The History of Valley Riders Saddle Club
The first official
meeting of Valley Riders Saddle Club was held at the Smith Valley Community
Center on March 21, 1965. There were 14 members in the club at that time.
The club was incorporated on March 4, 1965.
The first horse
show sponsored by Valley Riders was held on June 5, 1965, with performance
and gaming classes. Also on the show bill was a diaper race, three legged
race, cob race and a catalogue race. The show was held in a lot next to the
Smith Valley Community Center. That was the only show held in 1965. Shows in
1966 were held at various farms.
In the spring of
1967 a permanent arena was built at the Bob Briggs farm. The club remained
at that location until 1978, when they moved to the arena at Karen and Bob
Buck's. For health reasons, Karen and Bob moved to Colorado in 1981, making
another move necessary. Arrangements were made with the Johnson County Fair
Board to have the shows at the arena in front of the grandstand. The first
year at the fairgrounds the club sponsored a two day AQHA, IQHA approved
show, which was very successful.
In 1981, the club
began investigating the possibility of building a new horse arena at the
northeast corner of the fairgrounds. This was something that had been talked
about for many years. It was agreed that Valley Riders and 4-H Horse and
Pony would supply materials and the labor to build the arena. It was
completed in 1982. The first show held in the new arena was a two day show
approved by ISHA, PHBA and MABA.
Due to the
fairgrounds expansion project, Valley was forced to find a new home in 1996.
Plans were finalized and with the combined effort of Valley Riders and 4-H
our current show arena became reality in the southwest corner of the
fairgrounds. 1998 saw a 50 stall barn and 2000 saw a new shelter beside the
entry booth. A new concession stand was added in 2001 and new restrooms and
showers were built in 2002. A new makeup arena was added in 2003 and a new
building for storage and to house the Egenolf Education Center was built in
2005.