There are very few small events at Langley’s Thunderbird Show Park.
In late May, just before the start of the Longines FEI Nations Cup, the show park hosts the Canadian Premier, and the grounds are crowded with horses, riders, grooms, and spectators.
“It’s a prelude to the big event,” said Chris Pack, chief operating officer and tournament manager.
The event will serve as a warm up for many of the riders who hope to participate in the internationally acclaimed show jumping Nations Cup event.
It gives riders a chance to start at a slightly lower height for their jumps, and to get practice on a grass field, Pack explained.
“There aren’t too many grass fields, anymore,” he added.
For a prelude, it’s crowded.
There are almost 1,000 horses and riders taking part, Pack said.
The Thunderbird Show Park hosts six major events a year, many of them with Olympic-level athletes and horses competing. Riders from senior levels to youths take part and compete for prizes.
Some major summer events include the Western Classic, the Summer Fort Classic, and the Touch of Class dressage competition.
That may not sound like many events, but the staff have to work all year round to make them happen.
In the winter, a full-time staff of 12 is busy setting up sponsorships, TV deals, and arranging events months in advance.
Then in April the season starts – with breaks between the shows to clean up and get the grounds back in order.
“It takes time to get the grounds back after a two-week horse show,” said Pack.
The stalls – all 1,200 of them – need to be cleaned, and the facility annually goes through 60,000 bags of wood shavings.
But when there isn’t a major event going on, things get quiet, except for maintenance.
“It’s strictly a horse show facility,” said Pack.
It can be rented in the off season for breed shows, dressage shows, and even a few dog shows – but that’s about it.
It doesn’t mean tbird will not host other events – in fact, it recently took its show on the road.
The Vancouver Grand Prix was a special event including jumping and polo horses held in a parking lot in downtown Vancouver, on Cambie Street.
The crew trucked in tons of sand and set up a bar and grandstands to show off 19 riders jumping for crowds.
Events like that one show off the park to those who’ve never heard of it. And the outreach seems to be paying off.
There has been big crowd growth in recent years, which has the park managers considering investing in more grandstands and bleachers.
With a five-star rating from the FEI, people are coming more and more.
“People recognize that the calibre of competition is increasing,” Pack said.
There is one other big equestrian event coming to tbird this year – the RCMP Musical Ride is back in town.
It’s been several years since they hosted the musical ride, but they’re looking forward to it, Pack said, noting it brings a lot of new people to check out the facilities.
“We get people to the park who say, ‘Wow, I didn’t even know this was here’,” he recounted.
On Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, the riders in red serge will display their precision drills for local audiences. All proceeds to charity.
It’s actually an easy show for tbird to put on, Pack said.
When they often oversee 1,000 or more horses, a couple of dozen well-trained RCMP mounts are no problem, he added, noting the major show season wraps up in September. Then it’s time to start immediately prepping for next year.
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