Alltech National Horse Show adds
$50,000 Puissance to 2012 agenda

The Alltech National Horse Show announced that this year’s Open Jumper schedule has added a $50,000 Alltech Puissance class to be held on Friday evening.

Following its debut last year, the second edition of the Alltech National Horse Show in Lexington, Kentucky, is set for Oct. 30 through November 4, 2012. The show will once again be held at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The Puissance class is a high-jump competition with the big wall often reaching over seven feet in height. This class is added to an Open Jumper division that this year will feature well over $400,000 in prize money.

“Puissance is an exhilarating display of power and performance in jumping,” said Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. “It is a tremendously exciting spectator event; a ‘wow’ event that brings equestrians and the general public alike to the edge of their seats. It is a great way to add an extra spark to an already thrilling horse show.”

“We’re very excited about adding the Puissance to our schedule,” said National Horse Show Association President, Mason Phelps Jr. “A number of horsemen suggested it, but we’re most energized about the crowd appeal that the Puissance class brings for our audience. We’re doing all we can to increase our spectators and to do that we have to increase our spectator appeal, as well. With the Puissance and the addition of the American Saddlebreds, we feel we’ll be creating a real equestrian show for the folks attending this year’s Alltech National Horse Show.”

Last year’s show drew thousands of attendees, in addition to nearly half a million viewers who watched the events unfold online.

More than 560 horses and 350 riders from nine countries, including nine Olympic veterans competed last year.

“With bigger prize money, an extra competition day and these new classes,” Phelps said, “we are very excited about what lies ahead. We hope that everyone will mark their calendars for this year. With what we learned during our first year, I can promise you that the Alltech National Horse Show in 2012 will prove to be an amazing event.”

For more information on the National Horse Show Association of America, Limited, please visit www.nhs.org.

From Alltech