History
Our History
The first Pennsylvania National Horse Show was held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in 1946.
It was a four-day show with 226 horses entered, and it benefited the Harrisburg Kiwanis Youth Foundation. International teams competed at Harrisburg from 1948 until 1972. In 1950, the show was lengthened to seven days, in 1962 to eight days, in 1970 to nine days, in 1982 to 10 days and in 2023 to 11 days – which it is today.
In the 50s and 60s, the show was a major social event in Harrisburg, and the Kiwanis volunteers wore tuxedos as they sold tickets and programs. Arthur Godfrey televised live nationwide from his horse Goldie at the show in 1955 and 1956. Throughout the horse show’s partnership with the Harrisburg Kiwanis, more than $1.5 million went back to the youth of Central Pennsylvania. Today, funds from the horse show fuel the PNHS Foundation, which awards annual grants to equine rescues and therapeutic riding programs.
PA National Horse Show Today
Formal dress may be gone, but the show has grown in stature and prestige hosting numerous national championships.
The goal of the Pennsylvania National Horse Show remains keeping the show one of the premier national sporting events in the United States by not just getting bigger, but always getting better and remaining dedicated to the horsemen while simultaneously engaging and educating the audience.
As one of the largest indoor horse shows in the United States, the Pennsylvania National Horse Show offers sponsors excellent exposure to exhibitors from around the world as well as to spectators from the mid-Atlantic region. The community of Harrisburg also benefits from the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, seeing what is estimated as an economic impact of over $11 million annually.
