New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program and The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) have jointly agreed to cancel their 2020 hunter/jumper/pleasure horse show that was slated for September 3-6 at the Kentucky Horse Park.
“We are deeply disappointed to cancel the 2020 hunter/jumper horse show, but after ongoing discussions with show management, Kentucky Horse Park event staff, and horse show managers of other events held at the park, the decision to cancel the event was made,” says Sarah Coleman, director of community and public relations for New Vocations. “Multiple factors contributed to this outcome, including the cancellation of other Kentucky Horse Park championship events, the spike in COVID-19 cases throughout the country, various state travel restrictions that would affect many exhibitors, and the inability to ensure that the regional governments would not force the cancellation of the event, potentially once the show was underway.”
The dressage competition, set to run Oct. 3 and 4 at the Kentucky Horse Park, remains on the schedule. Show management will evaluate the event in the coming weeks and will announce a decision on holding the show prior to the opening of entries in late August.
Now in its sixth year, the New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show raises much-needed funds to enable the program to rehabilitate, retrain, and rehome retiring Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses. The T.I.P. Championships celebrate qualified Thoroughbreds in a variety of disciplines. Run concurrently, the shows typically host more than 400 Thoroughbreds at the Kentucky Horse Park each fall.
Sponsors for the New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show will have several options, including shifting support to a virtual competition in late September. Details of this virtual event are forthcoming.
”Event staff held a lengthy discussion over the last few days and the cancellation was not an easy decision,” says Kristin Werner, senior counsel for The Jockey Club and coordinator of T.I.P. “Ultimately the health and safety of our competitors, officials, and staff far outweigh any event.”
T.I.P. is exploring consolation competition options for early 2021; at this time, the All-Thoroughbred Charity Show and T.I.P. Championships for fall 2021 are expected to run as planned, and horses qualified and declared by the August 3 deadline for the 2020 championships will be eligible to participate in the 2021 events. A list of those horses is available here.
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