Del Mar National Horse Show

So, so cool! And cold :) Fun competitions in the beginning, great crowd enthusiasm. Saw the legendary Flexible give his final debut. Exciting jump course and some awesome moments.

The show was incredible and everything went smoothly but parking could've been better organized.

VERY ENTERTAINING!! Umeeko was my favorite. Though it was difficult to hear the announcer

The level of the riders was low with a couple of exceptions. One of the performances was great but that was 10 minutes long. The remaining 1 1/2 hours were disappointing.

The show was Ok. That's because it was my first time seeing a horse show. It was nice to see how good the riders were. But, I would say, because of the horse shows on TV and other shows with horses in it, this show was ok. For kids, I would give it a 3 star rating. Half the time I could not understand the announcer. Sometime the camera man shots were too far. The prices of the food is too much. The indian show was very poor. I would give that a 1 star. Charge to much for parking. After the cost of show tickets for two, parking, food, I spent almost $100.00 for a two star show. I will not be doing that again.

The performance was very slow-too much time between acts. Not enough variety, although the several individual acts were very good. I understand that it was a "western theme" but it would have been nice to actually have several breeds performing what they were trained to do. The sound system was horribly jumbled and the music was too loud. My 14 year old said it was boring and the rest of my family agreed. We would have enjoyed the Lakeside Rodeo more and it would have been far less expensive. Very disappointing.

First time I saw Tommie Turvey and his horses. Had heard how fantastic he is so expected tops and it was even better than that, absolutely amazing. His act with the horse PokerJoe was incredible to see the trust between them, an act which I believe reached deeply into every single heart there. The One Arm Bandit, Escondido Mounted Possee, Buffalo Soldiers , Chuck Wagon Races, and all the rest were so entertaining and exciting to watch. The Herrick Band was so good and to hear our National Anthem sung by Donna Herrick was a real treat.

overall I was disappointed in the wild west show. I was expecting some high quality horsemanship.... there was some.... but not a lot. The guys running around on the fake horses were stupid.... why not have people on real horses at a horse show?

very beautiful display of agility and power that is present ion the equine world.

A great event to share with friends! The entire show is entertaining & the shopping is good too.

The 100,000 Grand Prix was a fabulous night of spectacular show jumping. Any seat was a good seat and you were close enough to video tape with an I phone. I got to walk around outside and see the horses up close. There were really nice booths to shop in at the break. And of course, having a fresh hot funnel cake! Parking was easy. People were friendly. There were even movie stars and celebrities in attendance! Great night!

A memorable evening to see such beautiful and talented horses and riders!

Beautiful horses and great riders. Always amazing to see Guenter Seidel and Steffen Peters.

Loved the cowboy girls' act.............great entry. The horses in tandum were spectacular.........I felt like they couldn't wait for their next move in anticipation of the beat of the music. Miniature horses were adorable and the performance quite impressive. I have been to this show three times in the past five years. Even though we really enjoyed ourselves it was not as 'thrilling' as in years past with for example stunts put on by 'Tommy Turvey etc. Will I go next year.........of course!

Loved loved loved the show!! It was worth every penny! The seats were great and the price was perfect. Loved everything about it!

Night of the horse was fun, especially for the kids. I enjoyed the dressage and the airs above ground with the mini horses. Could have done without the singing performance and the "dog and pony show". Thought that Bo Derek's voice sounded shaky and nervous, probably because she was riding around on a horse the hole time while trying to talk.

This was my sixth time coming to Night f The Horse.Bo Derek is a lovely woman and I can guess a fair horse woman,she rode around the arena she really didn't have much to say. The show left me cold. The Riatta Cowboy Girls there were three riders in the past there were 12. each act was not full. The drill team performed more than the individual acts.I had hoped that as the title of the show Was Why We LOVE the horse would have given us more of a variety of horses. I love horses and I love watching them work but VARIETY would have been nice .

This horse event was nothing special. Not the exhilerating experience we expected. Also, not very smoothly put together. No central theme. The horses were handsome.

