The HITS horse show season in Saugerties, New York, began on Wednesday despite being given cease and desist order h by the state Health Department earlier in the month. The order noted that horse shows were not considered essential businesses that could conduct in-person services.
The first in the HITS show series, the Vermont Summer Special, slated to run July 1-5, would have violated the state regulations regarding the COVID-19 state of emergency. The state was prepared to allow for a drastically pared-down version of the event, which was to allow for no more than 25 competitors each day. HITS President Tom Struzzieri voluntarily cancelled the events scheduled for July 3-5.
HITS had already cancelled three weeks of scheduled horse shows in Saugerties. In May, the organization announced that it would start its six-week 2020 show series in July and call it the Great American Show Series. The plan was to combine three Vermont Summer Festival shows with three HITS shows to create a series. The shows would not have spectators.
The horse shows draw thousands of tourists to the area each year, pouring millions of dollars into the local economy. The rescheduled shows were to run July 1-5 and July 8-12. Traditional HITS shows had been scheduled for July 15-19, July 22-26, and July 29 to Aug. 2, and Aug. 5-9. It is unclear whether the state will place similar restrictions on those events.
Read more at the Daily Freeman.
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