Lauren Hough and Ohlala at WIHS. (Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography)
The sight of 500 horses milling about seems like it would make more sense in the countryside than in Washington, D.C. There’s something odd about having hundreds of horses in a bustling, metropolitan city, but the Washington International Horse Show has brought its event to the U.S. capitol since 1958. The show has been at Verizon Center in Washington since 2000, and recently reached an agreement with facility-owner Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) to extend the run through 2016.
“We’ve had a longstanding relationship with WIHS,” said David Touhey, Sr. VP of MSE and GM of Verizon Center. “Both their predecessors and my predecessors had relationships and we’ve continued those. I think both sides are very happy to continue working together.”
Linda Macklin, media and PR director at WIHS, said that Verizon Center fits the company's needs in order to host a first-class event.
“It’s a great venue,” she said. “The concourse is great for our vendors, our silent auction, and for setting up educational tables.”
“We also love being in downtown Washington, because the exhibitors and the spectators that come to the show can really take advantage of being in the heart of the city to do some sightseeing,” she added.
Though being in the middle of the capital is exciting, there are definite challenges associated with holding an event with up to 500 live animals in a congested city. First, they need to find somewhere to put all of the horses.
Reed Kessler and Cylana compete. (Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography)
WIHS works with the city and the Department of Transportation to close off some of the streets surrounding the facility, where they then build stables and house the animals, as well as keeping some in stables within the facility. Each year, WIHS applies for a permit to close the streets and is required to cover the cost of additional police presence.
Touhey said that the coordinated effort between the city, the DOT, and even the neighbors starts long before the event loads in, and what could be seen as an inconvenience to the surrounding citizens has been embraced as an annual Fall tradition.
This year, the show runs Oct. 22-27, and has a tight load-in schedule.
“It’s a highly-orchestrated logistical affair, but the team at Verizon Center makes it as easy as possible for us,” said Bridget Love Meehan, WIHS executive director. “We move in Sunday night and within 24 hours we turn that professional sports arena into a horse show facility.”
Though the dirt that is brought in for the show is of a low-dust variety, there is still a significant clean up involved. Touhey said that Aramark Facilities Services is the cleaning contractor and that the cost is built into the rental fee for WIHS. It’s a straight rental cost, with Verizon Center keeping the food and beverage gross. Aramark is in charge of concessions, while Levy does the catering for the suites and also the VIP platforms, which are built especially for the event in the building’s end zones.
Ticket prices range from about $15 for a daytime event, to around $20 for a weekday evening event, and top out at about $40 for a weekend evening event. Highlights include Friday night’s Puissance high jump competition and the $100,000 prize for the President’s Cup Grand Prix. There is a free Kids’ Day on Saturday.
“Our community involvement has been growing over time with teaching kids about horses and how to groom them,” said Macklin, who added that the Kids’ Day also includes pony rides, crafts, and games.
About 200,000 tickets are sold over the six days of events each year, not including the free attendees during Kids’ Day.
Interviewed for this story: Linda Macklin and Bridget Love Meehan, (202) 525-2567; David Touhey, (202) 628-3200 x6042