A fantastic evening . The crowd was enthusiastic and Bo Derek was a wonderful Mistress of Ceremonies on her gorgeous white horse. There was a good variety of performances which I believe was good for a general audience and not only for those 100 % focused on horses. The Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls were absolutely incredible!

This was amazing and beautiful and just plain wonderful. The only thing I would not recommend again is the Dog and Pony show....just ridiculous and a waste of time. But only to go get a snack so I guess it was needed...

I brought my 7 year old daughter and her friend to see the show. We had a great time! The MCs told corny jokes but it was a family event after all. Bo Derek is a great humanitarian and animal advocate but she really needs some help from The Toast Masters! We're going next year for sure!

Memorable for the whole family!!!! Amazing show! Awesome arena! The jumps leave you on the edge of your seat the whole time!!! They are HUGE - 5ft!!!! It is a inexpensive way to watch a thrilling horse show! Just like you are at the Rolex! The Hunter Jumper Horse Show that you DON'T WANT TO MISS! :) I will definitely be going again next year!

Fantastic event. The renovated arena is awesome and the competion was top notch.

You couldn't understand anything the announcer said. They did a bunch of really boring stuff to kill time at the beginning. It was a big waste of time and money

disappointing for the 2nd yr in a row. no free program was provided, so had no idea who was riding. unprofessional presentation. Minimal handicapped seating. Jumbotron totally distracting & unnecessary. This will be my last musical freestyle.

Have come in past years and this year was okay and the acts you had were good just not enough of them. The show was basically the same few acts over and over.

It was the first Night of the Horse I had been to in awhile and it was on the second event that was worth paying the money to see. In years past the event has not been very good. I like how the acts were spread out to make it even across the performance. I am not sure if I will be back next year or not, that will depend on life :)

There were twelve of us who went to see The Night of the Horse. First time for all of us. We all had a great time, even the non-horsey friends! It was a fun family evening :-)

The Night of the Horses has always been my favorite entertainment in San Diego because I love horses, ride horses, and love looking at them. This years show was good but the sound system did not work and we could not hear what the announcer was saying to some of the riders did a lot of talking so it became very boring. But this is the first time this problem has ever happened in the over 25 years I have been coming.

the show was fun. Organized, and shorter A very enjoyable evening.

This show was so fun! Our seats in the wheelchair accessible area were way off center but still great. We definatly plan on returning next year. My only point of improvement is that the website was really unclear of what other classes were happening at what times prior to this event.

We bought out tickets late but still felt the venue was set up so every seat was great. My daughter was thrilled by the meet and great after and all the riders were amazingly kind. The speed jumping beforehand was fun to watch as try went outside and back in the arena. We had a wonderful time with reasonably priced tickets and would definitely go again.

While the horses / riders were magnificent, the overall event was not . Too casual for my tastes. Felt more like a county fair than a Grand Prix. Specifically, I would like to see the crowd dress up a bit as if you were going out for a nice dinner. I'm not talking heels here it is a horse event after all but provide something more like a festive, well planned cocktail party not a carnival. They will respond if the venue is better prepared. Hardly any vendors were there which was disappointing. Make sure there is plenty of quality, relevant shopping ! Food selections were poor. Corndogs and churros ? Really ? The announcer could have been much more descriptive with better explanation of the actual event, what judges look for, quality and breed of horses, etc. The video clips were poorly done and did not tell a story at all. I am a tv producer and it was so lacking in thoughtful production. This part could have been really informative and interesting to watch while people wait. I really talked this up as being a " high class " affair . I couldn't have been more embarrassed.

An amazing night! The horses and riders performed well and were very entertaining!

This event is fun to watch if you like dressage. Some years the competitors and music choices are amazing; other years, not so much. This year was great, we thought. The sound system in the covered arena continues to be dismal - difficult to understand what the announcer is saying because of the "live" nature of the metal everywhere. But it's been this way since it was first built, so I don't imagine it will get better anytime soon. Seating is horrid - very narrow seats with tiny metal armrests, so comfort is minimal unless you get a BOX ($$$). A blanket or cushion to sit on is a MUST. And don't forget that it gets cooler at night there - bring something warm to wear.

