Greetings Fellow Horse Enthusiasts:

Every member of the Garden State Horse Show extends a warm welcome to you! We graciously offer you a hearty invitation to attend the 57th year of the show. To all of you who have regularly attended the show, thanks for your continued support! You have helped us to build and improve the show over the years. You are the horse show! Thanks for making it such an overwhelmingly positive slice of life.

To those of you who have never been to the show, or it’s been a while, stop in one of these days. We‘ll do our best to provide you with an upbeat horse show experience! We can’t help with the winnings or the pinnings, but we’ll do everything else possible to make you feel like first place.

The show is pleased to announce the completion of the Show Annex Complex. With the additional 50,000 square feet of footing, the annex will have five show rings and adequate schooling. This area hosts the lower jumping hunters and jumpers. There is an excitement and animation up on the Show Annex Complex. Perhaps, it is just the sheer large number of exhibitors and horses riding in the same proximity, but it seems more like the thrill of good, clean competition. It has an energy all of its own. Riders and their support teams eager to take their turn in the show ring – it’s just good, clean fun!

The main show complex hosting the rated hunters and top jumpers has three large show rings and ample schooling. The atmosphere is very easy-going and serene for an AA rated horse show. The area is kept free of congestion and traffic. It is very user friendly for the horses and their riders. The two hunter rings are spacious and connected to large schooling areas. The Grand Prix Jumper Ring is utilized at its full size of 192 x 342 feet, and has a nearby schooling ring of 90 x 180 feet. There is just a nice pleasant feel to the whole area; it actually has worked out quite nicely having the two different show complexes.

While the Garden State Horse Show strives to provide you with a friendly and positive horse show overall, there are three key aspects of the show that we have always focused on keeping impressive: the footing, the officials, and the time schedule. Over the years, the footing has received high marks from our horse show clients. The judging panel and show officials have always been of the highest caliber that the country has to offer. And the time schedule has been constantly adjusted to make the show-days end at a reasonable time. This year with the addition of one more ring, the weekdays should conclude no later than 5:00pm, with many rings ending by 3:00pm; and the weekends should be over by 6:00pm at the latest.

During the last several years, our top hunter riders and trainers have encouraged the show to acquire the World Hunter Championship Classes. We have done the research and we need your help.

These classes are awarded to six shows in the zone each year. The award of these classes to a show is based upon membership votes. Therefore, we encourage our riders and trainers to join this league, and vote for the Garden State Horse Show to be awarded the World Hunter Championship Classes.

Our clients, who are members, assure us that we are ripe for these classes. It is another one of the benefits of having the two show complexes.

On a more somber note, The 2008 Garden State Horse Show is dedicated to the lives and memories of two alumni of the Junior Essex Troop: Ted Grant and Paul Pakonis. They were key members of the horse show staff and family; they were our good friends and loved ones. They embodied all the best attributes of mankind. We miss them tremendously. This dedication is made to celebrate their lives and many accomplishments.

In conclusion, we look forward to seeing you in May. We hope you share in our conviction that this is a special event with a unique ambiance that makes it distinct from other quality horse shows.

Best Regards…………

The Garden State Horse Show Staff