The Mississippi Horse Park will host the 2015 Open U.S. National Equestrian Drill Team Competition on Thursday and Friday.
During the event, equestrian groups, made up of children ages six to 18, will perform four- to 10-minute choreographed routines on horses to a variety of music genres, according to a MS Horse Park media release.
Admission is free and open to the public.
This is the first time the event has come to the MS Horse Park. Horse Park director Bricklee Miller has been in talks with the Southeast Mounted Drill Team Association in Georgia for more than a year working to bring the event to Starkville.
“Several phone calls and e-mails took place but one trip to our beautiful facility is what sealed the deal,” Miller said.
Teams from Alabama, Georgia and Texas will compete in these classes: Color Guard, Quads, Theme, Patriot, Rodeo and Freestyle. The divisions in the competition include Green, Novice, 4-H/FFA, Youth, Adult and Open.
The event begins Thursday at 8 a.m. and will continue until 8 p.m. There will be concessions.
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