California Riding Magazine • September, 2008

More to Menlo
New barn brings even more elegance
to legendary show.

by Nan Meek

Consistently voted the number one hunter/jumper show in Northern California, and recently named number two in the country, the Menlo Charity Horse Show features more than beautiful horses and talented riders competing over exquisitely decorated fences for fabulous awards at the perfectly manicured Menlo Circus Club in Atherton.
In the words of Nancy Hey of Strideaway Farms, “Menlo shows how a community can come together for a very important cause that benefits many people.”



That cause is the Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, originally founded in 1936, and today serving more than 1,900 clients and families in San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties, with programs that promote independence and improve quality of life. Last year alone, the Menlo Charity Horse Show raised $470,000 for the Vista Center, about a quarter of the charity’s annual budget.

Nancy knows first-hand the importance of the services provided by the Vista Center. Legally blind since age 12, she calls herself “sort of a poster child for the show.” Nancy has served on the Vista Center board, is one of the 150-plus all-volunteer members of the Menlo horse show committee, and each year brings a contingent of her own students to the Menlo Charity Horse Show.

This year, Menlo had a great new look. Beyond the always beautiful hunter and jumper rings on the grass polo field, a new barn and revamped sand hunter ring emerged after a year of construction. The new barn, painted a soft green that blends into its elegant surroundings, is home to primarily hunters, jumpers and gaited horses that are in training or board at Menlo.

Stable manager Jennifer Dixon, also resident trainer of the JL Dixon Stables at Menlo, graciously provided an extensive tour. Not only is the layout of stalls, tack rooms, offices and restrooms an example of intelligent space planning, the new barn includes all the service areas every barn needs but many lack, such as farrier and veterinary bays, hay and shavings storage, and something rarely seen: wash stalls whose lights are on motion sensors for hands-free safety.
People are as well cared for as horses at Menlo. The clubhouse is open to exhibitors and spectators alike during the show, where many sample the buffet lunches, full bar, and enjoy either or both on the umbrella-shaded terrace overlooking the jumper ring.



Festive with sponsor-themed jumps such as Hermes, Tiffany, Bloomingdales and many more, the jumper ring flanks one side of the white-and-yellow Stacey & Tom Siebel VIP tent. On the other side of the tent, the grass hunter ring displays a range of natural-looking jumps only the most creative and resourceful designers could produce. Back by the new Menlo barn, the sand hunter ring gave spectators sitting on the grassy berm under a shady tent another visual feast of exquisitely turned out hunters.

Shopping is a visual feast, as well, with everything from antique equestrian prints and horse coin jewelry to the latest in saddles, couture and equestrian accessories. Where else can you shop at Hermes between classes, pick up a new pair of boots from Der-Dau, or even just a great cup of coffee?

Whether you attend as an exhibitor at Menlo (and remember, it fills the moment it opens for entries), or as a spectator who can enjoy the ambiance sans show nerves, you can expect everything at Menlo to be absolutely the best, year after year.

Keep the first week of August 2009 open on your calendar for next year’s Menlo Charity Horse Show!

For more about Menlo, visit www.menlohorseshow.com.