Photos by Charlie Leffler
Above: On the competition course, rider Payton Hardinge works Oohlala through the obstacles. Below: Local trainers Eric Dirks and Jan Simpson watch as Hardinge takes Oohlala through the course.

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  There’s something about the allure of horse and rider, hard at work evidencing of their skills in unison that’s pleasurable to watch.  Therefore it is not surprising that being part of the festive and amply hospitable grounds of the annual Deep Run Horse Show in Manikin-Sabot has been a tradition of many for over 120 years.

  Local trainer Jan Simpson pointed out why Deep Run is so popular. “The courses are beautiful, the footing is wonderful,” she said. “The whole show grounds is traditional, old-fashioned, beautiful, with plenty of room for everybody.” 

  Fellow trainer, Eric Dirks agreed, “It’s more of a spectator oriented horse show than a lot of the others we go to,” he said. “They really do try to make it a family atmosphere.”

  It is the atmosphere that makes Deep Run special to Simpson. “The thing that I love is that it’s an all volunteer horse show; and a group of wonderful people get together to work very hard year-round to put this show on,” she said. “And I think it shows in what a beautiful place it is and what a great job they do. We’ve been coming here for thirty years, and it’s always been a wonderful horseshow that just seems to be getting better and better.  It has great support from the local community; and they try to work with you to do the best for the riders and the horses.  And for the spectators, this makes it more pleasant for them.”

Dirks and Simpson, who started Hampden Row Farm in Goochland County over 20 years ago, had 16 horses and riders showing this year.  Among them was McKenna Snidow riding Tango Boy. 

Snidow joined Dirks and Simpson within the last seven months with the view of improving her showing skills. In only the mount’s second time showing, Snidow did well riding Tango Boy, who was being leased from the Barracks in Charlottesville. 

  Rockville’s Caitlyn Woychik was another area rider looking to impress the judges, confidently working Everclear, her gelding, through his paces over the fences.

  “She’s done pretty good, said Rockville Farm trainer Steve Orr.  “She’s won a class this week; so we’re doing well, and happy with the progress so far.”
  Like Simpson and Dirks, Orr also has fond memories of the Deep Run Show.  “We’ve done really well at this show,” he said. “Caitlyn had a pony she showed two or three years ago here who was grand champion local pony here, so we’ve done well here.”

  Part of what made this year’s show exciting for the Hampden Row Farm trainers was the fact that new pairs of horse and riders were taking their skills into the testing grounds of showmanship.  Mostly Goochland residents, Ashley Cochran and Maxine are a new team as were McKenna and Tango Boy.  Pam Johnson’s daughter, Alison Whittamore was also newly teamed with Providence, mount owned by Manakin-Sabot’s Mary Keevil.  “It’s been a lot of new things this year, so that’s always exciting; it’s always fun,” Simpson said.

  “There’s lots of different areas that we are pursuing,” Simpson said.  This year she and Dirks had horses showing in: Children’s Hunters, Adults, Junior Hunter, Amateur and Pony Hunters, Exhibitors, as well as riders in the Bryant Trophy.  Yet, the pair seemed to take it all in stride. 

  “This is one of our very favorite horse shows, and it’s in our home town,” Simpson said. “Everybody loves to do well at home; so, that’s been our goal: to be prepared for everybody to feel like they can come over and have a great time.”

  But in the ring, things turn more serious with injuries are always an important concern especially with the wet weather this year.
 
  Thankfully, they were not a big part of the equation for this group.  “They are fragile animals, so you always try to take care of them the best that you can,” Simpson said.  In their case, having an inside ring allowed them to continue training without interruption. 

  Dirks pointed out that in recent years the Deep Run Show has made sure that the rings are safer. “As far as the horseshow goes, the rings here used to be grass,” he said. “And as far as the rain goes, it really used to put a damper on the security of the footing.  About five years ago, they put in all-weather footing; so, regardless of what the weather does, the footing stays safe.”

Dirks, who has also ridden at Deep Run annually since the late 70s, this year appeared on three horses: Louisville, Park Place and Maxine.