COLUMBUS, OH, April 30, 2025 – With horses, donkeys, and mules in play everywhere you looked, the 2025 Equine Affaire in Ohio was truly an all-equine affair! North America’s premier equine exposition and equestrian gathering returned to the Ohio Expo Center on April 10-13. For four days, the fairgrounds at the Expo Center teemed with an abundance of clinics, seminars, demonstrations, shopping, activities, entertainment, and competitions, all of it perfectly arranged to showcase or support the talents and abilities of equines and equestrians of all shapes, sizes, and disciplines. Although the Ohio Expo Center was under construction as part of the Ohio Expo 2050 Master Plan, the staff, vendors, participants, presenters, clinicians, and attendees were happy to forge ahead with a fully-fledged four-day exposition – all for the love of equines.
“Equine Affaire has been held at the Ohio Expo Center since 1997, ever since we moved our event from the Hara Arena Complex to Columbus,” Coagi Long, president of Equine Affaire, said. “Although the construction at the Expo Center presented challenges in the planning and execution of our event this year, there are many exciting developments ahead for the facility as a result. We’re excited to see those changes come to fruition and improve the experiences of attendees and participants for events like ours.”
Construction dust aside, this year’s Equine Affaire included all the features that its fans have come to know and love, plus a few new ones. Always a cornerstone of the event, the educational program was unparalleled, offering hundreds of clinics, seminars, and demonstrations presented by dozens of equestrian educators, coaches, instructors, and industry experts. This year’s class of 2025 clinicians included Ryan Rose, Julie Goodnight, Tik Maynard, Cole Cameron, Luke Reinbold, Luke Gingerich, Barbra Schulte, Traci Brooks, Jennifer Truett, Steve Lantvit, Ivy Starnes, Marcie Quist, Sandi Simons, Wendy Murdoch, Connie Combs, Ty Evans, Kellie & Sam Rettinger, Ifa Simmonds, Mary Miller-Jordan, the Canadian Cowgirls, and many more. Attendees also enjoyed learning about cow-oriented Western events through Cowtown in Cooper, a special wing of the educational program sponsored by Western Life Today. Working with live cattle provided by Dave and Kristine Treharn, horses and riders honed their skills in a variety of clinics presented by Steve Lantvit, Cole Cameron, Luke Reinbold, Julie Goodnight, and Barbra Schulte.
Visitors also enjoyed many opportunities to learn about all things donkey through the Donkey Extravaganza, a brand new feature. Presented in partnership with Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, the largest donkey rescue organization in the United States, the Donkey Extravaganza featured educational exhibits, hands-on opportunities, and a full schedule of donkey-specific educational presentations. Held in the Voinovich Livestock and Trade Center, the Donkey Extravaganza truly shone as a highlight of the event for everyone. The event helped bring awareness and education about donkeys to all who attended. Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue also brought several donkeys for adoption, and they all found new homes by the end of the event.
“Participating in the Ohio Equine Affaire and launching the inaugural Donkey Extravaganza was an extraordinary experience for Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue,” Kim Elger, chief operating officer of Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, said. “We were thrilled by the community’s enthusiastic response, evident in the swift adoption of every donkey we brought. Events like this provide invaluable opportunities to educate the public about donkey welfare and adoption, emphasizing that donkeys make incredible companions deserving of love and proper care. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Equine Affaire to further our mission of improving donkey welfare across the country.”
The Breed Bonanza, sponsored by Sentinel by Kent and Blue Seal, was another brilliant new highlight of this year’s Equine Affaire. The unique under-saddle rail class invited all breeds and disciplines to compete in the ring together. The competition was split into a youth division and an adult division, with each division boasting a variety of breeds: Mustangs, Friesians, Rocky Mountain horses, Gypsies, Shires, Quarter Horses, and more. On Sunday, April 13, judges Terry Myers, Erin Miley, and Jamie Barkhau evaluated each contender on their quality of gaits, horsemanship, and turnout. In the youth division, Alexa McQueen took home the top prize aboard Shooting for a Hot Investment, a 19 year old Pinto/Paint gelding. In the adult division, Alexis Miller and Ryklof, a 12 year old Friesian gelding, scored first place honors. Each winner received a beautiful, embroidered cooler and a champion ribbon. Special thanks to Sentinel by Kent and Blue Seal for sponsoring this all-breeds event! For a full list of placings, please visit equineaffaire.com/press.
Equine Affaire was also proud to host the 2025 Versatile Horse and Rider Competition, which took place on Friday, April 11 in the US Equestrian Coliseum. Win-Seek Fallen Pines supplied some of the obstacles for this year’s obstacle course, which included a teeter-totter, a big bear, a bridge framed with pine boughs, and other challenging elements. A full slate of 25 contenders – including twenty-two horses and three mules — competed under the watchful eye of judge Barbra Schulte. With a class that included multiple past champions, reserve champions, and top ten finishers, the competition was fierce. In the end, Sidney Hawk and her stunning 9 year old American Quarter Horse gelding, Tj Smokin Silverado, reigned supreme. Hawk and “Tj” were also the winners of the 2024 Ohio VHRC. They won $2,500 in cash and other prizes with a score of 80.5. Second place went to Kayla Bossler aboard Masquerade, who won $1,500. Our third place finisher was Corie Arnold aboard Gus, winning $1,000, and our fourth place rider was Brenda Hanson aboard Ace, who took home $500. For a full list of placings and scores, please visit equineaffaire.com/press.
