Draft horse show offers a glimpse of historic transport

A huge crowd caught a glimpse of past glories over the weekend when the mightiest of horses stepped out from “yesterday” shaking up the arena at Eagle Crest in the 16th Annual Central Oregon Invitational Draft Horse Show.

Horse power was the name of the game as the massive drafts leaned into their harnesses and dug into the ground reaffirming their incredible strength and endurance.

The stunning examples of the massive steeds that were represented at the show included Clydesdales, Shires, American Creams, Belgians, Percherons, Red Percherons and Norwegian Fjords.

There was something exciting for everyone who came to watch. The Crazy 8s pony hitch wagon races and chariot races were among the crowd-pleasers. The log skid and farm implement classes brought history to life as they demonstrated the livelihoods of our ancestors.

The raw power of the rare eight-horse hitch class brought the cheering crowd to its feet.

Cathy Zosel-Offutt and her 15-year-old son Jarvis came from Eugene to see the show. It was their first time.

“The people here are so genuine and helpful,” said Cathy. “Do you know three different people stopped and gave my dog bottled water today? All the people here…competitors and employees alike are so dear and thoughtful. We love Central Oregon. My son Jarvis, who got a chance to work behind the scenes at the show with (Sisters trainer) Lea McFarland-Bushnell, said to me, ‘mom, I am at home here in Central Oregon and I am at home-home when I am working with the horses.’”

Lea McFarland-Bushnell gave two dressage performances each day of the show on a beautiful Friesan gelding named “Smoke” from Knapp Friesans of Sisters and on a magnificent Lusitano stallion named “Piloto,” owned by Stan and Linda Stenstadvold of Sisters.

“This was a great show to exhibit these ancient breeds of horses; I am happy they have gotten such good exposure here. Everything went great,” said Bushnell.

The show is an invitation-only event that draws an elite group of competitors and their quality hitch teams from all over the West Coast and Idaho. It has become a traditional event for many families who keep coming back year after year to enjoy the top caliber competition.

“We are so happy with the turnout this year,” said Jeanne Lorenz who works for Eagle Crest and has been coordinating the show for the past 12 years. “We have many people from the audience who have been coming to the show religiously from all over the U.S. each year.”

Each year the drivers and hitches are carefully selected by Jerry Andres, CEO of Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond, owner of Sisters View Clydesdales, and founder of the event.

“Spectators are always treated to a wide variety of classes and demonstrations with almost every popular draft breed represented,” said Andres. “This was our biggest and best represented show to date and I think it is a reflection of the growth of Central Oregon.”

Jerry and Jinny Andres usually show their black Clydesdales in most every class at the event, unfortunately this year they had a nearly disastrous accident before the show on Saturday. As their driver, Todd Lyche, was getting the team ready for their class the grooming stool he was standing on tipped over and into the Clydesdale next to him causing a domino effect with the whole team.

Lyche and two horses went down along with all the metal tie stalls while the rest of the startled team jumped and scrambled to get out of the way.

“It was a messy heap and pretty frightening,” said Andres. “All of our tie stalls were demolished, but luckily beast and man turned out to be okay, and that’s all that matters anyway.”

Because the accident canceled his run, Andres got to watch the entire show on Saturday.

“This is the first time in 16 years that I have actually been able to just sit and watch the whole show. It was quite enjoyable, and now I see why so many people keep coming back each year,” said Andres.