Secretariat descendants to descend on The Meadow for show

A historic family Reunion will take place July 26 at The Meadow Event Park in Caroline County.

The Meadow Descendants Gathering at the new Thoroughbred Heritage Horse Show will bring together 51 horses that are related to Secretariat or other Meadow Stable champions. The special ceremony will take place at 12:30 p.m. in Ring 1.

The show, which has attracted about 165 horses, will open July 25 and conclude July 27. Admission is free for spectators.

“Since we are holding the show at The Meadow, the birthplace of Secretariat, we wanted our competitors to get in touch with their horses’ heritage,” said organizer Krista Hodgkin. “We gave them the names of Meadow horses, but they had to do their own research into their horses’ pedigrees. This ceremony is a way of honoring the remarkable legacy that Meadow Stable represents to the Thoroughbred community.”

Organizer Katie Gardner is leading by example. She will show Frankly My Dear, a descendant of Sir Gaylord. Sir Gaylord was a 1962 kentucky derby favorite whose mother, Somethingroyal, gave the world Secretariat in 1970.

“We are thrilled that the Thoroughbred Heritage Horse Show is showcasing Meadow bloodlines with this unprecedented gathering,” said Leeanne Meadows Ladin, Secretariat tourism manager at the venue. “To our knowledge, this will be the largest assembly of Meadow descendants anywhere in recent history.”

Ladin added that several local grooms and jockeys who worked at The Meadow for founder Christopher Chenery and later for his daughter, Penny Chenery, are expected to attend the ceremony.

The three-day show will highlight off-track Thoroughbreds that have been retrained for new careers away from the racetrack. It has attracted horses from Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Pennsylvania that will compete in such classes as hunter, jumper, dressage, side saddle, Western and combined training. Ladin will lead narrated tram tours of The Meadow’s historic sites on July 26.

For show information, visit facebook.com/thoroughbredheritagehorseshow.