Pickering Horse Show plans to pull through
Skye Pournazari
9-10-20 Pickering Horse Show Poster.jpg
PICKERING, Mo. — The 83rd annual Pickering Horse Show is not taking a break for the COVID-19 pandemic and is scheduled to kick off with an evening of entertainment and a horse pull on Friday, Sept. 18.
The “Biggest Little Horse Show in the World” has been held annually since its inception in 1934, with the exception of 1942-1945, during World War II.
And this year will be no different … well a little different. While the Lions Club-sponsored show still will be held, some changes were required said member Bob Whipple.
“We cut down due to the virus,” he said. “We’re pretty disappointed in this virus. … It’s kind of sad.”
A lot of the ideas for youth have been cut from the event in an effort to keep people safe. He explained that this year Professor Farquar and Polecat Annie were scheduled to perform, but since it’s a close up magic show that doesn’t really allow for social distancing, it and other happenings were canceled.
Show organizers had planned to pick up children with horses and wagons, but decided safety was more important.
“When I was a kid, they let us out of school for the show,” Whipple said. He continued saying that they played games, like the three-legged race that “geared up, hyped up the kids for the show.”
The show has consistently pulled competitors and crowds from several states. It was admission free until 1956, when buying a ticket entered the purchaser in a raffle to win either a team of matched horses or a set of harnesses, according to the event’s Facebook page.
Through the decades, the event has added track meets, food contests, agriculture displays, talent and baby shows, and more.
Recently the Lion’s Club had hosted a Money Scramble for children, but this year that also has been canceled.
Whipple said there has just been less interest in the event and dropping on the ground $200 from the gate, became a good deal for the 10 to 12 children involved, but not so for the Lions Club.
New this year
On Friday night, singer-songwriter and guitarist Carlene Hall, of Malvern, Iowa, will perform at the show starting at 6:30 p.m.
Born into a musical family, Hall’s heart has been full of songs all along, her website notes.
“My repertoire crosses genres from pop standards, western swing and traditional/classic country to contemporary country, blues, and rock,” she wrote. “Personal experience has urged me to write about the humor, life lessons, heartbreaks and joys of life.”
In her career she’s been a part of numerous professional shows including Lee Mace’s Ozark Opry in Osage Beach, Missouri, the Paola Opry in Paola, Kansas, and a part of the DeSoto Days Festival in DeSoto, Kansas.
She has opened for numerous well-known artists including Joe Nichols, Ray Price, Joe Diffie, Andy Griggs, Connie Smith, Steve Azar and Michelle Wright.
Admission is $6. Entrance for children age 6 and younger will be free.
New this year the club scheduled a Poker Run for Saturday morning. Starting with registration at 9:30 a.m., anyone is welcome to take part in the six-mile course
“They don’t even have to have a horse,” Whipple said. “They can walk or run it, if they’d like.”
He said the race will head east of Pickering about two miles before turning south for about a half-mile, then back west and north back into Pickering.
Cost to enter the run is $20. A 50 percent payback with $500 added money and five-place payback will allow “for some pretty big pots,” Whipple said.
Proceeds from the run will be used for club scholarships.
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Cody Gray is shown in 2018 with his first draft horse team of Rex and Shorty at the Pickering Horse Show.
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Carlene Hall Singer-Songwriter
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From left, Jace, Koy and Kimber Nelson stand next to a draft horse team owned by Cody Gray at the 2018 Pickering Horse Show.
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Eliza Clements carries the American flag during the singing of the national anthem at the 2018 Pickering Horse Show in Pickering, Missouri.
