With roots dating back to 1856 as the first horse show west of the Mississippi, the St. Louis National Charity Horse Show gained national notoriety during the 1904 World’s Fair and has existed in its present form since 1977. A 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization with an all-volunteer board, our goal throughout the years has been to support and highlight St. Louis-area charities, as well as provide a venue for some of the finest equestrian competition in the nation.
This year, we are pleased to support Stray Rescue of St. Louis. Stray Rescue’s sole purpose is to rescue stray animals in need of medical attention, restore them to health, and place them in loving adoptive homes. Virtually all of the pets they save have been abused and neglected. Stray Rescue has received numerous accolades from the American Red Cross and also has received national media attention from Animal Planet, National Geographic, the Weather Channel and Forbes Magazine.
In addition, the 2012 show also supports and highlights Therapeutic Horsemanship, which recently has launched their Horse for Heroes program. “Horses for Heroes,” is aligned with a nationwide program that was created in 2007 by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) and the Veterans Administration (VA) to assist America’s wounded service personnel and veterans. This is the first program of its kind offered in the St. Louis area.
Once held at Queeny Park, in 1999 the show moved to the National Equestrian Center (NEC) just outside of St. Louis in the suburb of Lake Saint Louis. The NEC boasts two indoor arenas (120′ x 240′ and 140′ x 225′) indoor warm up rings, a 240′ x 700′ outdoor arena, 652 permanent stalls and 65 RV hookups. Adding to the show’s overall appeal, the Lake Saint Louis area continues to expand and is now home to a new mall upscale mall, plus numerous restaurants and hotels.
As a favorite among riders, our show has won awards from the Missouri Horse Show Association (MHSA) as the “Star Show of the Year” in both the Hunter/Jumper division and the American Saddlebred divisions, as well as the 2006 Chapter 5 Show of the Year for Saddlebred week by the United Professional Horsemen’s Association (UPHA).
