, complete with dessert, provided by Bullwinkles Restaurant, and a cash bar. Money raised from the sale of dinner tickets and the cash bar, in addition to the auction items and raffle tickets, all helped make the evening a financial success for the Cleveland Classic Horse Show.
Show manager Jack Thrane and his wife Cathi attended the event to show their support for the efforts of the chapter 13 group that are such staunch supporters of the Cleveland Classic Horse Show, an Ohio favorite.
A board with the list of all the classes available for sponsorship at the show was on display so that anyone who wanted to sponsor a class could sign up. Another fund raising event will be held next month in Akron, Ohio and any classes that remain to be sponsored will be available at that event as well.
Numerous items were available on the silent auction table, including gift certificates to several area restaurants, a stall at the Dayton Horse Show, a package from the World’s Championship Horse Show, an enormous fruit basket, and a stall at the Springfield Horse Show.
Auctioneer Doug Sorrell took the microphone to lead buyers to open their wallets during the live auction. Sorrell, recently inducted into the Pony of the America’s Hall of Fame, kept the pace quick and the action exciting. Ben Boggs, Gene Boggs, Erin Boggs and Thomas Crabtree all worked as bid spotters, taking their positions around the arena, and also helped keep things moving quickly.
Abby Campbell, daughter of Dr. James and Kristen Campbell, purchased the first item up for bid in the live auction. Campbell paid $200.00 for a travel certificate that could be used for air or hotel expenses.
A gift certificate for $250 to Lebanon Equine Clinic, sold for $300.
A full bridle from Freedman Harness brought $1100.00. The bridle, touted as a new design for 2005, prompted a bidding war which was won by Kathy Wallace. The Wallace family, including daughter Kristy, has returned to the Saddlebred industry with Cape Cod Farm after a brief respite.
Steed Enterprises, Inc. in addition to having a booth at the event with many of their beautiful whips on display, also offered a one time opportunity to bid on a custom made whip. The 32” Brazilian cane wood hand turned, wood handled whip was not assigned a value but when the bidding reached $230.00, Terry Dillard and Clay Johnson, of Steed Enterprises, decided to throw in a custom case for the whip. Their generosity resulted in a total bid of $400.00, also from Kathy Wallace.
Jim Taylor, of Memory Lane Farm, paid $200.00 for a custom made shirt from clothier Carl Myers.
The highest selling item of the night was a stud fee to Our Charm. John T. and Nancy Jones, of Rosemont Manor, donated the fee for the stallion by Santana’s Charm and out of Callaway’s Limelight. Kathy Wallace purchased the fee for $3,500.00.
Dr. Frank James, husband of well-known exhibitor Iris James, who showed her Kool Tyme BH to numerous wins in 2004, offered his services as a financial consultant to the highest bidder. The item sold for $800.00.
Don Kapper and Amy Chaffin, of Progressive Nutrition ®, were both on hand to answer questions about the various horse feeds that were displayed at the Progressive Nutrition booth. Chaffin worked hard to help coordinate the evening’s festivities and make Progressive Nutrition an important part of the evening’s fund raising efforts.
Progressive Nutrition donated a year’s worth of feed for one horse as well as a free consultation. The winning bidder secured the consultation and feed for $800.00.
Walsh Harness donated a work harness, valued at $700.00, which sold for $1,000.00.
Other items that helped make the live auction such a financial success included a collectable doll and an R. J. Becht and Company gift certificate, which sold for $625.00.
As the live auction ended, many of those in attendance moved to the dance floor. Soon after, a 42” plasma flat screen television was awarded to the person holding the winning raffle ticket. Attendees paid $50.00 per raffle ticket for the chance to win the television and all the raffle tickets were sold. Their enthusiasm for the prize resulted in a nice chunk of change for the evening’s totals.
Ironically, winners of the plasma television, Tom and Robin Coveyou, did not own a television prior to winning the big one, and bought only one raffle ticket. They were both nearly speechless when their ticket number was called out as the winning entry.
Cleveland Classic Horse Show is one of Ohio’s treasures in the Saddlebred industry. UPHA Chapter 13, through their generosity, proved that they are also a treasure to the industry. They worked hard for a cause they believe in and opened their pockets to show their support. With backers like that, the future looks bright for the Cleveland Classic Horse Show.
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