LONDON, OH, February 1, 2023 – Did you know that “horse heaven” comes to Columbus once a year? You do now! Elevate your equestrian experience to heavenly heights with Equine Affaire, happening April 13-16, 2023, at the Ohio Expo Center. For more than twenty years, Equine Affaire has reigned supreme as North America’s premier equine expo and equestrian gathering. Whether you’re new to the horse world or a lifelong horse enthusiast, this exciting horse expo can help you explore and expand your horizons in the horse industry.

Join tens of thousands of fellow horse lovers at Equine Affaire for four days of learning, sharing, networking, competing, riding, and shopping. Located at the Ohio Expo Center, this sprawling event features the nation’s largest horse-related trade show, a full schedule of educational clinics, seminars, and demonstrations, two riding competitions, activities for kids, educational exhibits, interactive activities with horses, and more! With our family-friendly ticket pricing, there’s no reason not to bring the whole family to spend a day – or two – exploring the horse world.

General admission tickets and tickets to Fantasia, Equine Affaire’s exciting nighttime performance, are available now. General admission tickets for adults are $16/person. Tickets for children, ages 7-10, are $10, and children, ages six and under, get free admission. Adult four-day passes are also available for $52! General admission includes all clinics, seminars, and demonstrations, access to the Versatile Horse & Rider Competition, the International Liberty Horse Association Freestyle Invitational, interactive activities, and all educational exhibits and pavilions.

Separate tickets are required to attend Fantasia, Equine Affaire’s musical celebration of the horse. Sponsored by Absorbine, this exciting and unique performance will return for three nights only on April 13, 14, and 15. Tickets for Fantasia range from $14-$25 and seats go quickly, so buy yours online today! Visit equineaffaire.com to purchase your tickets in advance.

Ready to learn more about everything you’ll see, enjoy, and experience at this spring’s phenomenal event?

COME LEARN, GROW, AND SHARE

Regardless of your learning style, if you want to learn more about horses, there’s an educational pathway open for you at Equine Affaire. Love watching demonstrations while an expert talks you through what they’re doing, thinking, and working through with a horse? Learn in person from some of the nation’s top horse trainers and instructors during more than 150 educational sessions, clinics, and demonstrations. This year’s clinician class is led by such industry standouts as Guy McLean, Julie Goodnight, Jonathan Field, and Jason Irwin, and includes a slew of discipline-specific clinicians who can offer you new ways to enhance your riding, handling, or driving skills. The preliminary schedule is available online today!

Prefer learning by doing? Equine Affaire is proud to present the “Ride with a Pro” initiative, which provides riders like you the chance to ride in a clinic at Equine Affaire. Clinic fees range in price from $85 to $350 and include clinic participation, event admission, and 24 hours of stabling, all for the opportunity to ride with or have your horse trained by a professional! You could ride with Rita Timpanaro (hunter/jumpers), Bronwyn Irwin (pole bending), Brad Barkemeyer (reined cow horse), Bryan Penquite (reining), JJ Tate (dressage), Ali Kermeen (working equitation), Carl Bledsoe (easy gaited horses), Julie Goodnight (general horsemanship), and so many more. Applications to Ride with a Pro are due by February 15.

Like to study over visual displays, chat with experts, and network with people one-on-one? There’s a way to do that, too! Visit our clinicians at their booths in the trade show to ask questions or delve deeper into topics. Stroll through the various educational exhibits in the Equine Fundamentals Forum, a corner of our event dedicated to novice horse lovers, and watch educational sessions in the EFF demo ring. If you want to learn more about a particular breed or type of horse, visit the Breed Pavilion! Located in its own building, the Breed Pavilion features stall-and-booth displays where real, live horses and their owners are waiting to chat with you about horses of a variety of different breeds, types, and disciplines. This year, you might even meet a real live Breyer horse celebrity! Head out to the barn to visit even more horses and displays in the Horse & Farms Exhibits, where equine business owners and service providers are set up to answer your questions and network with you.

LOVE THE THRILL OF COMPETITION?

Riders, it’s not too late to saddle up! Equine Affaire’s crowd-favorite competition, the Versatile Horse & Rider Competition, returns on Friday, April 14. Apply today for your opportunity to compete for $5,500 in cash and other prizes. A maximum of 25 pre-selected horse/rider teams will participate in the competition, which will consist of one round through the course. As the horse and rider teams race through the course and work through each obstacle, they will be judged on several horsemanship criteria as well as overall performance.

And if watching’s more your style, attend on Friday and watch a herd of talented riders and their horses tackle Equine Affaire’s unique and challenging obstacle course. Past obstacles have included pushing objects with mallets from horseback, crossing bridges, leaping through colorful balloon arches, ground-tying, pole bending, and more. You never know what you might see!

