With the soft blue ridges of the mountains set against the bright yellow of summer’s canola fields, The Event at Rebecca Farm is one of the most scenic destination venues in the sport of equestrian eventing. Over five days in July, hundreds of competitors and thousands of spectators flock to the location on Farm to Market Road in Kalispell. Riders compete in the classic triathlon of disciplines: dressage, the ballet of eventing; cross-country, featuring a course with obstacles; and show jumping, which tests the horse’s athleticism and stamina on the last day.
Kalispell riders have participated in the sport of equestrian since the 1980s, when the local riding club built a cross-country course at Herron Park and hosted the valley’s first competition. In 2002, two organizers Jerome and the late Rebecca “Becky” Broussard, purchased Rebecca Farm. They could host more divisions and more competitors, showing even more people the beauty and power of what a rider and a horse can do. In 2012, Olympian Ian Stark redesigned the cross-country course. Over the past decade, some elements have become iconic, like the frontier town with classic Western architecture or the Louisiana bayou with giant crawfish, beavers, snakes, and alligators for the rider to clear.
“In eventing, you’re putting the relationship between the horse and the rider to the test,” says professional event rider and coach Marc Grandia. “At Rebecca Farm, you’re not getting over the beautiful water jump at the base of Spectator Hill—a six-foot drop—without trust.”
The Event is July 16-20 this year and is free to the public, so set up your blanket or camp chair on Spectator Hill and see a 1,000-pound animal gracefully soar through the air over a giant cob of corn! To learn more, visit their website at RebeccaFarm.org.
This article is an excerpt from the latest issue of PureWest magazine. To view more from the publication, please click here.
Courtesy photos provided by The Event at Rebecca Farm taken by SHANNON BRINKMAN
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