Samantha Schaefer has been going to the Washington International Horse Show, she said, “for as long as I can remember” — and probably for even longer.
As proof, the Westminster resident shares a photo of her 2-year-old self clad in a riding helmet and jacket and sitting atop a small white horse with a binky in her mouth.
Schaefer first entered the riding competitions at the annual event a few years later, at the age of 7, and won the Equitation Finals at 16. She said she’s only missed WIHS “a year or two for when I was at college.”
Now, the 33-year-old trains junior riders at her farm, and she’ll make the hourlong trip from Carroll County to the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro with her horses for this year’s event.
“I’ve had a lot of experience, especially at these events, so I feel like I can kind of help the kids and know what they’re feeling,” she said.
The Washington International Horse Show runs from Oct. 19 to 25. Just as the Preakness Stakes is a major mid-Atlantic destination for horse racing, it has become the region’s five-star-ranked event for show jumping and equitation, drawing riders and horses this year from nine countries, according to WHIS President Vicki Lowell.
At WHIS, riders can earn cash purses that range from $50 for placing in hunter division competitions to $340,000 for winning the President’s Cup Grand Prix Saturday night. They can also win points toward qualifying for the Fédération Équestre Internationale Jumping World Cup, which is held in Switzerland.
Olympic gold medalist Laura Kraut, 60, will be at this year’s event, where she previously won the President’s Cup in 2005.
“She’s still one of the very top riders in our sport representing the United States,” Lowell said. “Some of the riders are in their 60s that compete at the top level, and that’s one of the neat things about our sport.”
Another Olympian, 50-year-old McLain Ward will compete this year, as will his 11-year-old daughter, junior rider Lilly Ward.
The first WIHS was held in 1958 and became a prestigious Beltway tradition after President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy attended in 1961.
Over the years, the WIHS has been held within the D.C. city limits or in Maryland, including stints at the Capital Centre in Landover and at the Verizon Center (now Capital One Arena) in D.C. In 2022, the show returned to the Prince George’s Equestrian Center and Show Place Arena, where it’s taking place this year.
Holding WIHS in downtown Washington, in between rock concerts and hockey games, became difficult to sustain.
“We would set up stabling in the streets, [and] they’d have to melt the ice in the arena,” Lowell said. “There was a lot that had to happen logistically.”
After two decades at Capital One Arena, WIHS found a suitable new home in Upper Marlboro.
Even at a facility that regularly hosts horse shows, however, getting the venue ready is a big task.
“I tell people all the time, the horse show will start no matter what, so you know, not being ready is not an option,” said JP Bordeleau, who has worked on horse shows at Show Place Arena for two decades.
The riding surface, called footing, must be installed on the arena floor before the horses arrive. WHIS’ footing, made up of 500 tons of mineral sand mixed with water and other materials over layers of rubber and textiles, must follow specifications stipulated by the Fédération Équestre Internationale, a Switzerland-based governing body for equestrian sports.
“It’s not just laying the dirt down on the ground. It needs to be laser-leveled, then we’re adding some water to it, some moisture, we’ve added some fine sand that we’re in the process of mixing together,” Bordeleau said last week.
The competitions begin Thursday with the International Jumper Welcome Stake, for a $63,000 purse, and an Opening Night Salute to Service with half-price tickets for those who’ve served in the military and first responders.
Saturday’s festivities include WHIS Kids’ Day, a free event with pony rides and educational activities, which Lowell sees as an investment in the WIHS’s future — perhaps sparking a generation of lifelong attendees like Schaefer.
“We made it bigger, we have more activities, more demonstrations, more horses for the kids to interact with,” said Lowell. “It’s just such a great first experience for kids to have with horses.”
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