In conjunction with the International Liberty Horse Association, Equine Affaire is also proud to present the ILHA Freestyle Invitational, sponsored by EspanaSilk. This two-part invitational will feature horses and their handlers working at liberty. If you’ve never seen liberty before, you’ll want to attend this exciting competition and enjoy seeing horses and their people working in beautiful harmony together as they show off all they’ve accomplished.

SHOP OR SELL!

It wouldn’t be Equine Affaire without an opportunity to buy and sell! Our trade show floor is busy, diverse, and brimming with vendors from all across the industry. Shop for tack, grooming supplies, jewelry, décor, clothing, children’s goods, toys, books, and much more, all while meeting shop owners, artisans, authors, service providers, and other purveyors of goods related to the horse industry. With more than 300 vendors spread out across multiple venues, you’re guaranteed to find something you want, something you need, and maybe even a gift or two for family back home!

Got something of your own you’d like to sell? Bring your gently-used tack and other horsey items with you to consign through the Marketplace. Our friendly staff will sell your items for you while you shop and enjoy the event; then you can come back at the end of the day (or the end of the event) to pick up your cash and any leftover items. Our fees are lower than those of other venues, and the process to consign is easy! Register in advance through our website to save $5 on your consignment fees. It’s that easy! And if you love finding a good bargain, make sure to browse the goods on sale at The Marketplace.

Are you searching for a horse of your own to buy or adopt? Whether you’re looking to add to your herd or sell a horse, you can do that at Equine Affaire! Our “For Sale” stalls are a great way to advertise your sale horses in the Horse & Farm exhibits. You can also sign up to participate in our Sale Horse Showcases in order to ride, drive, or lead your sale horses through the coliseum in front of the crowd while our announcer reads their details. Equine Affaire is also partnering with the ASPCA’s Right Horse Initiative this year to offer the Adoption Affaire, where rescues and organizations can bring their horses for adoption to meet and greet with prospective adopters. No matter what kind of horse you’re looking for, you’re likely to find “the right horse” at Equine Affaire!

EXPERIENCE A SHOW UNLIKE ANY OTHER

Sponsored by Absorbine, Fantasia is Equine Affaire’s signature musical celebration of the horse. This fabulous show features unforgettable performances from equine and equestrian entertainers from across the world. This year’s show will feature a moving performance by Guy McLean, exciting drill team routines from the Diamond D Cowgirls and the Amish Friesians Drill Team, and a fiery Roman riding exhibition by Dusti Dickerson, plus a stellar showcase by the Knights of Iceland, liberty routines, trick riding, and more! Don’t miss Fantasia this spring. Buy your tickets early and reserve your seats for the show of the year, happening April 13, 14, and 15, at 7:30 pm in the coliseum at the Ohio Expo Center. Doors will open at 6:45 pm each evening.

BRING YOUR KIDS, TOO

Kids of all ages can enjoy everything Equine Affaire has to offer – but there are also plenty of activities designed especially for them! First, make sure your kids visit the Equine Fundamentals Forum to enjoy hands-on learning opportunities, such as braiding manes and tails, wrapping legs, identifying bones, and more. Kids can also participate in a Stick Horse Rodeo (happening daily at 3 pm) and win prizes, or make unicorn masks at our special craft station. For older youth, make sure to take time to participate in the Equine Affaire College and Career Fair, also stationed in the EFF, where they can learn all about different college and career paths related to the equine industry.

Equine Affaire is proud to partner with the Interscholastic Equestrian Association to present an intensive clinic on Sunday, April 16. This two hour clinic is formatted to review items from the judge’s perspective and will cover hunt seat and dressage disciplines in the IEA show format. If your child attends middle or secondary school and wants to compete, but doesn’t own a horse, IEA is the organization for you! Come attend the clinic and learn more about this awesome organization that works to make equestrian competition more accessible.

WANT TO HELP?

Volunteer your time and talents with Equine Affaire, and you could earn free admission to the event as well as fun souvenirs. While most of our volunteer positions require volunteers to be aged 18 years or older, volunteers ages 12-17 can volunteer to clean stalls, assist with youth activities, or hand out programs. If you’re interested, please sign up by February 24 and join our family of volunteers! We’d love to have you.

GOT QUESTIONS?

To learn more about this event, including details about our host hotels and other accommodations, visit www.equineaffaire.com or call our office at (740) 845-0085, 9:00am-5:00pm EST (M-F). For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @equineaffaire. We’d love to hear from you!

Equine Affaire gratefully acknowledges the generous sponsors who are making this year’s event possible: Absorbine, Rod’s, US Equestrian, Espana Silk, and GGT Footing. See you at Equine Affaire in Ohio!