Trainers Stephanie McAlexander and Anne Shafer of Cleveland, Missouri are all about Christmas. They both train all-around horses for AQHA and APHA show circuits, and every holiday season, their clients get together to decorate their barn.
“Our barn falls under the catagory of ‘Extreme Decorating,'” McAlexander says. “Anne began about ten years ago with two blow-up snow globes displayed atop the roof of her office in the barn. I believe now it has grown to a winter wonderland of about 30 blow-up and lighted decorations. It is definitely a spectacle to behold!”
Anne adds, “I guess I couldn’t help myself, I just kept buying them. And then other people started buying them, and it got to be a big deal in setting everything up. So now we make it into a barn activity and gives everyone a chance to meet some of the new clients as well as the lesson people,” she says. “It is also good for the horses; it exposes them to new things, and honestly I have not had one horse that freaks out with anything. I think the horses seem to like all the lights; some of the horses even will stand and watch the rocking Santa go back and forth.”
Anne and Stephanie say that their clients have a blast with the decorations. Traditionally the barn is closed for riding the day after Thanksgiving, so, everyone comes out to help decorate.
“We can usually have it set up in about four to five hours with the help of about 20 to 30 people,” Stephanie says. “Then, we have the annual Christmas party in the barn. Everyone brings a dish and we have dinner under the lights.”
The barn is set up so that all the stalls face the indoor arena, with an office, lounge, and tack up areas running the 90 foot width of the arena. This area has a separate roof that is lower than the barn ceiling. Along the top of this roof, they set up over 25 Christmas blow up decorations. They have everything from Santa on a rocking horse that really rocks to a huge snowglobe that blows snow inside it. The two trainers and their crew also string icicle lights along each of the 16, 90 foot rafters over the arena. Multi-color lights run the length of the 15 stall fronts down each side of the arena.
“As you enter the barn, the first wall you see holds stockings for all of the horses in the barn. The clients really get into this as they each decorate their horse’s stocking. Many of them try to out-do each other on size, and bling. It’s fun to see imagination at work!” Stephanie says.
When we asked Anne if she is worried about starting a fire in the barn, she says that the lights are only on when someone is in the barn. “I had wiring done just for the Christmas lights and also with the chief of the fire department over seeing everything. I have never even blown a fuse or a circuit with everything running,” Anne tells GoHorseShow.
“Anne and I are both kids at heart, so it just seems to fit. We are serious horse show competitors, but we also believe showing and riding horses should be fun. The clients love it! It even made the local television station a few years ago,” Stephanie proudly told us.
The electric bill, however, is another matter, Anne says and laughs. “That usually comes back to bite me big time. Kind of like double the normal. Oh well, Christmas is a fun time in the barn. It is my chance to give something back to all of my clients. Stephanie pretends to not like it, and she keeps me in check with not buying every blowup ever made, but she enjoys it also.”
Anne adds, “And there is nothing like watching the kids see it all blown up for the first time. It’s like seeing Christmas in their eyes.”
Click here to see a slideshow of their amazing Christmas barn decorations
