Three impressive names are among the clinicians and entertainers who will headline the Ninth Annual Delaware Horse Expo set for Saturday and Sunday, April 6 and 7, at the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington.
Nationally known TV personality Craig Cameron, a native Texan whose show, “Ride Smart,” is familiar on RFD TV, will conduct clinics and demonstrations on horsemanship and horse training.
He will also introduce the concept of extreme cowboy racing, a growing competitive sport. Cameron, together with Ryan Dohm of HorseCity.com, is the original creator of The Extreme Cowboy Race. Each season he assembles an impressive roster of competitors from around the country who vie for the title of Extreme Cowboy Race Champion. At his Double Horn Ranch in Bluff Dale, Texas, he has designed and hosted five of these races since 2005.
During the expo, Cameron will moderate an event patterned after an Extreme Cowboy Race, which will see 10 professional trainers compete over an obstacle course with the winner getting cash and bragging rights. The competition will begin at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, April 6, in the Quillen arena on the fairgrounds.
At the Delaware Horse Expo, Advanced Level Eventer and Certified Level II USEA Instructor Steuart Pittman, of Dodon Farm near Annapolis, Md., will present clinics that focus on working with retired Thoroughbreds.
Pittman is the founder of a nonprofit organization, the Retired Racehorse Training Project. This project encourages trainers to take a Thoroughbred off the track and produce a horse that is safe and ready to ride and jump. He wants others to be inspired about the resurgence of Thoroughbreds in the equestrian world and aims to increase demand for Thoroughbreds off the track.
Cowboy clinician and trick rider David Davis is also a pastor on horseback who will open the second day of the expo at 9 a.m.with Cowboy Church. Davis, of Hardinsburg, Ind., is well known for his Force Free Horse Training Methods and trick riding. In addition to Cowboy Church, he will offer clinics and demonstrate feats of horsemanship.
Both expo days will begin at 9 a.m., with a Cowboy Circus on Saturday and Cowboy Church on Sunday. The Cowboy Circus stars trick rider Kirsten Willey, Jowana Lamb and her miniature horses, and trick roper Sue Kies.
At 10 a.m both days, there will be the very popular Parade of Breeds which introduces a variety of horse breeds and gives visitors a chance to see it all up close. On Saturday it begins with an opening ceremony by the Delaware State Police Mounted Patrol Unit. On Sunday, it will be opened by the Paso Fino Bailadores, a mounted drill team.
Again this year, the expo will offer an Equine Seminar Series presented by University of Delaware Cooperative Extension. Other attractions at the 2013 Delaware Horse Expo include a mounted drill team competition, the Cowboy Mounted Shooters, a Gambler’s Choice Jumper Exhibition, a Breyer Model Horse Show, vendors and exhibits, and special activities for kids.
The expo will run from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., Saturday, April 6, and 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., Sunday, April 7. Admission is $7 each day and free for kids 12 and under. Complete information is available at www.dehorseexpo.com or by calling 302-398-5194.
