For the past nineteen years, William Shatner has spearheaded the Hollywood Charity Horse Show to raise money for a worthy children’s charity.
It was back in the late 1980s that Shatner first watched an exhibition by children who were so severely handicapped that some of them could not hold their head up, yet there they were going through intricate exercises on the back of a horse. The program was sponsored by Ahead With Horses, a therapeutic riding group for handicapped children.
When the exhibition was over, Shatner sat, deeply affected by what he had seen. “You can’t watch these kids without knowing you have to help, somehow.” And so, in March of 1990 came the birth of the first Hollywood Charity Horse Show. Soon, other charities in need of help were added, small, grass root charities doing big time jobs.
Today, the Hollywood Charity Horse Show is an ongoing event that garners national press coverage. On one special Springtime Saturday afternoon each year, HCHS brings together world-class reining horses and riders in breathtaking slides and spins as they compete for top honors in their respective classes. Then, as the sun sets, the much anticipated auction and music show put on by headline groups such as Brad Paisley, The Ben Folds Five, Lyle Lovett and Randy Travis, kick off right after an amazing array of food & fun.
This year’s HCHS will take place at 480 Riverside Drive in Burbank, California, this Saturday, April 25, with a special performance by Willie Nelson. The show will benefit Ahead with Horses, Camp Max Straus and other children’s charities. More info can be found here.
