Allentown, NJ — The Horse Park of New Jersey is hosting the 31st edition of the National Standardbred Horse Show, featuring standardbred entrants in over 200 classes contested over the September 19-21 weekend.
Well over 100 standardbreds, many retired and retrained to display their versatility in the show ring, are competing, including, this year, Monticello, an unraced full brother to the vaunted trotter Atlanta.
The presenting sponsors, The Ferguson Family, Purple Haze Standardbred Adoption Program, Standardbred Breeders and Owners of New Jersey, Michelle Panebianco and the U.S.T.A., have been joined by almost 100 other sponsors in presenting this year’s show, including the United States Amateur Drivers Club as a Diamond Sponsor and the Great Lakes Amateur Driving Association as a Platinum Sponsor.
Among other sponsors are The Meadowlands, Hogan Equine Clinic, New Vocation Racehorse Adoption, Hambletonian Society and Hanover Shoe Farms.
Sponsorship Chairwoman Helene Gregory lamented, “We have had entrants that haven’t won one single dime on the racetrack compete in these events and we’ve had Breeders Crown winners and it shows that most any standardbred horse can be trained for a second career…either as a show horse or one used in equine therapy situations to assist children ‘of all ages.’”
Among the classes in this year’s show are dressage, barrel racing, hunter under saddle, western pleasure, dressage, obstacle driving and English equitation.
There are also classes for “fresh off the track” horses and “war” horses, those with over $250,000 in lifetime earnings or 100 career starts.
Competition is open to, virtually, all age groups with competition for ages 12 and under, 13-18, 19-49 and those over the age of 50.