Columbus, OH – The 32nd annual National Standardbred Show will be held Sept. 18-20 at the Horse Park of New Jersey in Allentown, N.J. Put on by the Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of New Jersey (SPHO-NJ), run by a volunteer Board, the show brings together exhibitors, families and breed advocates from across the country for competition across a wide range of disciplines from hunter/jumper and dressage to driving and Western.
The 2026 show will have a new format, utilizing two-rings concurrently for the English and Western days, built to improve the flow of the show. Changing the format also requires additional judges and increased show costs, but the SPHO-NJ Board believes this will all help the show run more smoothly.
“Our organization is dedicated to keep entry fees as low as possible for our exhibitors and have prize money to ease up on costs,” explained Helene Gregory, the sponsorship committee chairperson. “This would not be possible without the outpouring of support from the harness racing industry. To have a three-day horse show that continues to climb in numbers every year is almost unheard of when most breed specific breed shows struggle and have to open up classes to all breeds to make ends meet.”
The show is currently looking for sponsors, with levels ranging from a $50 supporter to the $10,000 presenting sponsor. Sponsorship details are available, and online payments can be made directly, on the sponsorship page of the SPHO-NJ website. Requests for hard copies of sponsorship information can be made to info@sphonj.org. The deadline for sponsorship and print-ready ad submissions is July 15, 2026.
The National Standardbred Show is open to the public and everyone is invited to enjoy the show and festivities. Friday, Sept. 18, will feature Dressage, driving classes and games/contesting. Saturday, Sept. 19, will be English and over fences day, with classes including hunter under saddle, pleasure, road hack, discipline rail, equitation, crossrails, hunter over fences and jumpers. Western and in-hand day will be on Sunday, Sept. 20, with classes ranging from showmanship and in-hand to leadline, Western pleasure, discipline rail, horsemanship, ranch pleasure, ranch riding and trail. Unique to the racing world, the show will host the ever popular Fresh off the Track and War Horse divisions and specific classes for horses that are currently or recently retired from racing or those that have over $250,000 in lifetime earnings or 100 lifetime starts.
Information on National Show sponsorships, a tentative schedule and important updates regarding changes effective with this year’s show are now available on the SPHO-NJ website.
The non-profit SPHO-NJ was founded to promote the Standardbred in pleasure and competitive riding and driving. SPHO-NJ is a member-based organization and not only hosts the National Standardbred Show but also oversees a year-end awards program for its members with an awards banquet hosted in February each year.