Many of today’s horse show superstars rode here as juniors, amateurs, and some even started as lead-line competitors at Del Mar. As you watch the young riders here, realize you may be witnessing tomorrow’s superstars in the making. If you’ve shown at Del Mar, it’s an experience you just never forget. If you’ve enjoyed Night of the Horse, Evening of Musical Freestyle, or Premier Truck & Trailer Grand Prix of Del Mar, it’s an evening you always remember. Being a part of this horse show’s history, and carrying on its tradition, is what makes Del Mar so special.

In the beginning, the show was a part of the annual San Diego County Fair. In 1946, 350 competitors rode for a part of the $20,000 purse and points to become champions at the show.

Over the years, the Del Mar National became so popular and so big, it outgrew the Fair and became a separate event in 1979. The show and the venue evolved over time. The show was in an arena near the racetrack grandstand at one time, on the track in front of the grandstand at another and in an arena built adjacent to the racetrack chute, near the stable. The rings and locations changed over the years, as did whether being a horse show exhibitor also got you into the Fair for free.

All kinds of breeds competed in various disciplines at Del Mar. Today it’s Western, Dressage, and Hunter/Jumper, but the show started out with gaited horses, hackney ponies, saddlebreds, hunter/jumpers, stock horses and more. At one point, draft horses and mules competed, too.

Del Mar now offers more than $300,000 in prize money and attracts more than 3,000 horses during the three weeks of competition. The show takes place in the $5.4-million Del Mar Fairgrounds equestrian complex. The Del Mar Arena is one of only two equestrian venues in the West to ever host a World Cup, which it did in 1992. Del Mar through the years has quite a few "firsts" in its history.

1946: The Del Mar National Horse Show is held for the first time as one of the many events at the annual Del Mar Fair. Total purse is $20,000 with competitors numbering 350. Adrian Van Sinderen, president of the American Horse Show Association came from New York to judge hackneys and harness show ponies.

1948: The prize list for the 3rd Annual offered Stall Rent at $10.00 for the duration of the show for each horse and tack stall, with first bedding included. Feed and sleeping stalls were free. The Del Mar Airport advertised in the prize list that it was only “2500 hundred feet to National Horse Show arena”. Ringside boxes were $125.00 tax included, providing 6 seats for 8 performances.

1950: Allen Ross managed the show from 1950 to 1959, and established the record of producing the largest horse show in the world as recognized by the American Horse Shows Association in 1958. Ross returned to Del Mar in 1978 with the goal of setting a new record.

1954: Less than a decade after the first show, Del Mar earns national recognition as the world’s largest horse show for junior competitors.

1956: A small tornado rips the metal roofs from several of the barns. Damage totals $4,500, no horses were injured.

1959: The show hosts Western Shetland Pony Congress and Light Horse Breeding Division to its events. Rule 17 in the Prize List advised “Judges May Ride or Drive,” stating “When the judges consider it necessary, they may ride or drive any of the contesting horses to determine their respective merits.”

1960: The 25th anniversary show earns an ‘A’ rating from the American Horse Show Association (AHSA). Members of the United States Olympic Equestrian Team are among the competitors vying for $40,000 in prize money. War Bride, ridden and owned by Jarvis Esenwein was one of 38 entries jumping in Saturday night’s $1,000 Puissance Jumpers. A retirement ceremony for “Skyway”, owned by Tom Blakiston of Blakiston Ranch followed.

1963: A flu epidemic sidelines 65 percent of the horses entered. The show goes on as scheduled, although many classes are canceled because of the reduced field of entries.

1966: More than 2,000 horses are entered. Paniolo, a five-year-old mare, makes headlines when she competes in a jumper class the day before giving birth to a healthy foal.

1971: The American Horse Shows Association (AHSA) designates the Del Mar National as a “star show,” a designation reserved for the top 20 horse shows in the United States.

