There were more than a few of us shaking our heads and wondering, seriously, how the team that turned Des Moines into a party town were ever going to top the 2008 Iowa Gold Star Futurity Show. The show themes, beginning in 2007 with the Famous Fifties, have been the wildest horse show success story since show sheen and hoof black. In 2008 the Gold Star theme was Pirates and a lot of people dressed up and came to the Stallion Service Auction to have a fabulous time. Never mind that. Seriously...it was NOTHING compared to 2009.
The 2009 theme was the Wild, Wild West and there was something for everyone, every minutes of every day. Wild West cowboys, Indians and Buffalo Bill himself roamed the Fairground's streets from dawn till dusk. Every time the show ring action stopped, it started up in the barns and outside rings. There were free breakfasts and lunches; barn parties and horse entertainment everywhere.
Friday night at the beginning of the Stallion Service Auction, Tommy Garland stole the show when he rode into the second floor Marriott Ballroom and rescued a dance hall girl from bandits. Saturday night a stagecoach and four-horse hitch started the show with a wild chase and outlaw shoot-out in center ring. After a few exciting classes, additional entertainment appeared in the form of Mexican Charros in full dress with their "dancing" horses. These horseman were a big hit with the crowds, as were the Free Style Reining riders that closed the evening performance.
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