Save Our Show

By Betty WeiBel

The Chagrin Hunter Jumper Classic has been an area tradition since it started in 1949 as a Chagrin Trails and Riding Club fundraiser at the Cleveland Metroparks Polo Field in Moreland Hills.

The show grew to international acclaim when the Chagrin Valley Professional Horseman’s Association took over its management and introduced North America’s first show jumping grand prix in 1965, attracting the nation’s best for decades.

Over the years, challenges due to growth, inclement weather and financial issues halted the show and even led to its relocation on several occasions, but the show went on.

In recent years, the U.S. Equestrian Federation designated it a national Heritage Horse Show. Now, threatened with extinction like other major independent shows around the country, local equestrians are determined to keep the biggest hunter jumper show in Northeast Ohio alive.

Around the country, independent horse shows are disappearing due to pressures to make expensive improvements like state-ofart footing and increased prize money.

Competition from mega-circuit horse shows that offer exhibitors incentives to stay in one location for weeks to minimize travel has also played a role in reducing the number of independent horse shows.

Additionally, rising cost and labor issues are driving some riding stables out of business and reducing the venues for horse shows.

The loss of equestrian competition in Northeast Ohio threatens its unique heritage that once hosted polo matches, horse racing, fox hunting, carriage driving and horse shows of every discipline.

A local equestrian explained the importance of these Heritage Horse Shows and the Chagrin Hunter Jumper Classic. Cindy Foster — a long-time Chagrin Hunter Jumper

Classic Board member and owner of Cindy Foster Equestrian, a comprehensive hunter jumper show facility in Newbury Township — is concerned about the erosion of area horse show venues.

“I have been in the business for 35 years. I grew up in Gates Mills where horses were a family tradition, riding with industry icon Howard Lewis,” she said recently.

After graduating from college, she began her professional career in New York as a horse show manager and gained valuable experience with top horsemen around the country before returning to Hunting Valley to start her own business.

In 2002, she purchased her own facility on Sperry Road.

“There’s been a long history of horsemanship in this area that needs to continue. The history of show jumping in North American started here. How fortunate we have been to have those memories happen in our own backyard,” Foster said. “Competition promotes a higher level of horses and riders, and having horse shows in this area is a major advantage since not all riders are able to travel outside the area to other reputable horse shows.”

An updated Chagrin Hunter Jumper Classic website, ChagrinHunterJumperClassic. org, includes details of the 2023 event, as well as photos and video of the Chagrin Valley Farms venue. Another section shares articles from The Chronicle of the Horse on the state of the national horse show industry and offers a glimpse into why independent Heritage Horse Shows like the Chagrin Hunter Jumper Classic, the Devon Horse Show, Warrenton Horse Show and others are fighting to stay in business.

Betty Weibel is a lifelong equestrian with a successful career as a journalist and public relations professional. The former newspaper reporter published her first nonfiction book with The History Press in 2014, The Cleveland Grand Prix: An American Show Jumping First.

Hunter Jumper Classic Begins July 7

Area horse lovers are often excited to attend the annual Chagrin Hunter Jumper Classic, where equine athletes and their human partners display their spectacular talents for more than a week.

This year, Chagrin Valley Farms, at 9250 East Washington Street in Bainbridge Township, will be hosting the event beginning July 7 with the $1,500 1.10-meter jumper classic and ending July 16 with the $7,500 U.S. Hunter Jumper Association national hunter derby, according to event organizers.

Opening weekend will also include hunter classics and $500 hunter derbies with many local riders competing in the classes.

Highlights during the national A-rated week from July 13-16 will include the 1.2-meter jumper classic with a purse of $9,999 and the Sarah Allison Steffee Sportsmanship award presentation, according to event organizers.

The classic will continue its tradition of hosting the Riders with Disabilities Horse Show in partnership with Fieldstone Farm Therapeutic Riding Center — two miles from Chagrin Valley Farms — on July 10.

Admission is free all week. Class and division sponsorships are available. Contact Linda Joseph at 440-488-8777.