Arts & Entertainment
Miniature Horse Show Comes to Herndon
Catch the show at Frying Pan Park Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
As if National Measure Your Feet Day and the International Association of Youth Hypnotists weren't indication enough, there's a group for just about everything these days.
Even for the tiniest of horses.
Miniature horse enthusiasts from across Northern Virginia will travel to celebrate the animals this weekend at the first ever Summer Sizzle miniature horse show at Herndon’s Frying Pan Farm Park.
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The show, hosted by the Old Dominion Miniature Horse Club, starts at 8 a.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the park’s indoor arena on 2709 West Ox Road.
The miniature horse club was formed in 2011 to “stimulate the sale, breeding, exhibition, and ownership of the Miniature Horse in Virginia and beyond,” according to its website.
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But the fascination with the small steed dates back to the middle ages.
The first record of a miniature horse in America was recorded around 1888 — though, according to the club, the general public (read: most of us) didn't realize they existed until the 1960s.
If you're thinking of passing your pony off for the show, you won't have much luck; becoming a bona fide "miniature horse" is no small feat.
The American Miniature Horse Association and the American Miniature Horse Registry, the two governing bodies of the sport that are also endorsing this weekend's show, created a "Standard of Perfection" in 1978.
The requirements: for starters, the horse must stand less than 34 inches measured from the withers, the tallest part of the horse's body that meets the last hairs of its mane.
As of the late 1980s, only offspring of horses registered with AMHA are eligible to receive miniature horse certification, according to the group's website. And "to further ensure the breed's integrity," all foals born after 1995 "must be blood-typed and/or DNA-tested before any of their offspring can be registered."
The bottom line: while seeing horses on our trails and roads is about as common as Beltway traffic, odds are you won't see these guys in your back yard anytime soon. Plan your visit here.
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