INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Hoosier Horse Fair & Expo kicked off last Friday with attendance up from previous years, but the best was yet to come the following day: A live auction benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and a showcase featuring horse-related acts entertaining the large crowd.

 

Vic Boyer, a member of the board of directors for the Indiana Horse Council and co-chair of the Hoosier Horse Fair & Expo, said business was good for the first two days of the Expo.

 

“It’s been great,” he said. “Friday’s ticket sales have been way up, and as far as vendors, some have said their business was way up. Today, things have kind of been over the moon – Saturday is our big day.”

 

The Expo featured dozens of entertaining acts, competitions and learning clinics for horse fans, including some never before seen at the event.

 

“Today we’ve had some different events  that we haven’t tried before, and one of those is the over the weight horse pull,”

Boyer explained.

 

“We had 16 teams in, and they basically pull until the last rider can’t pull anymore. We had a terrific crowd for that; there were probably 5,000 or 6,000 people in that arena.”

 

In another arena, crowds were drawn to a new all-women jousting act. Many horse owners who attended watched world-famous horse clinicians demonstrate riding techniques and pass knowledge on how to get the most from owning a horse.

 

One particularly wellknown group, the Lyons family, taught fans a few different lessons in riding. One such fan, Darlene Cooper of Indianapolis, came to the Expo with her husband and 4-year-old son, Mazden. 

 

“I really enjoy John Lyons’ clinics,” she said. “Every year I just love coming here because of the energy you get from others who love horses like you do, and seeing all the different breeds and learning.”

 

The real magic of the Expo came at 7:30 p.m. when a live auction was conducted to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation and 11 Make-A-Wish children who attended the fair during the day.

 

“Probably the greatest thing we do, in my heart, is the Make-A-Wish auction,” Boyer said.

 

The auction, which raised more than $16,000 for the foundation that grants wishes to children facing life-threatening illnesses, sold off a variety of horse-related items. Later, during the showcase, some of the children were driven into the arena on two horse-drawn carriages – a Cinderella-themed carriage for the girls, and a trolley-style carriage for the boys.

 

One item that sold for a significant price  was a buckskin gelding horse donated by a 12-year-old girl from Connersville, Ind., named Breanna Carney.

 

“We have another young lady here, Breanna, who has a unique story.” Boyer said. “When she was younger, she bugged her parents to get a horse.

 

“But she didn’t want just any horse – she wanted a mare and foal, and she was going to take that foal and make it a racehorse, and it was going to be a champion. Long story short, that’s exactly what she did.”

 

He said Carney raised a foal from infancy and started entering it in races. By the third race, this horse was winning competitions and eventually won $100,000. Carney used half the money to make a down payment to her parents on a farm, and the rest she donated to various charities.

 

Recently her story was picked up by film production studio TriStar Pictures, which is planning to make it into a movie. After the auction, the Saturday Night Showcase commenced with appearances by three Cowgirl Hall of Famers and many horse-riding acts and entertainers. The showcase wrapped up at almost

11 p.m.