Top notch performances, beautiful horses, well organized and just plain thrilling. I went to this event last year and thought it was even more spectacular this year! Loved it!

The show itself was great. The horses and riders outstanding. Couple negatives..the seats are actually bleachers with metal arm rests to designate seat location. The space to sit is very narrow. Large and extra large people would do well to consider box seats which have individual chairs, as the bleacher seats don't accomodate people of size very well and this makes it uncomfortable for those sitting next to them. Also, Del Mar is on the coast, so it gets cold at night in April still. The arena is covered, but open to the elements. Warm clothing and even a blanket should be recommended.

It was a wonderful performance, Watching the top level dressage along with the music is just magical. good rides, good music, and great event! I am definitely planning on doing this again. Not sure kids would like it, but adults can definitely appreciate the art of the ride with this.

The show was very good and entertaining and the riders were wonderful. The audio portion needs to be clearer. At times it was very hard to understand the anouncer.

Horrible sound system, so unable to understand transitions from act to act. Appeared to be random haphazard transition for the History of the Horse. A couple acts were entertaining but most just so so quality.

Great show for the kids. Lots of excitement and colors.

The Night of the horse was a big disappointment. Way too much story telling and not enough actual horse events. The audio was so bad that I was unable to hear what they were saying so the story telling could not even be followed. An actor pretended to be Buffalo Bill and tried to shoot some balloons. The made up story he told was very corny and would only appeal to the youngest kids if they could even make out what he said. The whole show was similar to that except for the few actual horse events. In past years there was lots of different horse events and demonstrations. I won't be back.

Night of the Horse always works hard to get great entertainment. Haven't been disappointed yet.

I've been going to this show since I was 13 and now my kids are old enough to appreciate it. My daughter now wants to be a trick rider! It is truly a show you will remember!

We had a great time. My 10 year old granddaughter loved it!! We got to meet the horses and their owners after the show. There was even a zorse and zonkey there, half zebra, half horse, and half zebra, half donkey.We also enjoyed the stage coach robber

This was a fantastic family event! It was crowd pleasing and interactive!

There wasn't enough horse entertainment. When they were in between the next act, they showed video on screens and you could not understand anything that was being said. They drink cost was outrageous! I did still say yes to recommend because there were a lot of beautiful horses to see.

For anyone who enjoys show jumping... this is a great event. The Del Mar Arena is a great place... the weather is always perfect, and the horses are incredible. Every year they streamline it more and more and add things to keep us entertained. Live music, good food and drink... what more can you ask for?

Horses were great. Couldn't understand a single word over the PA system. BMW racing went way to long and didn't understand the need for it. Concessions were kind of tacky and the arena needs a major upgrade of food and beverage vendors.

After sitting thru more than 1 1/2 hours of cars driving around ,award ceremonies & children jumping over hedges(not that cute), the REAL horseshow finally started. I was SO bored by then that I left ! Will not attend again. Also, the rude drunk people who sat behind me were SO loud that I couldn't hear the announcer. this happened @ the Musical Freestyle last week. Not a good experience this yr for me.

The Grand Prix it self was a good competition. There were not a lot of spectators that showed up which was disappointing.

Not as many spectators as I would expect but fun weekend and beautiful evening performances. Love all the vendors!

I have to say, having been to the freestyle evening many times, that this year was a disappointment.....hardly any entries in the amateur class and only one of the four rides was well executed. I felt badly for the riders with spooky horses - it's never easy to know how the main arena will be viewed by an already excited horse........sometimes they just can't settle. The Pas de Deux had the same problem - something was spooking the horses and they just lost the focus. The second class of 3 was certainly impressive, but again, a disappointment that there weren't more entries - we have so many amazing FEI riders on this coast - was sorry there weren't more here tonight - it could be that they don't all have GP horses at the moment... Ravel's retirement ceremony was worth the ticket - what an honor to be there and see him once again with his team - a remarkable horse with a remarkable rider - that made the evening :-)

Really enjoyed the program I think better than night of the horse & the grand Prix! Watching the horses dance to the music was awesome. I was glad my daughter had a horse show herself next week so we chose to attend.

