The Chagrin Hunter Jumper Classic Celebrates 75 Years

Ohio’s Chagrin Hunter Jumper Classic has grown to be a premier equestrian event in the state since it was first held in 1949. From its origins as a fundraiser for the Chagrin Valley Trails and Riding Club to its current status as a U.S. Equestrian Federation Heritage Competition, this event brought us the first grand prix show jumping event in North America and continues to dazzle audiences with displays of skill in its hunter-jumper competitions.



Out of the Gate

We witness two of the most exciting minutes in sports each May with the running of the Kentucky Derby. But Ohio has its own historic and prestigious equestrian sporting tradition

In 1949, the Chagrin Valley Trails and Riding Club, which was founded three years earlier, launched a two-day horse show to help the organization’s construction of a new clubhouse. This new facility would offer competition classes in carriage driving, western riders and gaited horses, and its beautiful setting at the Cleveland Metroparks Polo Field in Moreland Hills quickly cemented its success.

After a decade, the show had evolved to focus more heavily on the hunter-jumper competitions, where horses and riders are challenged to jump a course with a series of obstacles. For a hunter competition, riders are judged on grace and elegance, while for a jumper competition, riders are judged more on speed and accuracy.

As the event grew, drawing more exhibitors and spectators, it soon became one of the largest outdoor shows in the country. The 2024 Hunter Jumper Classic is set for July 5 through 14.



Off to the Races

On a warm and blustery week in late July, 1965, 400 horses and ponies from 15 states gathered at the Cleveland Metroparks Polo Field for the chance to compete and win a $3,000 purse in the Cleveland Grand Prix, North America’s first ever grand prix show jumping event.

One of those present was Karen Schneider, a current co-chair of the Chagrin Hunter Jumper Classic (along with Rebecca McNish), whose involvement with the event started in the early 1960s, while helping her mother show horses.

“For me, it’s great memories of my mother being involved and my father helping out,” she says. “And good friends’ parents were helping out. I mean, I was a teenager at that point. It’s just great memories. It was a beautiful place to show down in the valley.”

It wasn’t long before the show would evolve again, adding the American Gold Cup in 1970 and the Chagrin Valley Hunter Jumper Classic in 1974.



On the Homestretch

After moving locations throughout the ’80s and ’90s, the event returned to the Cleveland Metroparks Polo Field during the 2000s and 2010s, before finally settling at Chagrin Valley Farms in Bainbridge in 2022. It had become a two-week-long event, which featured the Chagrin Valley Professional Horseman’s Association Horse Show and the Cleveland Grand Prix during the first week and the Hunter Jumper Classic during the second week.

The Chagrin Hunter Jumper Classic is one of only a handful of equestrian competitions in the country that has been designated a U.S. Equestrian Federation Heritage Competition, a prestigious title given to longstanding equestrian competitions that have helped promote and develop the sport.

Chagrin Valley Farms provides 87 acres of land and three rings of horse shows as well as two practice rings for spectators to enjoy all three days of the Hunter Jumper Classic. Events begin at 8 a.m. each day and run through the late afternoon. Seating is provided to visitors as well as vendor tents around the grounds which offer food, beverage and shopping at an additional cost.

“There’s a lot to see with the three rings going and the boutiques and food available,” Schneider says. “It can be a fun experience even if you’ve never had too much to do with horses and want to see what it's all about.”

The event draws over 10,000 people annually, as well as over 600 horses from 30 states and multiple countries.

“[The event] has a lot of terrific memories and history for the area,” Schneider says. “We’re trying to be the best boutique horse show for northeast Ohio … and we are trying to make it so that it’s fun like the old horse shows used to be.”