Florida's Draft Horse show is coming to the horse capital of the world.

Feb 3-5, 2023 - FLORIDA HORSE PARK

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JUST A FEW WORDS

About the event

Trying to explain the atmosphere that you will find within the show ring of an elite all breed draft horse hitch show is hard to put into words, but here it goes…

Just imagine the possibility of 168 one ton horses in a ring at the same time, along with 21 world class hitch wagons, being maneuvered by some of the best drivers in the industry!  You can imagine the organized chaos that gets executed perfectly, a marvelous undertaking to see. The pure power and excitement of this equine venture is one of the most crowd pleasing horse events on the planet.  There will be up to 32 of these one ton draft horses working together at a full trot within the show ring all together.  Did we mention that the whole competition is done to hand picked music for each class.

Where

Florida Horse Park
11851 SW 16th Ave
Ocala, FL 34476

When

Feb 3-5, 2023 Friday to Sunday

Gates Open at 8:00 AM. Show Starts at 12:00 PM.

Don't miss out on seeing these enormous athletic horses perform!

To describe the intensity of auditory sensation and energy this amount of horse power can produce is chilling.  The thunderous sound of 672 pounding draft horse hooves I can only describe as pure horse power.  These 6 and 8 horse hitches demand your attention, not only in their power but with their majestic elegance.

Event Schedule

FridayGates Open at 8:00 AM
Show starts at 12:00 PM
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  • Opening Ceremonies
  • Belgian Ladies Cart
  • Percheron Team
  • Clydesdale Unicorn
  • Belgian Four Horse Hitch
  • Percheron Four Horse Hitch
  • Clydesdale Four Horse Hitch
  • Men's All Breed Cart Championship
SaturdayGates Open at 8:00 AM
Show starts at 12:00 PM
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  • Opening Ceremonies
  • Percheron Ladies Cart
  • Clydesdale Team
  • Belgian Unicorn
  • Florida's All Breed Six Horse Hitch Championship
  • Youth Team Class
SundayGates Open at 8:00 AM
Show starts at 12:00 PM
Read More
  • Opening Ceremonies
  • Clydesdale Ladies Cart
  • Belgian Team
  • Percheron Unicorn
  • Horse Capital of The World All Breed Six Horse Hitch Championship
  • Youth Cart Class
  • All Breed Four Abreast
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Event Classes

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Thank You to Our Sponsors

A FEW WORDS

About the event organizer

“My husband Shannon’s family began breeding black Clydesdales in the 1980s in Indiana. His mother called them ‘black diamonds’,” says Karen Cobbs, who grew up in Manitoba, Canada and is the third generation of her family to be involved in Clydesdales. “When we moved to Ocala in 2013, we decided to continue the tradition of breeding black Clydesdales.”The Cobbs, who were inducted into the Clydesdale Breeders of the USA Hall of Fame in April, breed and raise black Clydesdales on their 26-acre farm, where they have three stallions, a dozen broodmares and their offspring, as well as show horses. The farm hosts several draft educational clinics a year and gives private driving lessons. The Cobbs are also hay farmers, growing alfalfa and timothy.“Our horses get free-choice timothy hay to supplement their grain,” says Karen. “All horses are high maintenance, but horses the size of Clydesdales, 1,600-2,400 pounds, really are. It definitely helps to have your own hay supply.”Despite their size, Karen says, “Clydesdales truly are gentle giants. They have great dispositions; they are very laid back, have a lot of personality and are easy to train.”

“There are no major draft horse shows in Florida, so we decided to do something about that and created the Grandview Invitational International,” says Karen. “Our very first show will be February 1-3, 2019, at the Florida Horse Park. Our goal is for the show to become a major annual event here in Ocala so everyone can come out to enjoy Clydesdales.”

Shannon and Karen Cobbs Performing at the Toronto Royal

Venue

The Florida Agriculture Center and Horse Park is a 500-acre, multipurpose facility and one of Central Florida’s premiere venues for equine, agricultural, educational, and sporting events.
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