Julie Goodnight and Ryan Gingerich at Illinois Horse Fair
plus Ray Hunt protégé Mark Schwarm

Springfield, IL – Top national clinicians and equine educators join 140 vendors offering all things for the equestrian – from recreational horsemen to professionals – at the 21st annual Illinois Horse Fair, March 5-7 at the state fairgrounds in Springfield.

Produced by Horsemen's Council of Illinois (HCI) and sponsored by Purina Mills, Midway Trailer Sales and John Deere, the all-breed expo annually attracts more than 10,000 horsemen.

In addition to learning training techniques from experts, Horse Fair gives attendees access to unique HorsesForSale aisles, breed and sport demonstrations, Stallion Row and Parade and the All-Youth Horse Judging Trials.

New this year will be Friday and Saturday night performances of Tommie Turvey's Night of Amazing Horses shows. Trainer/showman Turvey and his troop thrill audiences with Roman riding, chariot racing, liberty acts and rib-tickling comedy born of experiences to warm the hearts of every horse owner.

Horse Fair's featured clinicians are RFD-TV's Julie Goodnight and Ryan Gingerich. Joining the pair are Tommie Turvey and Ray Hunt protégé Mark Schwarm. Back for the second year will be the popular Liz Graves gaited riding clinic.

Julie Goodnight has more than a quarter-century of horse training experience. Her varied background ranges from racing, reining, colt-starting and wilderness riding to dressage and jumping. She teaches "Classic Skills for a Natural Ride" and travels coast-to-coast and beyond to film her award-winning television show, Horse Master, as well as to appear at horse expos, conferences and clinics. Her training and teaching techniques are frequent features of Horse & Rider, The Trail Rider and America's Horse.

Years of study have helped Ryan Gingerich, "The Behaviorist," develop his own training program, Connective Horsemanship. At his National Equine Behavior Center in Missouri, Ryan continues to hone and expand his knowledge, which he shares three times a week on his highly-rated RFD-TV show. "My passion is to teach both people and horses in simple ways…the human often needs to learn more than the horse, and I'm happy to report that my program has been formulated to do just that."

Shortly before coming to Horse Fair, Mark Schwarm will participate with an elite group of horsemen in the Ray Hunt Memorial Clinic, Fort Worth, TX. Ray died in March 2009. In 2007, Mark was one five horsemen chosen in the United States for the first understudy program with Master Horseman Ray Hunt. Mark spent two months with Ray at his ranch in Texas. Mark also worked with Joe Wolter at the famous Four Sixes Ranch in Texas and the C.S. Ranch in New Mexico.

Mark shares his experiences and the lessons he has learned with horsemen nationwide. He concentrates on working with them and their horses by improving communication between horse and rider.

Tommie Turvey is an accomplished performer and horseman in many disciplines. He works in all aspects of the entertainment and equine industry. You've probably seen him in feature films, television commercials, as a featured performer at dinner theaters, a specialty feature act at a touring circus, a main character in a wild-west show, to performing his "extreme" shows at horse expos, equestrian events, rodeos, fairs, and numerous international horse shows around the world. In additions to shows, you may have seen Tommie featured in a national Absorbine Jr commercial, or seen him on RFD-TV shows with Clinton Anderson, Pat and Linda Parelli, or Rick Lamb's the Horse Show. He is also a professional stunt man and recently worked on the feature films, "Batman" with Heath Ledger; Larry the Cable Guy's "Witless Protection", and HBO's Mini Series "John Adams" with Paul Giamatti.

Times and topics for clinicians' daily training sessions and a complete schedule of events will be on the Horse Fair web site: www.horsemenscouncil.org.

Exhibits and 140 vendors fill the Livestock Center, Annex, Building 26 just north of the Livestock Center, and barns radiating east from the Livestock Center and across the street in the Series 25 barns. Most exhibits are in heated indoor space, but some equipment displays and trailers are parked outside adjacent to these venues.

What's unusual about the HorsesForSale Aisles at Horse Fair is that all dealings are direct between buyer and seller. Horses are neither auctioned nor sold by Horse Fair, and Horse Fair takes no commission. When prospective buyers come onto the grounds, they receive a listing of horses for sale, which includes a description of the horse along with a tag number that appears on the horse's halter and stall. To enter a horse in the HorsesForSale Aisles, contact Myles Harston, HFS coordinator, at (309) 208-5230 or email mh@aquaranch.com.

Horse Fair opens on Friday (1 p.m. – 7 p.m.) when early bird shoppers get access to vendors' full stock of merchandise plus save money on special Friday-only promotions and reduced $6 admission charge…and see training demo sessions by Julie Goodnight, Ryan Gingerich, Tommie Turvey and others. Hours Saturday are 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. Hours Sunday are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday or Sunday Horse Fair tickets are $12 adult and $6 child/senior; weekend passes are $20 adult and $10 child/senior. General admission tickets for Night of Amazing Horses shows Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. require a separate ticket: $9 adult, $6 child/senior. Advance tickets may be purchased online with a charge card at www.HorsemensCouncil.org or by calling the Council office at (217) 585-1600.

Volunteers are needed for a variety of responsibilities, ranging from manning information booths to hospitality. You can volunteer for a few hours a day or for a whole weekend. To volunteer, contact Cheryl DeMent by email at paintfilly71@yahoo.com.

For information on exhibiting: booths – Joy Meierhans, Horse Fair Manager, (630) 557-2575 or JM@TheMeierhans.com; stallion row and parade – Lori Nelson (217) 306-4559 or lorinelsontraining@gmail.com; breed/discipline demonstrations – Kat or Brent Hamer (309) 432-3539 or fizz61760@yahoo.com.

Riders interested in having their horses in any of the training clinics will find details on the web site at www.horsemenscouncil.org.

Illinois Horse Fair is produced by Horsemen's Council of Illinois, an affiliated chapter of the American Horse Council. HCI is the statewide "organization of organizations" and individuals providing central leadership and advocacy for Illinois' 77,000 horse owners, 213,000 horses and its diverse $3.8 billion equine industry.

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