Horse shows have been an annual event in Spring Grove since 1964 when the first show was organized by Jack and Shirley Thompson, Bill and Margaret Schmidt, their friends and the local 4-H club. The first Spring Grove Horse show was held at a Bill Schmidt’s private residence on Main Street in Spring Grove; not far from our current location. The horse shows became a fundraising event and later were taken over by the parents of the Spring Grove Elementary School as a way of providing things that would otherwise strain the school budget. Very successful shows provided and outfitted the first school kitchen for hot lunches, made down payments on school buses and paved the playground, among other things.
Under the leadership of Jack and Shirley Thompson, the group became an Illinois not-for-profit organization known as the Spring Grove Horse Fair and Junior Horse Show, Inc. The bylaws state, “The purpose of this organization shall be for the benefit of the Spring Grove Community,” and benefit the community it did.
The first major step taken by the Horse Fair (as it is usually called) was to purchase 10 acres of land behind the Spring Grove Elementary School. The first arena (replacing the snow fencing) and entry stand (replacing a card table on a hay wagon) were built. The ever-growing horse fairs provided the money for the mortgage as well as more improvements to the show grounds and continuing support of many community and school needs. Horse shows provided funds toward the purchase of many items-the first rescue squad, a police car, athletic uniforms, sports and playground equipment.
The annual events not only offered competition for the local riders but also one of the most popular events of the year for the whole town. Charlie’s tacos and the steer roasts (using a whole steer) are still talked about. There were tents with games for young and old alike, pony rides, live music and a “two-seater” dunk tank for everyone’s amusement.
Many changes have taken place over the last 40+ years. After the mortgage burning party, the property was donated to the Village of Spring Grove for a park, with parcels to the Spring Grove Fire Department and Burton Township for building sites. With the provision that the Horse Show would continue to have “Horse events” on the property. The Horse Fair retained a small piece of property and built a 50-foot by 60-foot pavilion. This building was later given to the Village, helping to make the Horse Fair Park a very popular site for parties and events. In 1996, the Pavilion was remodeled and a new announcers stand was added. In 1996, a new Announcer's stand was added and many "tons" of sand has filled our arena to keep the footing appropriate for the many disciplines offered. The current 200 foot by 300 foot sand arena is the biggest and one of the best in the area.
Twenty years ago the horse show scene was on a major up-swing. At that time, 2 day shows were held. The Saturday show was the junior show or the youth show and Sunday was the Open show. Both shows included performance and speed events. The grounds were "packed" with spectators and exhibitors. Then everyone felt the gas crunch and the late 80's saw horse show participation dwindle. Since that time, the Show Committee has tried to meet the changing needs of the horse show exhibitors. Currently, horse owners can chose from many new opportunities with which to exhibit their horse. They can be very diverse in their disciplines, meaning they can specialize in one event, rather than showing in many different ones. In 1990, Spring Grove Horse Fair started to offer Hunter/Jumper shows and reschedule our speed events to begin in the evening. A Dressage show was added to accommodate the growing interest in this very precise discipline. At this time we are offering Hunter/Jumper, Dressage, English & Western, and Fun Shows open for all participants young and old.
The classes are open to any breed, and we have seen many breeds participate. We reward horse and rider combination that accumulate the most points in designated classes with High Point awards. These awards are given for 3 different age groups. A special individual may be selected from the exhibitors which demonstrated good sportsmanship and presented with a "Sportsmanship" Award. No other Horse show, that we are aware of, presents Sportsmanship Awards. The Show Committee also presents Memorial Awards, which are donated in remembrance of past Spring Grove Horse show members that were "overachievers" and won't be forgotten.
Gone is the carnival atmosphere of the 1970’s and 1980’s. But the objectives of the Show Committee remain the same: to continue to improve the Spring Grove community and Horse show grounds and to educate and encourage an interest in horses. Spring Grove is a unique community in that horses have been a part of the culture and a tradition for over 40 years!! Bring your horses or come and watch. We guarantee a “fun” time!!
We are a non-for-profit organization that seeks to encourage interest in horses. Spring Grove Horse Fair has always tried to maintain a friendly atmosphere, where good sportsmanship and having "fun" with your horse is stressed. Horse's can play a key role in the development of our children, as it teaches them to take care of another living being and also to have fun with them.