This event never disappoints. With that said, the acoustic system for introductions, awarding cup winners, etc. before the event was horrible. We were in Section R and could not understand anything said, which was frustrating, especially with the presentation for Judy Martin.Thankfully, when the announcers moved to the booth to begin the jumping, the audio was understandable. If the system can't be fixed, at least put closed captions on the big screen or keep the announcers in the booth and someone else in the arena.

The event would have been a 5 if the first hour of a too long night hadn t been spent on awards and silliness. There was added frustration with not being able to understand a word that was being said. The awards were relevant to a small audience and should have been done at a venue with those who would appreciate it.

Grand Prix was fantastic but the fairgrounds seating is horrible - after three hours I couldn't take it anymore and had to walk around for the resat of the show. Also parts of the event seemed very disorganized.

The Grand Prix was outstanding -- great jump off with lots of incredible riding and progressively faster times. The first class -- a kind of trail class challenge -- was fun to watch and moved quickly. I would love to return to this event every year. HOWEVER, that being said -- the acoustics are wretched -- and yet there are countless award presentations and special tributes that go on and on and on and you can only understand maybe 20% of what is being said. There is no text on the screen -- or very little -- that would help you follow what you cannot hear. Because of these special presentations -- which are also targeted to insiders and are more appropriate for a banquet hall -- the event lasts about an hour longer than it should For that reason -- and the pretty uncomfortable seats -- I will have to think long and hard about attending in the future.

I was so impressed at the height these horses can jump and their trainers talents for staying on them! Congratulations to all!

First - They need to stop with the talking. About anything. The sound system is horrible. Second - Mercedes sings the National Anthem like nobody else - flawless. Third - The best ever warmup event to the jumping was a few years ago when there was a competition that took the riders out into the show rings - such fun. Fourth - Out of the control of anyone who puts on a horse show was the fact that this was one of the most exciting, on the edge of your seat shows I have seen in the 20 years that I have going to this event.

The performer from Australia was fantastic. His command and relationship with his horses is supreme. A person who could call, ride and Roman Style ride without a tether between the horses is in a class by himself. Just a tap on the side of the horse with his command stick is all it took to control up to four horses.. The other older gentleman was also good. The ladies group was fine; a bit repetitive however.. Drop the team (or group) of Circus Type Performers; clearly do not belong in a western theme performance at Del Mar. Their costumes alone appeared to be Gladiator . Where were the girls riding and demonstrating barrel racing? I have owned both Arabian and a buckskin cutting horse and they were professionally trained. The horses in your show were excellent . Next year do western and show some demonstrations of actual calf roping and cutting horses explaining to the audience the old west and some current horse and cattle ranching today. Thank all of your staff for their efforts and hard work.

awful\u2014hardly any variety\u2014so few horses\u2014too much talk\u2014

Fabulous, exciting, inspiring. Acoustics poor. Could not understand what anyone said from my seats at the east end front row. Seat selecting extremely difficult since handicapped seat required a companion seat but no way to tell that they were not together . This resulted in some confusion at the venue but kindness of other people in the section allowed my companion to sit next to me.

The show was AWESOME! Recommend to all of any age!

I went to NIGHT OF THE HORSE , which has become traditional for me. So enjoyed it and can't point out a favorite part as all was wonderful. Watched the hunter jumper on your live screen and of course for me what touched me the most was the little retirement ceremony for sweet , incredible FLEXIBLE. Flexy will be in our hearts forever and so happy to know he will be close to Rich Fellers and family as well as his owners.

A great family show for all ages, adorable and majestic animals

This is my second time to this amazing event and it was great!

Nice variety of acts displaying great communication and horsemanship. Inspiring to see what these expert horsemen/women can get their horses to do beyond just the typical English or Western showing disciplines. Great presentation. I think a little more dramatic lighting (even if just between acts so doesn't throw off horse mindset) or something to add to atmosphere of a special show would be good. Have seen a similar show at a horse expo in Springfield MA and they achieved this with their presentation. But this show was entertaining and well executed. Worth seeing!

