About 90 riders and their horses participated in the 2008 Summer Horse Show over the weekend to showcase their horsemanship skills in events such as obstacle jumping, racing, and a musical freestyle.

The show was open to riders of all ages and all abilities from many communities in the region, including Whitehorse, Skagway, Juneau, and Mayo.

"This is a sporting event (for) both Western and English styles," Lori Choquette, one of the event's organizers and the mother of a participant, said Friday afternoon.

Choquette said one of the show's most popular events is the musical freestyle, which is almost like "a dance floor for the horses," she explained.

Organizing the event presents a few challenges, Choquette said, such as the lack of electricity or running water at the show's locale off the undeveloped part of Range Road near Porter Creek.

Generators are a required part of the setup, she said.

Choquette added that volunteers are a crucial part of the event's success. There are as many volunteers as there are riders involved in the event, she said.

Paul Choquette, the Yukon Horse and Riders Association's president, said he has been involved with the organization for three years in support of his daughter Stephanie, 17.

He said the events which get the most turnout are jumping and the musical freestyle, which involves "a lot of music and creativity and whatnot."

"(Equestrianism) takes a lot of time, dedication, hard work," Stephanie, Paul and Lori's daughter, said from atop her horse, Just Any Minute.

Stephanie said she rides the former racehorse five or six times a week, particularly in the summertime.

"We make the most of our summers. You can't do a lot of riding in the winter. It's hard on the horses' lungs," she said.

"(The 2008 Summer Horse Show) is really exciting," she continued. "You can always improve. There's no such thing as perfection."

Nina Vogt, aged 16, said she enjoys participating in the annual show because it gives her a chance to meet people from other riding schools.

Vogt said equestrianism is different from other sports in that the rider is able to foster a relationship with his or her horse.

"You don't just pick up a soccer ball. (The horse) is like your friend."

Other young riders agreed that the relationship with their horse is one of the things they like best about the sport.

"The horse community is really good in Whitehorse," said Katissa Evans-Ehricht, a 15-year-old student at the Northern Tempo Equestrian Centre.

Evans-Ehricht has participated in the horse show for the last four years and said she enjoys the chance to meet other members of the equestrian community and to build up her skills.

Evans-Ehricht said she has recently bought a new horse named Sadie, whom she exercises about four or five times a week.

Some of the weekend's other events included an in-hand trail class, which tests the horse's ground manners, the show hack event, which tests gait transitions and obedience in the horses, and three reining events.

A series of quotations about horses, included in the event's program, offers insight into the attractions of equestrianism:

"The air of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears."

"Ask me to show you poetry in motion, and I will show you a horse."

Red, blue, white, yellow and green ribbons were available for the top five placers in all the classes, in addition to a small cash prize.