ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 16, 1996 TAG: 9606170014
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
THE ROANOKE VALLEY Horse Show will be looking for a new primary sponsor after the 25th edition of the event, but the future looks bright.
The newly blacktopped village of tents that will house the hooved stars of the 25th Roanoke Valley Horse Show was a stampede of activity on a warm, humid morning this past week.
``We don't have room for another stall,'' said manager Bill Munford as the last of the event-record 859 stalls was being prepared for the show, which begins Monday.
Allen Camper of the Roanoke Valley Horsemen's Association tried to put that number into historical perspective.
``We never had more than 801 stalls,'' he said during a break from handling a steady succession of incoming telephone calls.
On the surface, the big worry of the week was whether enough dry soil could be found for the indoor rings at the Salem Civic Center. Heavy rains had turned the earthy pile that was on hand for that purpose into unworkable clods of mud, a situation alleviated Thursday with the last-minute arrival of some suitable dirt.
Would that a dirt shortage was all anybody had to think about. There was another matter to consider: The horsemen's association, which has been associated from the start with what is billed as the largest multibreed show in the state, is in the market for a co-sponsor.
The Junior League of the Roanoke Valley, which has a 75 percent interest in the show to the horsemen's 25 percent, voted late last year to discontinue its association with the show. This will be the last show at which the league is a full-fledged participant.
The horsemen's association had made a pitch to several groups in hopes that it could get a commitment from one of them for a co-sponsorship. The plan was to bring the new guys aboard to observe this year's show.
``Kind of on-the-job training,'' Camper said.
There was interest, but no commitment. The search for a new co-sponsor has been shelved for now.
``We're too busy to look for somebody else right now anyway,'' said June Camper, the horse show's chairwoman.
Apparently, the same uncertainty about the future that carried through the winter will persist. Still, nobody is suggesting the show won't continue in some form or another next year and beyond.
``The show is here to stay,'' Munford said. ``Twenty-five years has proved that. As far as I know, this and one at Freedom Hall in Louisville are the only summer shows east of the Mississippi that are held indoors in air conditioning. The exhibitors like this show very much.''
The city of Salem has gone to considerable trouble and expense to include the blacktopping of the horse show grounds along with the construction of the parking lot for the new Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium. The days of alternating dust and mud are over.
Along with the new hard surface, the city has installed metal anchors to tie down the tents. When the tents come down, the anchors can be unscrewed, removed and replaced with caps to keep out water.
The new anchors were a practical matter, said civic center manager Carey Harveycutter.
``We didn't want to tear the heck out of that new asphalt putting the tents up,'' he said.
A count of the total number of horses expected will not be known until later. But it is safe to assume, based on the record stall rentals, that a lot of horse feed is going to be poured this week.
This week's schedule follows a familiar pattern. Horses will show indoors in the main civic center arena, as well as in an outdoor ring, day and night through Saturday.
Monday and Tuesday, the hunters show. Monday night will be the Western and racking horses. Tuesday night, the various saddle horse classes will enjoy the coliseum spotlight, as they will for all or part of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Saddle horse championships will be contested Saturday night.
Among the special events and exhibitions will be the children's stick horse race at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and the appearance of the Budweiser Clydesdales.
The wildly popular $500 Jack Russell terrier races will be Friday night.
The $10,000 Open Jumper Stake, which often serves as a preview for Saturday night's $50,000 Grand Prix of Roanoke, will be 7 p.m. Thursday.
The Grand Prix is considered the signature event of the Roanoke show. Exactly who will compete will not be known until later in the week, but defending champion Aaron Vale is entered, as is David Raposa, a regular at the show.
Venerable former champion Rodney Jenkins of Orange has four stalls and two horses.
``I don't know whether Rodney will be riding or what,'' Munford said. ``He hasn't been riding that much lately.''
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: |ERIC BRADY/Staff 1. Jumpers like the one above areby CNBthe featured attraction at the 25th Roanoke Valley Horse Show, which
starts its six-day run Monday at the Salem Civic Center. A
show-record 859 stalls will be filled this year on the civic center
grounds. Colors. 2. David Raposa, riding Split Decision during last
year' s Roanoke Valley Horse Show, is entered in the popular Grand
Prix. Color.