The Midwest Horse Fair in Madison, Wisconsin

by Lenice Basham

The Midwest Horse Fair is a three day horse fair held in Madison, Wisc., at the Alliant Energy Center. The 2022 event marked the return after closures due to COVID the previous couple years. We had the opportunity to be one of the clinicians at the April 2022 event. My husband Loren hosted a mule demonstration and bit clinics. 

This is an amazing event if you have not had an opportunity to attend. It is hosted by the Wisconsin Horse Council and they work year round preparing for the event.

We had not had the opportunity to attend and it was amazing. There were 46 different clinicians covering all breeds, all disciplines and information for all equine owners who put on 300 clinics, lectures and performances. There are 350 volunteers who make sure that everything runs smoothly.  

Loren had two participants in his Build a Braver Mule clinic (April and Hal). Both brought their mules and rode in three time slots during the three day event. They focused on building bravery in their mules (and the riders) and obstacles. For the bit clinic, Loren shared various bit information, when and why to use a particular bit, how the bits work, and talked about halters and caveson use. He had bits on display to demonstrate the use and for participants to ask questions.

The Midwest Horse Fair is the largest three day horse fair in the country. Since 1979, their goal has been to serve the equine community and to provide the ultimate experience for equine enthusiasts. All event proceeds are used by the Wisconsin Horse Countil for grants, scholarships, trail improvement, leadership programs and communication to help the equine industry grow. 

All-star clinicians including Craig Cameron and Chris Cox have multiple demonstrations during the three day event. Their demonstrations also allowed two to three horseman to work in the arena with them and demonstrate skills.

There were sessions in smaller meeting rooms that shared information from equine genetic disorders, things to look for when purchasing a horse property, the benefits of adding backyard chickens around your horse, to how to determine the end of life decision needs for your aging equine. There were demonstrations in smaller arenas and under tents for saddle fit, horse judging tips, driving, liberty or activating your horse’s core (among many others). The information was limitless and there was something new for everyone.

In between (or at the same time) of all of this new learning, there were breed demonstrations, stallion demonstrations, Liberty demonstrations and rows and rows of horses/mule stalls to walk through and admire the different breeds. There were 700 equine at the event. It is always fun to walk through the stalls. If you have a high school senior or junior in your family who would like to attend a college or university with an equine program - you should make a trip to the event. There were so many representatives of college equine programs who had booths at the event. (Like my alma mater, William Woods University in Fulton, Mo.)

In addition to all the equine events, there was tons of shopping. The event held over 500 vendors. You needed an equine object - they had it. The vendors included horse supplies, barn supplies, trailer supplies, feed supplies, jewelry, clothes, boots, and hats (plus a few random booths that you were not really sure why they were there!).

With over 60,000 visitors during the three days - it was filled with equine folks ready for the spring season. It was really a fantastic weekend. If you are looking for a fun weekend getaway - put this on your calendar. I believe that if you can bring one new thing home that you learned than it is a successful workshop - you are bound to bring home lots of new information and excitement from this event! Next year’s Midwest Horse Fair will be held April 14-16, 2023.