1973: Horses Magazine August issue wrote “28th renewal of the Southern California exposition National Horse Show known to one and all as Del Mar. Ed Sullivan hadn’t seen a ‘really big show’ ‘til this one" with more than 2,600 horses. The article continued, “The show was unbelievably smooth for one of this size…it was brilliantly directed,” by 1973 Show Manager Alan Balch. “Alan knows this horse show better than anyone because he grew up there working his way through the various phases of the operation,” reported Horses Magazine . Linda Hough had “countless excellent rounds” and was Star of the Show, pictured receiving hunter awards with Jimmy Williams.

1975: The Santa Anita Perpetual Trophy for Leading Rider is awarded to Di Ann Lundy, of Los Angeles, CA, riding Danny to win Champion Jumper. Shown wearing the Santa Anita Sash jumping a triple bar, Lundy won the Leading Rider award two years in a row, 1974 & 1975.

1978: Hap Hansen was seen as Star of the Show at Del Mar in the August 1978 issue of Horses Magazine . The show was described as, “The 33rd Annual aka ‘ Del Mar’…was a big successful show. Larry Gimple, trainer then, and Western Technical Show Manager now, showed well that year riding Dee Cee Chex, owned by Dawn Rush.

1979: The Del Mar National separates from the Del Mar Fair (as the San Diego County Fair was then known) and becomes a prestigious event in its own right.

1980: The low-lying stable area floods during heavy spring storms, leaving the Fairgrounds covered with two feet of mud. By opening day on May 8, the grounds are ready for the 1,300 horses arriving to compete in 560 classes for $125,000 in prize money.

1984: The show attracts an international lineup of world-class riders from Japan, Mexico, and Canada preparing for Olympic competition.

1985: The Children’s Show and the Open Show are reorganized so children and adults now compete at the same time, albeit in separate classes. For the first time the show is reorganized with hunter/jumper classes in the first week, western and Saddlebred and breed classes the second week. The entire Saturday evening of hunter/jumper week is devoted to the Premier Truck & Trailer Grand Prix of Del Mar. A Challenge of the Breeds is added to the Western Show.

1986: The Del Mar National is chosen by the American Grand Prix Association (AGA) to become part of the national Grand Prix Series, offering a $25,000 purse for the Premier Truck & Trailer Grand Prix of Del Mar.

1987: Horses Magazine names the Del Mar National as the number two horse show in the West. Del Mar National hosts the Pacific Coast Jack Baker Memorial Medal finals for junior and amateur stock seat riders.

1990: Long-awaited construction begins on the new $5.4 million arena complex now named the Del Mar Arena. The show is held next to the construction site in temporary facilities.

1991: The Del Mar National Horse Show is held for the first time in the newly completed Del Mar Arena complex, providing comfortable covered seating for 4,000 attendees. Dressage competition is added as a third major division of the show.

1993: Attendance over the three weeks exceeds 40,000 for the first time. The first “Night of the Horse” extravaganza proves a big success as a crowd-pleaser.

1994: A new attendance record is set as more than 51,000 enjoy the National. Women’s Barrel Racing and Draft Horses are added to the third week of activity. Prize money tops $180,000.

1995: In its golden anniversary, the Del Mar National gathers increased national recognition with key equestrian publications naming the show among the premier events worldwide. Now in its third year, the “Night of the Horse” extravaganza is a sell-out.

1996: The Del Mar National is awarded the distinguished honor of being a selection trial in Grand Prix Dressage for the United States Equestrian Team. The National Reined Cow Horse Maturity and Finals are added to Western Week, resulting in a record 52,000 in attendance during Western Week and $225,000 in prize money.

1997: Local Olympic medallists Steffen Peters and Guenter Seidel, who won the Team Dressage Bronze medal at the Olympics in Atlanta, GA, compete at the Del Mar National to an enthusiastic reception from audiences. Hap Hansen, a favorite of the Del Mar National, wins the $50,000 Grand Prix of Del Mar. The Reined Cow Horse Hackamore Classic is added to Western Week.

1998: Grand Prix prize money increases to $60,000 and the event continues as a sell-out. Audiences salute one of the greatest jumping horses of all time, Samsung Woodstock, at his retirement ceremony here. The San Diego Chamber Orchestra joins the Night of the Horse, providing live musical accompaniment to the equine performances.

