2015 Martinganza Wraps Up With Over 5,500 Entries to Sold-Out Crowd
Photo courtesy of Brittany Blankenship.
By: Brittany Bevis
The 2015 Martinganza Quarter Horse Show and Futurity surpassed expectations once again by recording a boost of more than 500 entries over the show last year. Taking place in Williamston, a historic town situated on the bank of the Roanoke River in North Carolina, the Martinganza played to a sold out crowd of AQHA competitors vying for qualifying points and looking to score some extra cash in futurity classes.
“Our flat fee and our move to April, to better weather, has once again proven this was the right decision for our group,” says Show Secretary Susan Daniels. “We had over 5,500 AQHA and NSBA entries this year. We were at a little less than 5,000 AQHA and NSBA entries in 2014. That’s a big increase for us, for sure!”
Some of the largest classes of the show included the following.
- Amateur Ranch Riding- 15
- L1 Amateur Western Pleasure- 17
- L1 Youth Horsemanship- 18
- L1 Youth Hunter Under Saddle- 18
- L1 Amateur Horsemanship- 18
- L1 Amateur Hunt Seat Equitation- 19
- L1 Youth Showmanship- 20
- Amateur Performance Halter Geldings- 22
- Youth Hunter Under Saddle- 22
- Queen’s Training Class- 23
- L1 Amateur Hunter Under Saddle- 25
- English Open Walk-Trot- 25
- L1 Amateur Showmanship- 27
Martinganza’s loyal following of exhibitors keeps returning year after year to enjoy the top-notch competition as well as a slew of fun social events sprinkled throughout the four-day event.
Photo courtesy of Brittany Blankenship.
“We had our morning hospitality with coffee, hot chocolate, and donuts,” Daniels says. “Then, we had our wonderful Exhibitors’ Party on Friday night with a meal of NC Eastern BBQ and fried chicken with vegetables and dessert. We had a DJ, mechanical bull, and door prizes too. Decorating was done by Denice Lawrence and Amber Nead and their wonderful assistants. Also, we did pizza on Thursday and Saturday nights for the exhibitors still showing because the show ran so late.”
Another big hit with exhibitors is the show’s vendor bucks that are awarded in lieu of ribbons. Competitors do have the opportunity to trade vendor bucks in for ribbons if they prefer. However, many use the bucks to do a little horse show shopping, grab a bite to eat at the concession stand, or take money off their show tab. “It’s our way to give back to our exhibitors for their participation.”
Since it was Easter weekend, the show hosted an Easter service on Sunday morning and provided a fun Easter Egg hunt for the tiniest competitors.
Time to Easter Egg Hunt! Photo courtesy of Gordon Downey.
“We had an Easter Egg hunt on Friday for the little ones with the help of the NCQHA Youth team and their advisor, Susan Ostrander,” Daniels says. “Some of our members, Beth Herndon, and Matt and Jana Frazier, sponsored the Easter Eggs. We provided Easter Baskets as prizes.”
Click on the links below to view complete results from the show.
2015 Martinganza Award Winners1
2015 Martinganza Fri-Sat-Sun Results1
2015 Martinganza Thurs-Fri-Sat Results1
Click on the links below to view photo galleries from the show.
