Memorial Day Benefit Pony Event a unique take on fundraising
The inaugural Memorial Day Benefit Pony Event will take place in the Mt. Hope Auction show yard starting at 7 p.m., where youngsters will drive their favorite ponies across the grandstand area, hoping to garner bids from the faithful supporters in the stands.
There are all types of auctions and benefits in and around Holmes County, and there are also a variety of pony-related events, but most people probably haven’t ever witnessed what will take place at Mt. Hope Auction on Thursday, May 22.
The inaugural Memorial Day Benefit Pony Event will start at 7 p.m., and youngsters will drive their favorite ponies across the grandstand area, hoping to garner bids from the faithful supporters in the stands.
However, it won’t be the ponies bidders are purchasing, but rather the many gifts attached to each pony. That also allows the youngsters to head home with their favorite ponies still with them.
A parade of 50 ponies will be lined up to trek to center stage. Each youngster who signs up will go out and find sponsored items to attach to each pony.
“Many of these items are sponsored by companies,” Tobie Troyer said. “We will have some really nice items up for grabs.”
In order to entice these young drivers of the ponies to go out and recruit the best prizes, the youth who presents the most valuable sponsored item will receive a new pony wagon. Meanwhile, the highest bidder at the auction also will receive a free dome grill.
“The hope of offering the pony wagon is to entice them to go out and find sponsors of items that are $5,000 or $10,000,” Troyer said. “Because we are raising money for Rainbow of Hope, we want to make this worthwhile.”
A couple examples of items currently being presented so far include a merry-go-round style of horse walker valued at $26,000 and a treadmill valued at $8,500. There is a chest filled with Wagyu beef, along with a new grill. Items between $500 and $26,000 have found their way to the auction, all courtesy of the hard work of these young pony drivers who desire to support Rainbow of Hope.
Troyer also said that in creating this event, while there is plenty of joy to be found with the children driving their ponies as the focal point of the auction, the idea is to include them in the horse sale process and help usher in the next generation of horse enthusiasts.
“The child gets the feel of opening up one of the nation’s greatest horse sales shows the next day,” Troyer said.
While Troyer said they have plenty of youngsters in place who have volunteered their time and effort into getting their pony and respective prizes in place, he said the hope now is to spread the word to the community to show up and bid on these prizes.
“We just want everyone to know what this is about, where the funds raised go, and hopefully just encourage them to show up and participate in the bidding,” Troyer said.
The pony show serves as an introductory evening to an important show the next night, the 13th annual Mid-Ohio Memorial Trotting Sale, also at Mt. Hope Auction.
That event showcases the finest Standardbred driving horses, roadster show horses and prospects from all over the USA and Canada, and Robert Hershberger, founder, said the pony show will serve as a creative way to usher in his event.
“It’s a fun way to get the weekend started,” Hershberger said. “It’s for a great cause, and I think it will definitely introduce all of these younger kids to the excitement surrounding equine, and it really ties in nicely with our show.”
All the proceeds from the Memorial Day Benefit Pony Event will go to Rainbow of Hope, a local organization that supports children and their families going through difficult financial times due to medical issues.
Eddie Schlabach, president of Rainbow of Hope, said having this type of support from others is incredibly important right now.
“We appreciate this so much because there are so many needs out there throughout our area right now that we don’t have enough funds, so we have to budget our giving,” Schlabach said.
While RoH does serve many in the Amish community, Schlabach said they are nondenominational, and any family with a child in need is eligible to request an application.
“It is heartwarming to see that other people and community members care enough to consider us,” Schlabach said. “We think this pony event is going to be a really amazing evening.”
He said there will be cornhole, and Legacy Catering will grill 1,000 rib-eye steaks, which should really enhance the aroma during the evening.