MSU Appalachian Horse Revival to be held at Morehead State Farm
The Morehead State University Equestrian Team and the Department of Agricultural Sciences are hosting the first-ever MSU Appalachian Horse Revival May 23-25 at the Derrickson Agricultural Complex.
The event will bring together equine enthusiasts from across the nation to show horses that are native to Kentucky and Appalachia, including Kentucky Mountain Saddle, Paso Fino, Smokey Valley, Tennessee Walking, Rocky Mountain and Spotted Saddle horses, among others.
The event schedule will include:
- Thursday, May 23 - 5 p.m. Horse Show and Vendor Fair
- Friday, May 24 - 5 p.m. Horse Show and Vendor Fair
- Saturday, May 25 - 2 p.m. Horse Show Championship Day Kick-off Concert by The Wooks and Vendor Fair; 4 p.m. Horse Show Championship Day Begins and Vendor Fair
Admission to the event is $5 per person, per day. Children 12 and under receive free admission.
The MSU Equestrian Team will sell concessions at the event to raise funds for the team. Team president Taylor Wheaton, a senior from Greenfield, Ohio, said students will be running the horse show and are looking forward to being involved.
“We’re all really excited about it,” she said. “I’ve been here four years, and this is by far the biggest show we’ve ever put on.”
“We’ve had horse shows at Morehead State University since 1966, but we’ve never had anything quite like this before,” said Joe Fraley, MSU farm manager. “We wanted to host an event to draw some interest back to the horse industry in Eastern Kentucky. Horse shows used to be a popular family event, and we want people who don’t normally go to a horse show on a Saturday night to come out and spend the day with us to see what these breeds are all about.”
The show is unique in that the top winners from the different breed classes will compete against each other for Best of Show awards.
“We wanted to end the show with a bang,” Fraley said. “No show has really thrown out the idea of competing against different breeds.” He said the idea has been well received and so far competitors from as far away as Missouri and Florida have expressed interest in the event.
The show has affiliations with:
- Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association
- Mountain Pleasure Horse Association
- Rocky Mountain Horse Association
- Spotted Saddle Horse Association of Kentucky
- Walking Horse Owners Association
- Kentucky Mule and Donkey Association
- Bluegrass Pleasure and Walking Horse Association
Cash prizes will be awarded to winners in first, second, third and fourth place in breed class, breed championship class, best in show class and king of the mountain class.
For more information visit https://alumni.moreheadstate.edu/horserevival, email equineevents@moreheadstate.edu or call (606) 783-2802.