1999: The Del Mar National hosts the Dressage CDI***W (Competition du Dressage Internationale) qualifier for the 1999 Pan Am Games and 2000 World Cup. Dressage riders Debbie McDonald and Donna Richardson qualify for the Pan American Games at the Del Mar National and go on to win the team gold medal at the Pan American Games, with McDonald also winning an individual dressage gold medal.

2000: The Del Mar National is selected as a qualifying event for the 2000 Olympic Team trials. California riders Guenter Seidel and Christine Traurig go on to be part of the Bronze medal-winning U.S. Olympic dressage team. Olympic hopefuls compete during Hunter/Jumper Week in preparation for the finals. The 22 nd DAA hosts the 2000 USET Olympic Show Jumping Team Trials at Del Mar Horsepark. Laura Kraut, Margie Goldstein-Engle, Lauren Hough and Nona Garson are named to be the all-female team to represent the USET at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Mules join “Challenge of the Breeds” competition during Western Week.

2001: Reining is approved as an exhibition event at the next Olympic Games. Western Week hosts a National Reining Horse Association show for the first time. Del Mar National’s total purse reaches an all-time high of more than $300,000. Prize money is increased during Hunter/Jumper Week, for the $75,000 Ford Trucks Grand Prix of Del Mar presented by Budweiser, an AGA Event.

2002: The Del Mar Equestrian Center at the Del Mar Fairgrounds is voted the “Best Show Location” by the members of the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Association. The new West Coast Active Riders Challenge Series sponsored by Nutrena Feeds makes its debut at the Del Mar National Horse Show.

2003: Kelsey Huffman and her horse, Top Hickory, were among the biggest winners during Western Week. Night of the Horse packs the Del Mar Arena and features Equine Extremist Tommie Turvey Jr. who brings down the house with his prized paint, Poker Joe. Dressage Week fills four arenas over four days. In the Lexus $25,000 Surfside Grand Prix, Richard Spooner cleans up winning first and second place. Duncan McFarlane and his horse Ezrah win the $75,000 HBO Grand Prix of Del Mar. Cathleen Calvert of La Jolla wins the $25,000 Del Mar National Open Equitation Championship presented by Monarch Internationals Show Circuit Magazine.

2004: The Del Mar National hosts the last USEF Reining Seat Medal Finals National Championships and awards the last medal before it’s retirement to Champion Keri Blackledge of Costa Mesa, CA, on her horse Sundance Dun It. Olympic fever hit Del Mar as Dressage riders from around the country come to qualify for the 2004 USEF Grand Prix Championship/Olympic Selection Trials. In an upset, Leslie Morse of Beverly Hills, CA on her horse Kingston, won the $5,000 Grand Prix Freestyle sponsored by International E-Z Up. Hunter/jumper week offered more prize money and new grand prix qualifier with a record breaking number of entries jumping a record number of rounds as Olympic hopefuls jump at Del Mar prior to the USET Olympic Show Jumping Team Selection Trials held at the Del Mar Arena for the first time.

2005: For the first time in history, a horse and rider combination successfully defend the $100,000 Grand Prix of Del Mar title. Rich Fellers riding McGuinness, owned by Mollie & Harry Chapman of Wilsonville, OR, won the $100,000 HBO Grand Prix of Del Mar an AGA Event for a second year in a row. It was an enormous diamond anniversary celebration for the 60th Annual Del Mar National Horse Show, as the Del Mar Arena was sold out. Technical Show Manager Dale Harvey commented, "It was amazing that we had to close the gates to accommodate standing-room-only crowds". McGuinness and Fellers were the first clean round, going 22nd in the order, and the only ones to go clean in the jump-off finishing with a time of 33.3.

2006: Del Mar's world-class event now offers more than $350,000 in prize money during three weeks of Western, Dressage, and Hunter/Jumper competition. New prize money doubles the prize awarded for the NRHA reining show during Western Week, along with a brand new $25,000 Dearborn Stables Open Hunter Classic offered during Hunter/Jumper Week.