A really fun night as always. My only problem with the entire night is that it is too long for kids. For a 7:00 start time I would have thought it would have ended at 9:00...but we had to leave early because it wasn't even close to being done then.

The whole show was average. It was basically the same thing both halves. I was really sorry I spent so much money on top row bleacher seats to see this. The only good thing was I got to spend an evening out with my husband.

This is the second time my sister & I have brought our mom to this event. We all LOVE it! We need wheelchair seating and purchasing them and finding them at the venue are easy. (And they're great seats). Our only complaint it that it is almost impossible to understand what the announcer is saying and being able to do so would make the event much more enjoyable.

Great show. Exciting as always however this year our seats in section F had a cameraman blocking our view of 3 jumps! This was not good and no mention of blocked view seats when I bought the tickets. Beware.

First time seeing this type of show and it was pretty fun. Wouldn't do it often but once in awhile is fun.

Last year was better - the pre-jumping event was way more exciting that the car thing this time. The singer, Mercedes, is astonishing and she needs to be there all of the time - you could hear a pin drop. Do not bother with the microphone for anyone else but the singer as it is so garbled and uncomfortable to try to understand.

This is the first time we ever attended an event like this. We were very impressed with the beauty of the horses. They are obviously well cared for daily. The riders were magnificent, so regal looking with straight backs and confidence as they participated in the competition. Since this was our first time we did not know how they were being judged, but we didn't care as we were enjoying just watching and appreciating the teamwork between horse and rider. The different steps were such fun to watch, and when they took off in one of their long strides, it was magic. I am sure we will go again to more events with the horses.

LOVED the freestyle! The horses were gorgeous and the riding was top notch.

I was disappointed in most of the show. Lighting was poor for the Aztec number, and while the content was somewhat lacking, the costumes were probably beautiful - couldn't really see them. Sending a bunch of girls racing around the arena to advertise sponsors was not exactly inspiring. The sound system was very difficult to understand. I had expected more diversity as in different riding disciplines and demonstrations. Won't bother next year.

excellent event, if you are into equestrian events with local favorites this is it.

If you wanted to go, and you thought the fight in Las Vegas would be better, well you were wrong. This was the best competition since I started coming in 1997 and we saw 42 exceptional horses with equally exceptional riders. There was a woman (first name Mercedes) that sung both America the Beautiful and the National Anthem ~ she was perfect, and you could have heard a pin drop, we were so in awe.

This was my first dressage event and it went well beyond my expectations of entertainment. The unbelievable athleticism in which the horses and riders seemed to float through the air was truly magical. Each horse seemed more gorgeous than the next which is a lot to say considering every one was unbelievable. What a great opportunity to see this caliber of horse and rider perform at such a high level of expertise. If you enjoy horses, you will be awed and amazed.

It was my first Freestyle Musical Dressage evening. It was so good that there were performances that gave me goose bumps :)

There were so many wonderful things about the "Evening of The Musical Freestyle"! Horses for stunning, riders were magnificent... Both were spectacular to watch! It was as if the horse and rider were as one. I'm sure for horse enthusiast this would have been more exciting then a layman such as myself to truly appreciate such techniques and the time it took to produce such a beautiful experience. The only flaw, and is due to my inexperience I'm sure, was that it was too repetitious. After a while I was bored. However I am very much looking forward to the "Jump/Hunt" competition this coming Friday.

I think this was like watching paint dry! My sister and I left about 1/2 through the "Evening of Musical Freestyle". Every horse and rider seemed to have the same routines, sure the music was different but the steps and riders all starting looking the same. I think if you knew someone that was preforming or if you were into "Musical Freestyle" it would of been much better, so I will know better next time. Our seats were good and the view was great but you could not understand what the speaker was saying, it was muffled and hard to understand his words. Anyway glad I know now to not attend an event like this. by the way the horses were beautiful so that was worth the price of admission!

While the horses and riders were superb\u2026 the sound system was awful. The music was fine, but I did not understand one word spoken by the announcer. Being new to the sport, this was a real drawback.