Draft horse teams and drivers from across the country and Canada will meet to compete at The Big E $30,000 Six-Horse Hitch Showdown on Thursday, Sept. 29 through Sunday, Oct. 2. The competition is a qualifying show of the North American Six-Horse Hitch Classic Series.

Eastern States Exposition (ESE) was honored in 1998 to be chosen to host The North American Six Horse Hitch Classic Series World Championship Finals in 1999, 2002, 2003, and 2004.

Teams and drivers square off in classes for carts, tandems, unicorns, teams and fours. (The “unicorn” hitch is three horses hitched as a team with one horse in front of the team.) Divisions include men, women and juniors categories and by draft horse breed.

The North American Classic Series began in 1987 with an idea of Dr. John Weber of Ocala, Florida with the goal to “promote the draft horse breeds in all levels of competition.”

Seven Percheron hitches have won the competition in the last 12 years.

In related news, the ESE has been selected as the site of the 2014 World Percheron Congress in 2014.

The World Percheron Congress event marks the first time the show will take place in the Northeast. The first Congress was held in Angleterre, England, in 1978. Since then, 14 subsequent congresses have taken place around the world in France, Canada and the United States. The most recent events were held in Toronto in 2008, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines in 2010, and France will host the 2011 show in Normandy.

Wayne McCary, president and CEO of Eastern States Exposition, said in an announcement after the event was confirmed, “Our new covered equine arena, perfectly suited for a show of this magnitude, was instrumental in the Congress deciding to move its event to the Northeast.”

The $2.2 million project includes a canopy connector from the exposition’s C-Barn to its coliseum, making it possible for competitors to warm up their horses and enter the coliseum completely under cover.

With the 2014 event taking place nine days after the ESE Draft Horse Show on the final days of The Big E, Exposition officials anticipate that participants will stay in the area and enjoy local attractions and amenities in anticipation of the October event.
Exposition officials vowed to continue their commitment to agriculture and the Horse Show by further developing infrastructure to maintain ESE’s position as New England’s most sought-after equine destination.

“I am confident that this project will further solidify the exposition’s position as the premier horse show facility in the northeast. Our commitment to agriculture and our horse show, which began here in 1916, is ongoing,” McCrary noted.

The exposition is also home to 12 year-round horse shows as well as a major equine-related trade show, Equine Affaire, held each November.

Don't miss the Hallamore Clydesdales in the Mardi Gras parade daily.