Skidmore Saratoga Classic under way on Union Avenue grounds

More than 1,000 horses and exhibitors are on hand this week and next for the 10th anniversary Skidmore Saratoga Classic Horse Show, located on Union Avenue across from the historic Saratoga Race Course.

Scheduled June 20-24 and June 27-July 1, the event, inaugurated in 1927 and returned to Saratoga in the summer of 1998, draws competitors from throughout the United States and Canada. The first week’s competition is a world championship hunter rider event featuring the top hunter riders competing for points toward the world title.  

Proceeds from the two-week show support scholarships at the College with more than $1.2 million raised over the past decade.

A number of awards are presented daily, including the following during the first week: Alumni Division Award, Saturday, June 23; and the Chianti Cup, presented by David Zecchini on Sunday, June 24. Other prizes to be presented June 24 are the World Champion Hunter Rider Cup and the Ted Grant Memorial Trophy (donated by the Sackler family) to the horse that accumulates the most points in the Junior/Amateur Owner Jumper Section.

Adele Einhorn, executive director of the event, notes that riders of all ages are attracted to the Union Avenue grounds, where children as young as two years old have participated in lead line classes.

Results from the competition are posted daily on the Skidmore Saratoga Classic Horse Show web site.