Upper Marlboro, MD –– It is always easier to follow the old roads and copy successful recipes. Innovation requires vision and that is just what Billy Glass and Oliver Kennedy had fifteen years ago when they decided that the equestrian community needed a place to show before heading “indoors”. It would be a “warm-up” of ultimate proportions – drawing the best horses and riders from across the United States. They knew it was needed because aside from the few months in the fall, the horses on the hunter/jumper circuit don’t spend time in large indoor arenas like those used at the Pennsylvania National, the Washington International or the Syracuse Invitational.
Glass and Kennedy decided that the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD, would be a great venue for their new show. It provided a little bit of the summer with an outdoor arena and a little bit of the fall indoor circuit with the Show Place Arena. The new show was called The Capital Challenge Horse Show and since it’s inception fourteen years ago it has proven to be a successful and much needed event.
Once the Capital Challenge was born the innovation didn’t end. Glass and Kennedy continued to generate new ideas and offer something a little bit different to the equestrian world. The Capital Challenge didn’t just draw top competition, it did so on a first-come first-serve basis. Unlike the indoor shows following the Upper Marlboro event, which require riders to qualify their horses through a point system, the Capital Challenge only restricts the actual number of horses in each class. It didn’t take long for riders and trainers to realize that they would have to rush to get their entries in so that they could have the opportunity to compete at the Show Place Arena.
One of the earliest changes management made to accommodate the needs of the exhibitors was the development of the “Equitation Show” or the two-day show dedicated to the equitation riders. Kennedy explains, “The Equitation Show in its current form started in 1996 due to an overwhelming response to our World Champion Equitation Class the first year we offered it in 1995.”
The “Equitation Show”, now called the Monarch International Equitation Weekend, includes both over-fence and flat classes for different age groups. Every class is judged on the rider’s ability and gives the equitation riders the opportunity to show indoors.
In the year 2000 Kennedy and Glass looked to promote the development of future hunters. It was that year they created the Future Hunter division we know today. The unique division was developed for the rising stars in the hunter ring and offers unparalleled prize money for these young hunters totaling $44,000.
The division is divided into six sections and the top five horses in each section qualify to compete in the North American Future Hunter Championship. This year’s Championship class will be held Wednesday, October 3, in the Show Place Arena and will feature a base purse of $20,000 with $50 added for each horse entered.
This division gives trainers the opportunity to showcase young hunters at a premier event while those animals gain valuable show experience indoors and out.
A big change in the Capital Challenge took place in 2002. It wasn’t a modification in the show grounds or an adjustment in the scheduling. It was the year the Capital Challenge launched its new website. It was a popular change that helped everyone, from exhibitor to spectator to the press. It reflected the show’s unique personality while incorporating media information such as press releases, results and contact information, along with exhibitor-friendly searches for orders of go, photos and personalized schedules. The bank of information includes results dating back to 1995 and allows a person to search a horse or rider’s name to see a results record. The website has become a tool for many, answering questions that people often want answered NOW.
The most recent innovative idea that has been given life through the Capital Challenge is the streaming video that was launched last year. Capital Challenge and Equestrian Sport TV rolled out the first live free video coverage of an American event on Saturday, September 30, 2006. Word traveled quickly and on that following Monday there were over 4,000 people who watched the video stream.
The events held in the Show Place Arena are broadcast daily for the duration of the show, providing real-time viewing to fans of the equestrian world who can’t get to Upper Marlboro, MD.
Everything the management of the Capital Challenge has done over the past fourteen years has created a better show for the exhibitor. Through innovation they have made something different - something special. Join us for our fourteenth year from September 29th through October 7th at the Prince George Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD, and witness it all for your self.
For more information on the Capital Challenge Horse Show call (301) 260-2467 prior to the show or (301) 952-7944 during the show, or go to the Capital Challenge website: www.capitalchallenge.org.
Press Contact: Michelle Bloch, Capital Challenge Media Relations 973-219-1827
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