Saturday, October 17, 2009, I attended the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg with a few friends and my son.  (Harrisburg is about 1 1/2 hours from the Lehigh Valley.)  We walked through the stable area to see the different horses, including the Budweiser Clydesdales.  The Clydesdales are HUGE!  My Thoroughbred is a big horse and these Clydesdales make him look like a small horse.

Many events were going on such as horse drawn cart races, amateur jumper classes, side saddle classes, and many more.  The Budweiser Clydesdale team showed everyone their expertise in pulling the big Budweiser wagon.  That is quite a sight to see.

We also strolled around the area of the many different vendors.  There weren't as many this year as there were in previous years, but there were still plenty.

We then took our seats for the main event:  The Grand Prix de Penn National World Cup Qualifier.  There were 27 riders in this event from different nations, including the US, trying to qualify for the World Cup competition.  The fences were challenging and were on average 5 feet high, some a little higher than others.

Out of the 27 riders, 6 had clear rounds and were able to go into the jump-off.  The jump-off was really exciting to watch.

Here are the results:

1st place                        Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil riding Let's Fly

2nd place                       Erynn Ballard with Robin Van Roosendael

3rd place                        Ljubov Kochetova from Russia on Aslan

4th place                        Ken Berkley from the US on Carlosboy

5th place                        Mario Deslauriers riding Vicomted

6th place                        Leslie Burr Howard from the US on Lennoxlewis2

It was an enjoyable evening for all.