225 horses showed at Saturday’s BRHJC

TRYON – With 225 horses showing in the Blue Ridge Hunter/Jumper Association Year End Classic (BRHJA), the 34-year-old tradition is going strong and growing. Show Manager and BRHJA Vice President Lewis Pack said the BRHJA Year End Classic is now held at the Foothills Nature Equestrian Center (FENCE) because they needed more stalls for the large number of entries.

Pack’s father, Gerald Pack, originally founded the show more than 30 years ago at the original location of Harmon Field. Gerald Pack started the show series as a way to preserve the history of Carter Brown’s legacy of horse shows at the park in Tryon.

“We still use Harmon Field for horse shows,” said Lewis Pack who is a United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) licensed judge and course designer.

In addition to managing the BRHJA shows, Lewis Pack also owns and operates the Harmon Classics shows and travels to judge, design courses and promote horse showing throughout the country.

“We try to offer quality shows at an affordable price. I want to see the local community have the opportunity to show,” said Pack. “Yes, the equestrian center [Tryon International Equestrian Center] is over there, but we’re still here.”

While the BRHJA started with 10 to 20 members and 40 to 60 local horses, it now attracts riders from all over the Southeast. Though many exhibitors on Saturday, Oct. 28, traveled from nearby Greenville, Spartanburg and Asheville, others came to FENCE as far away as Charleston, S.C.

Show classes included the typical hunter over fences, short stirrup, equitation, adult, junior rider and amateur divisions as well as the Year End Classic division with Hunter and Handy Hunter fences.