Traverse City Horse Shows announced on Thursday that it would be adding a new event to its summer equestrian competitions for 2021. Major League Show Jumping, a league that hosts five-star equestrian events and works to bring “new opportunities to both riders and owners, at the best venues in North America,” will be holding two of its 10 events in Traverse City this summer.

Traverse City is one of eight cities featured on this year’s Major League Show Jumping tour schedule, and is one of just two cities that will be hosting a pair of events. The tour will come to northern Michigan from July 22-25, and then again from September 16-19. Other cities include Vancouver, Bromont, and Toronto, in Canada; and San Miguel and Monterey in Mexico. Only two other cities in the United States – Thermal and Coachella, both in California – were selected as venues for the tour.
The selection brings Traverse City and Horse Shows home Flintfields Horse Park into the echelon of other premier equestrian venues that will be hosting tour events, including Bromont Olympic Equestrian Park in Bromont, Quebec; and Thunderbird Show Park, located near Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Major League Show Jumping Tour will feature “eight teams of six high-performance show jumping athletes from across the globe,” with a total of $6 million in prize money a stake across the 10 events. The Traverse City competitions will occur concurrently with other Traverse City Horse Shows programming, including the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival and the 51st Anniversary of the American Gold Cup.

Traverse City Horse Shows credits a partnership with Traverse City Tourism for making it possible to bring the Major League Show Jumping Tour to Traverse City. “The event would not have been possible without the support of Traverse City Tourism,” said Traverse City Horse Shows Manager Matthew Morrissey in a press release. “We know Major League Show Jumping competitors will fall in love with everything Traverse City has to offer, and the tour will be just one more reason why Traverse City is the place to be during the summer months.”

“Traverse City Horse Shows has set the bar with its high-caliber events and beautiful venue, and our region loves hosting the equestrian community,” added Traverse City Tourism President and CEO Trevor Tkach. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to continue our partnership to help bring this exciting, fun event to our destination.”