Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for everything we have been blessed with throughout the year, while making memories that we will cherish forever. For many trainers and exhibitors alike, it is a sigh of relief that the Congress and World Show are over and Thanksgiving is here. Some will be looking forward to staying home with family and friends while others will be packing up and heading to shows over the holidays. We spoke to trainers and exhibitors about some of their favorite Thanksgiving memories.
Bret Parrish–When I was just a little boy my dad, Kiff Parrish, would always find a horse show on Thanksgiving weekend. Most of the time we would be traveling to a show on Thanksgiving Day and no restaurants were open over the holiday. It seemed that my meals were often a pack of crackers from a convenient store that was open on Thanksgiving Day. The important thing was we were always together as a family.
Arianne Pait– Eighteen years ago, Thanksgiving of 1996 was the first Thanksgiving E.H and I had been married. That was my first Turkey Circuit in Raleigh, North Carolina and I had a three-year-old gelding to show. I was a little nervous because it was my first time showing in Raleigh and I just hoped to do well. Kiff Parrish was one of the judges. He gave me a nice smile and I ended up winning the class. That was my first big horse show on the East Coast!
Ashley Frye– On my first pleasure horse I ever had, every Thanksgiving I would always go ride Rodney around bareback before I went and ate with my family. Nobody understood why I always wanted to go ride my horse on a holiday, but I made it a tradition.
Chelsea Martz– Years ago, the Turkey Circuit was my first AQHA show with Shes Just A Rumor. I have a lot of special memories from that show and I can just see so clearly how nervous and excited I was. I think that there is always a neat atmosphere at horse shows that occur over holidays. It is great to be able to spend quality time with our horseshow family.
Blake Carney–For years we spent Thanksgiving in Perry, GA for the Georgia Paint Horse Club Futurity. Depending on the schedule we would either have dinner provided by the club, or my clients and I would go to Cracker Barrel and have Thanksgiving as a big group. It was really fun and a great memory. Unfortunately, that show no longer is put on but I think of it every year and we talk about it often!
Morgan Parisek–I would say my favorite horse related Thanksgiving memory would be going to the Thanksgiving Circuit at Fox Lea Farm in Venice, Florida and spending the day riding in the sunshine and palm trees and then instead of having a traditional Thanksgiving meal at home my family spent it together at Pineapples Restaurant with some of our horse show family.
Tina Price White–When my son Jeremy was in the third grade, the teacher had all the children draw a picture of what Thanksgiving meant to them. The artwork was then hung in the hallway on the board for all the parents to see. As I walked down the display, looking for Jeremy’s picture, I saw one that stood out. It was a drawing of a bunch of boys playing ball with horses watching in the background. I had found Jeremy’s picture. The teacher pulled me aside saying she was worried that Jeremy hadn’t understood the assignment but he had, perfectly. Since he was born, we had spent every Thanksgiving showing horses. At the shows the kids would play and someone usually had a ball of some sort. This was Thanksgiving to him, playing with his friends. I recall the first Thanksgiving we stayed home and had a proper meal was when he was 18 and my daughter was eight. The two of them just couldn’t understand the concept, but liked that I was cooking a whole lot of food. After dinner he asked what came next and I told him we’d take a nap and then eat again. I just remember him laughing and saying he really liked Thanksgivings and we should do it more often. That was the first year we stayed home from a show and it was a great day. I still have the picture he drew of all his friends playing ball, with horses watching in the background.
Tara Lombardo Anderson–When I was a kid, I wanted to go show on Thanksgiving weekend. My parents weren’t in to going and wanted to stay home with family for a traditional Thanksgiving. So our friend, Danny Stubbs, drive me to Oneco, Connecticut to show. After we arrived and got settled in, it snowed that night. Our heater in the motor home broke, the toilet clogged, and no one showed up for the horse show. So we left. Headed south, and already on the road, we decided to keep on trucking south past home and go to Raleigh, NC. I’m not sure why we didn’t go there to begin with. Thankfully though, I didn’t get ahold of my parents until we were almost to the Carolina’s. We got there just in time to pull my horse off the trailer and show. I won the youth hunter under saddle and equitation loaded up and headed home.
Dakota Diamond Griffith–In what seems an era gone past, my favorite Thanksgivings with my horses were definitely those spent at Fox Lea Farm and getting together for the Exhibitor’s Dinner. One of my biggest disappointments is that this set of shows there no longer exists. All of us brought a side dish while Jack Christensen and others prepared turkey and ham. The atmosphere was not one of all of us competing against each other, but coming together as family. This year I’ll enjoy my training horses and relatives at our ranch in Venice, but I’ll always remember that run at Fox Lea with the greatest of fond memories.”
Whitney Vicars–Well, I can’t remember a specific memory but I know that in the past we have been at shows on Thanksgiving and ended up having Thanksgiving dinner with friends and clients of my fathers. It was a blessing that even though we couldn’t be home and weren’t blood family we could still come together and celebrate as family. So I’m blessed with two families. Not only do I have my family, I also have my extended horse show family. At this time of year, I am reminded to be so thankful for my amazing equine partners, their health and mine, my horse show family, and the opportunity to do what I love with my family. I enjoy celebrating with my horse show family because we all share a common passion that we are all grateful for!
Emily Jo Starkey Peak– In 1990, the day before Thanksgiving, I was told there was an Arabian farm that was having a dispersal sale and there was a 17 month old gelding that would be perfect for me to start myself and test my horsemanship skills. More importantly it was in my price range: $300! Thanksgiving dinner was filled with talk of plans and excitement. The next day we went to pick him up, sight unseen. He had a long rope attached to his halter and was run into the trailer. Long story short, I ended up doing everything under the sun with him. He’s retired in my pasture.
Darcy Reeve–My grandma lived on a huge property on multiple acres with a small lake a barn, and tons of trees that made up, what I thought was a forest when I was a kid. Every Thanksgiving I spent at her house was an adventure. After the meal a bunch of us grandkids would go on a “hike” around the property. The barn was on the opposite end of the land and that’s where we always headed. Most of the time they rented the barn out so there were always different horses there. It was always a adventure walking through the forest over a couple creeks to the barn to see what kind of horses and disciplines were there. Every once in a while we were able to get on one and walk around on it. For my sister, this instance was the first horse she had ever ridden. It’s when she discovered her love for horses. It’s what got both of us started in riding then eventually showing, and the rest is history!
Austin Brewer–Every Thanksgiving my family and I join my aunt and uncle, Ken and Laina Banks, at there ranch in south Texas. It’s a week filled with trail rides to the windmill to have picnics.Uncle Ken always brings the buggy along, usually with two horses to pull the buggy all over the ranch. One of my favorite trail ride memories is when we all rode out fairly early in the morning, riding all over the ranch eventually meeting up with the others who had not joined the trail ride for a late lunch. On our way back we may have gotten a little lost and had to create our own trial through the brush. Finally we found our way home sometime later. Getting lost didn’t stop us from going back out again the next day though. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Chelsea Carlson–Thanksgiving in my family is typically a little different than most. Being as we all live in Eugene, Oregon and my family (mom, uncles, aunts, and grandma) all work at the family medical supplies store together five days a week, seeing each other is typically not an issue. Our family still gets together for Thanksgiving day, but growing up as a kid, my mom and I would always take advantage of the long weekend. Whether loading up the horses and going and riding somewhere new, or finding tack stores and making a day out of going to see them, we always seemed to make new memories and go on weekend horse adventures. In a way, those weekends set me up for what I do now, and that’s something I’ll always be thankful for.
GoHorseShow wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, and hopes this year is filled with more special memories!
