Black Pearls of Charity
A young girl crouched down along the metal arena fencing. She held a small digital camera, trying to get better video than she could up in the stands. The indoors arena was specially built for the Washington State Horse Expo.
The faint smell of popcorn lingered in the air at the Clark County Event Center in Ridgefield, Washington as many sat on cold metal bleachers watching for their favorite performers. The lights dimmed and one of the anticipated performances began. Music carried through the stands from the speakers at one end of the arena, but all eyes and cameras — including the little girl’s — were on the horses entering from the opposite end.
Hers was only one small lens of many capturing the scenes of the Saturday Night Extravaganza on March 4th, 2017. Hundreds of people took in the performances of the sold out event. This was the third year in a row that the Extravaganza had sold out.
The three-day horse expo featured clinics with the riders and trainers who performed at the Extravaganza, a stand alone event at the horse expo. Goods and services were also available during the expo. Near the arena, one vendor sold candied almonds, cashews, and peanuts, which seemed popular during intermission. However, the real draw was the Extravaganza, which showcased performance acts to the horse lovers of the state.
One of the featured performances was that of The Black Pearl Friesian Dance Troupe, a non-profit from Ridgefield. While it was encouraged to cheer the horses on, some in the public watched silently and in awe the very unique dance of the horses. These horses seemed to enjoy performing!
However, while performance such as the Extravaganza look easy and beautiful, a lot of effort goes into the dance troupe’s performances, according to the troupe’s members. Thousands of hours go into training for the events. Among the crew of the Black Pearl Friesian Dance Troupe are many trainers both for the riders and for the horses.
Transportation can also be complex when transporting horses, gear, and people. Traveling performers have to arrange not only accommodations for humans who travel to perform at the shows, but also comfortable stalls for the horses. This is for events that are two to three days long.
The Black Pearl Friesian Dance Troupe isn’t new to such shows. The group, which is usually found practicing in Ridgefield, travels with its horses, riders, and gear to various events throughout the Pacific Northwest. Their next performance will be in Albany, Oregon.
The Black Pearl Friesian Dance Troupe operates as a non-profit and the riders are volunteers. They spend hours making sure that everything goes as smoothly as possible for the events and they engage with the community through events, charity and outreach work. In 2015, according to the troupe’s webpage, they collected and distributed 22,000 pounds of goods to local charities. The full list is available on their website, including totals of goods distributed in previous years.
“It’s a time commitment, but it’s worth it,” said Lyn Cummings, an associate member of the troupe.
The riders’ joy comes from the reactions of the crowd. Rider Rebekah Larimer, a member of the dance troupe, said “the energy from the crowd” is her favorite part about performing.
“It brings joy,” said Karen Rinquist, another performing member.
It all comes down to a love of the work they do. It’s easy to see that love in the bouncing step of Doctor, a stallion who performed in the March 4th Extravaganza. The horses have personalities of their own. They enjoy the attention from the performance as much as people enjoy watching it.
Doctor belongs to Dr. Meg Brinton, who serves as the president of the board for the non-profit. When Dr. Brinton isn’t working with the troupe, she works in the community as an equine vet. Her skills in veterinary medicine no doubt help keep the horses healthy so they can continue performing.
While there is a lot of work that goes into performing, the dance troupe is like a family to the riders. They encourage one another and problem solve together. Some of them have been together for a while and some are just starting out. The group is diverse in age and ridership skills, while the horses have personalities all their own.
“It’s a labor of love,” Dr. Brinton said, adding there is a lot of love for this group among horse enthusiasts.
