"Good Hands" Finals 3 Year Contract To Mane Event
Thursday, March 20, 2014
A three-year contract to host the prestigious “Good Hands” Finals through 2016 has been awarded by the National Horse Show Association to the Mid-America Mane Event Show, host to the finals for the past five years at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
For the past three years, the Good Hands Finals has been the largest of the saddle seat Triple Crown finals, with entries increased 78 per cent since moving to Mane Event.
The GH Finals originated at the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1929, subsequently moving to the Meadowlands in New Jersey, the Pennsylvania National in Harrisburg, PA., and then to Mane Event in 2009.
Mid-America Horse Show Association, which produces Mane Event, has put together a “blue ribbon” Good Hands Advisory Committee to provide guidance in moving the Finals forward: Kathy Boggs, Cindy Boel, Lynda Freseth, Scott Matton, Todd Miles, Erin Richie, Barbe Smith and Tom Thorpe.
Riders qualify for the Finals by taking first or second in a GH qualifying class. Horse shows do not have to be USEF-affiliated to host a GH qualifier, but three riders are required for it to count. Fee is $35 and includes the distinctive GH medal for the class winner.
Mane Event also offers an expansive class list with excellent options for amateurs showing performance and pleasure horses, and boasts ideal facilities for showing young horses. The Illinois State Fairgrounds facilities are totally “horse-friendly” and widely recognized as the country’s best show facilities.
Dates for this year’s show are October 23-26; entry booklet will be ready in August. To request a printed copy, call Show Manager Joy Meierhans at 630/557-2575 or email [email protected]. Last year’s Mane Event class list can still be viewed at http://www.midamericahorseshow.org/midamericashows.html where this year’s entry booklet will be available to download and print. Mane Event is produced by Mid-America Horse Show Association, one of ASHA’s largest charter clubs
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