Missouri Horse Shows Association is pleased to present Smith Lilly, author of Saddle Seat Horsemanship as our guest speaker at our annual banquet.  Long respected as a world class horseman, Smith and his wife, Alexandra, and mother, Sandra, own and operate Mercer Springs Farm as a public training stable specializing in the American Saddlebred breed.

From their base in Princeton, W.V., they have amassed over one hundred World Championships including World’s Grand Championships in the Five Gaited and Fine Harness divisions.  Although they specialize in American Saddlebreds, the Lilly’s have also worked with Morgans, Arabians, Hackneys, Friesians, National Show Horses and Standardbreds.

In his book, Saddle Seat Horsemanship, Mr Lilly brings many years of experience training show horses to his readers.  According to the author, “When I decided to make training show horses my life’s work, I wanted to learn as much as possible about the horse.  While many books were available discussing training theories for other disciplines, precious little written information was available about show horses. Information on the topic was shared the truly old fashioned way, in discussions among horsemen, with young trainers learning from the master horsemen under whose tutelage they worked.  I am indebted and eternally grateful to the men and women who have shared their knowledge of the show horse with me and hope that making this information more readily accessible serves to broaden the popularity of the sport. The majesty of the horse, fully on display in show ring competition, is truly a stirring sight worth sharing with others.”

Signed copies of Saddle Seat Horsemanship by Smith Lilly will be available for purchase at the Celebration of Champions to be held Saturday, January 25, 2014

For more information and reservations, contact Ken Wheelen at [email protected], or call 573-256-8770