The competitive spirit of the weekend extended beyond the Coliseum and into the trade show with the second annual Ohio Best Booth Award contest. On Thursday of the event, the Equine Affaire event staff toured the trade show, evaluating each booth based on innovation, creativity, and visual interest. After careful deliberation, five finalists were selected: Deb Little Photography; Cattle Cartel; Tyler Shupe Leather; Boomerang; and the Ohio Horseman’s Council. The staff also awarded honorable mentions to six other booths: American Saddlebred Association; The Healing Cowgirl; Stride Out; Sue Carson Saddles; Savvy Horse Products; and Vodaland.
The five finalists were submitted to our social media audiences for a vote, and by the time the voting concluded on Saturday, Tyler Shupe Leather emerged as the clear winner! Although this marked only the second time Tyler Shupe Leather had exhibited at Equine Affaire, his booth drew the eyes of our staff and attendees alike because of its clearly branded aesthetic; gorgeously appointed displays that set products off to their best advantage; and the innovative use of space to create an inviting shopping experience. Tyler Shupe Leather won a certificate, a credit toward their 2026 Ohio booth space, and the honor of displaying the Equine Affaire Best Booth Award banner over the booth for the remainder of the event. Congratulations to Tyler Shupe Leather and all their connections.
The eleven booths recognized in the Best Booth Contest represented only a handful of the hundreds of vendors who helped make Equine Affaire in Ohio the largest horse-related trade show in North America. The trade show sprawled from the Bricker Annex to the Bricker Building to the Voinovich, drawing shoppers in with a cornucopia of goods ranging from equine tack, gear, and apparel to equestrian decor and books to supplements, feeds, insurance, and other services, plus everything in between. Shoppers on the hunt for secondhand goods enjoyed touring the ever-popular Marketplace Consignment Shop, located in the Voinovich, where attendees could consign gently used equine and equestrian goods for resale.
While the days were filled with activities, education, and shopping, the evenings were filled with entertainment through Equine Affaire’s musical celebration of the horse, Fantasia! A beloved tradition for generations of horse lovers and their families, Fantasia is a two-hour musical theatrical show that showcases the art of horsemanship in all its various forms. This year’s Fantasia included a wealth of exciting performances, from gladiator chariot races with the Whispery Pines Percherons and Amish speed racing with the Miller and Yoder families to drill team performances by the Canadian Cowgirls, trick riding and Roman riding by Liberty Cunningham, and more. Nicolas Diaz performed a beautiful lighted garrocha routine aboard his Andalusian, Fuego, while his mother, Staci Diaz, performed liberty with her Andalusian, Conquisto. Steve Lantvit and his squad of cowgirls brought a taste of Cowtown to Fantasia in a special boxing demonstration, showing off the abilities of both horses and riders to work with cows. Ermes Zamperla and company produced a fantastical bareback and cossack routine. And finally, Luke and Kaylee Gingerich stole everyone’s hearts with a bridleless riding and liberty routine that exhibited the talents and beauty of their horses and their shared horsemanship.
Year after year, the ASPCA Right Horse Adoption Affaire has proven to be a wildly successful part of Equine Affaire, and this year was no different. Five partner equine adoption organizations brought a total of 33 adoptable horses and donkeys to the event in the hopes of finding new homes for them all. By the end of the event, thirty equines were adopted marking another successful event for horses and people alike. For those unable to adopt at Equine Affaire, please visit myrighthorse.org to meet adoptable equines across the county.
“Having adoptable horses at Equine Affaire is an incredible opportunity to connect horses to potential homes,” said ASPCA Right Horse Program Director Cailin Caldwell. “Engaging with attendees to share more about equine adoption—some for the first time—benefits not only the horses at the event but those across the country, too.”
A host of other activities also ensued over the weekend, including the ever-popular Drive A Draft, presented by the Whispery Pines Percherons team; the Great Equestrian Fitness Challenge, a fun barnyard Olympics-style competition; Equestrians in Motion, a series of interactive workshops hosted by Ifa Simmonds, coach and founder of the Equestrian Fitness Academy; and plenty more.
For an even more robust glimpse into the experience of Equine Affaire in Ohio, including interviews with more than a dozen of the vendors, clinicians, presenters, and participants who were there, make sure to check out the official Equine Affaire podcast. Glenn Hebert and Ashley Winch of the Horse Radio Network collaborated with Allison Rehnborg of Equine Affaire to produce three special episodes of the official Equine Affaire podcast, recorded and produced live on site. You can listen to the Equine Affaire podcast – including all past episodes, which are produced on a monthly basis – on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, and Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen from your desktop or laptop here: https://www.horseradionetwork.com/shows/equineaffaire/.
The staff of Equine Affaire would like to invite you to join us later this year at Equine Affaire in Massachusetts, happening November 6-9, 2025, at the Eastern States Exposition in W. Springfield. Advance general admission tickets to this event and to Fantasia in Massachusetts will go on sale starting July 9, 2025. Applications to exhibit in the trade show are available at https://equineaffaire.com/events/massachusetts/mass-exhibit/mass-trade-show/mass-exhibitor-information/. For more information about Equine Affaire in Massachusetts, visit equineaffaire.com/events/massachusetts or call our office at (740) 845-0085. We look forward to seeing you! We also invite you to save the dates for the next Equine Affaire in Ohio, which will take place at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, OH, on April 9-12, 2026.
Equine Affaire gratefully acknowledges the generous support of its sponsors, including Rod’s, US Equestrian, Pro Earth Animal Health, Sentinel by Kent and Blue Seal, Western Life Today, LRP Matting, and others. To learn more about Equine Affaire and stay up to date on everything related to Equine Affaire in Ohio, visit www.equineaffaire.com or follow us on Facebook and Instagram @equineaffaire. We’ll see you at Equine Affaire!
Media Contact:
Allison Rehnborg, Marketing Coordinator
Equine Affaire, Inc.
Phone: (740) 845-0085 ext. 103
arehnborg@equineaffaire.com
www.equineaffaire.com
*Pictures Available Upon Request