The urban development takeover of South Florida is an ongoing battle against rural life, but there are still pockets of horse country that continue to survive and thrive. Organizations like the Heritage Horse Show are intent on maintaining and promoting the equestrian lifestyle with events like the Hunter/Jumper Circuit, Dressage, Summer Shows and an end-of-season Awards Banquet.
It’s common for the love of equestrian riding to get passed down from generation to generation. Butch Medlin established the Heritage Horse Show back in 2002 with his daughters Lauren and Shannon. The Medlin family was part of the crowd competing at rated shows in South Florida for many years and when a need for a new hunter/jumper circuit arose, the family jumped at the opportunity. The home base is at the Plantation Equestrian Center where riders of every age and level are offered opportunities to compete in both the hunter/jumper and dressage divisions.
Lauren Medlin-Manasseh, show manager of the Heritage Horse Show, is a long-time equestrian who runs and organizes the competition events. Shows can draw between 100 to 180 horses in all divisions, with young hunters/jumpers riders ranging in age from 6 to 17. There are also seasoned riders and trainers who get in on the action of competing.
The Heritage Horse Show season normally runs from September to June, but the challenges of COVID altered the calendar year.
“We started up in October but had to go up to Palm Beach because Plantation didn’t open things up yet,” Manasseh said. “We came back full time to Plantation in December and continued till June, so it’s great to have this facility in our neighborhood. We were down for seven months, and it was a lot of work and very expensive. It has been a tough year, but we are up and running.”
The end-of-season Finals and Challenge Cup concluded in June, which led into the summer series of hunter/jumping events and dressage competitions. Fortunately, there has been no shortage of competitors coming out to the events.
“We were sold out almost every month and we ended on a high note and that is part of our tradition,” Manasseh said. “The Heritage Horse Show Finals and Challenge Cup had 185 riders. This all led to our Awards Banquet where we honored all the riders for their year-long accomplishments. It was a pretty successful season and I’m happy the way things turned out.”
Chase Spranklin enjoyed a stellar season and was named top Overall Hunter Rider, Co-Champion Overall Equitation Rider, Overall Medal Champion. His pony Skip Day claimed the Overall Hunter Horse award. Co-Champion Equitation Rider Teammate Aly Orseno was the co-champion Equitation Rider and came in second in the Hunter/Jumper division. Her mount Stars and Stripes was also recognized for an outstanding season. Both riders train with the Barb Koster Riding Academy. Juliet Johansson was the Rider of the Year. The banquet was capped at 210 guests.
Many of the Heritage Horse Show customers live in Broward, but there are quite a few who come up from Miami and Florida’s west coast. The riding community members know each other and there is a kindred spirit that unites them. It is not unusual for young riders who go off to college and return home to pursue their horse-riding passion.
“We have people coming back after getting married and having kids of their own,” Manasseh said. “My mother’s side of the family has more of a cowboy background with rodeos, but I’m all about the equestrian sport. I’m hoping that the equestrian sport goes to a more affordable route. It’s gotten too expensive for many riders. We make it affordable and have many repeat customers and a lot of young riders coming up.”
Amy Foster is an accomplished trainer who was born and raised with horses from Quarter to Appalachia breeds. The Southwest Ranches resident is the owner of the family business How-Lyn Acres, which was in Coconut Creek for 41 years before moving to the Southwest Ranches location a couple of years ago. When she isn’t teaching the Archbishop McCarthy High School riding team, she is still barrel racing at the rodeos. Foster is skilled in English, Western, and even side-saddle disciplines.
“This (Heritage Horse Show) is a great feeder program for the newbies and gets them transitioning to higher levels and is run by great people,” Foster said. “The schooling show is a great starter for many of the young riders before they move up. They are very reasonable with costs and membership fees. I’m a true cowgirl but love equestrian with the jumping. As a trainer, I’m all about teaching positives. The business end is never going to leave us.”
One of Foster’s riders, Abigail Eydelman, 13 of Weston, won the High Ribbon award at the Heritage Horse Show Banquet Awards ceremony.
Visit heritagehorseshow.com.
