Read About Draft Horse Shows

Draft Horse Shows are spread all over America, Canada, and Mexico and are usually held along with mule shows. Here's everything you need to know about this competition.

Draft Horse Shows - Facts

1. Type of Competition:

   Draft horse shows are exclusive competitions for the draft horses like Clydesdale, Belgian, Shire, Percheron, etc. There are so many Draft horse show all across America that listing all of them is not possible here. Here is a list of few Draft Horse Shows --
   1. National Western Draft Horse Show & Pull
   2. North America Six-Horse Hitch Classic Series (includes more than 45 country wide individual shows and a final grand event)
   3. Georgia Draft Horse Association shows
   4. Ohio Expo State Fair
   5. Idaho State Draft Horse and Mule International
   6. Hartford Fair Open Draft Horse Show
   7. Great Lakes International Draft Horse Show

2. Location:

   1. The National Western Draft Horse Show & Pull is held in January at the National Western Complex, Denver
   2. The North America Six-Horse Hitch Classic Series is held all through the year over America and Canada at more than 45 locations
   3. The Ohio State Fair is held every August at the popular Ohio Expo Center, Ohio The Georgia Draft Horse Association show is held every October at the Georgia National Fair.

3. History:

   1. The famous North America Six-Horse Hitch Classic series was started in 1987 from an idea by Dr. John Weber of Florida. The series quickly grew into about fifty individual shows and one North America Six-Horse Hitch Classic Series Final Championship where the prizes are over $30,000.
   2. The Georgia Draft Horse Association is a state level event started in the 80's with interests of Draft horses and mules taking upper seat. In 1994 the association attended by invitation the National Fairgrounds and Agricenter, Georgia and their first drafts were shown there.
   3. The National Western Draft Horse Show & Pull was started in the year 1980 by the National Western, a member of Colorado Horse Council.

4. Sanctioned:

   1. The Ohio State Fair is a United States Equestrian Federation sanctioned show organized by the Ohio Expo of Ohio state.
   2. The National Western Draft Horse Show & Pull is also a United States Equestrian Federation sanctioned event sponsored by COORS since the past 26 years.
   3. The North America Six-Horse Hitch Classic Series is a non-USEF sanctioned series with over 40 members.

5. Entrance Procedure:

   The Ohio State Fair and the National Western Draft Horse Show & Pull are based on the United States Equestrian Federation rules and the horses must be registered. The North American Six-Horse Hitch Classic Series has its own rules and the participating horse and the organization/individual must register as a member of the North American Classic Series and must accumulate eligible points at any of the countrywide series shows.

6. Classes:

   Classes are many including halter, craft, hitches, reinmanship, driving barrels, carriage driving, pleasure diving, open western pleasure and English pleasure. Ohio State Fair is not a Draft exclusive show.

7. Judging:

   All the above-mentioned classes are judged apart from the best of show, champions and reserve champions.

8. Awards:

   The Best of Show is the highest and the most coveted award. Apart from class awards there are the champion and reserve champion awards also.