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In 1935, Springfield’s 106th Cavalry National Guard Unit staged a horse show for its own members at the Illinois State Fair Coliseum. The show, under the supervision of a Captain Sullivan, was a mixture of civilian and military horses and riders, and was called “The Amateur Horse Show.” Now, many decades later, the original piecemeal Amateur Horse Show has grown into “The Midwest Charity Horse Show, ” one of the largest, non-subsidized multiple breed horse shows in the country.
      Four years after the cavalry’s Amateur Show, The Midwest Horse Show was organized. The show became an annual event through 1941. When World War II broke out, the U.S. Army Air Corps took over the state fairgrounds and the shows were suspended for the duration. In 1946, the show returned and in the late 1940s and early 1950s, new ideas were added to the pageantry surrounding the “Midwest.” A kickoff parade through downtown Springfield became an annual even. A queen contest was held in area high schools, resulting in a coronation ceremony and fashion show held, prior to the show’s opening, at the old Abraham Lincoln Hotel. The selected queen received a scholarship award from Springfield Marine Bank.
      During this period, citizens’ committees of businessmen and women selected which service organizations were to be the recipients of the proceeds of each annual event. In 1958, the Midwest Horse Show was chartered as a non-profit corporation, with a 15-member board of directors. The name was officially changed to “The Midwest Charity Horse Show.” At that time, the board decided to choose one organization each year to be the recipient of the profits made on the shows and to act as a sponsor of the show. Over the years, The Boys Club, Ansar Shrine, Chamberlain Park, Th% Service Club, and Cerebral Palsy have all received the benefits of the show. As the direction of the Midwest Charity Horse Show changed, the association and St. John’s Hospital Guild teamed up for a successful partnership that raised over $60,000 for St. John’s Hospital in the late 1970s.
      At the end of the 1990s, the show born in the 1930s with a mixture of a few cavalry and civilian horses now attracts approximately 700 performing horses from around North America. Breeds participating include American Saddlebreds, Hackney-Harness Ponies, Roaster Horses, Morgans and Arabians. The show has been named Best in Illinois by the United Professional Horsemen’s Association and Best in the Country by the American Saddlebred Horse Breeder’s Association. The original enthusiasm of the people involved in those early years still lives, in many third-and fourth-generation families of exhibitors and sponsors.
      The exhibitors and their beautiful show horses provide five days of continuous family entertainment to residents of Springfield and surrounding communities. In addition to the entertainment value of this event, those participating in the Midwest Charity Horse Show offer a substantial economic boost to the Springfield area: during the show the exhibitors spend over $1.3 million on goods, services and accommodations. Studies conducted by the State of Illinois indicate that every dollar spent in the community generates an additional dollar, bringing the total economic impact to $2.6 million annually.
      Since 1989, the Midwest Charity Horse Show Association has had as its co-sponsor, the Southern Illinois University, School of Medicine Foundation. An endowment fund has been established by Midwest Charity Horse Show Association, and all proceeds from the Midwest Charity Horse Show are donated to the COCO Children’s Cancer Fund, a project of the SIU School of Medicine whose primary project is Camp COCO, a one-week summer camp for children with cancer and blood diseases and their siblings.
      We honor those who have supported the Midwest Charity Horse Show, and express our appreciation to our co-sponsor and all those who have contributed.