MARION — Equestrians of all ages trotted around Washburn Park as riders came together for the 78th annual Marion Horse Show on Sunday, July 6.

The event began in 1947 by Charles Washburn as a fundraiser for local youth groups and is one of Massachusett’s longest running single-day shows, according to the show’s website.

Despite the show’s 78-year-long history, there were several first time riders, including three from the Dark Horse Training center in Rochester.

Moira Sylvester, Kemley Henderson and Taylor Braman, who go to most competitions together, had never competed in the Marion Horse Show before.

“We typically go to longer shows than this, so it’s kind of cool to have everything put together,” Henderson said.

Unlike many of the other shows the girls participate in, the Marion Horse Show is a one day event, and while the schedule at first looked weird to Sylvester, it became simply a matter of knowing when to get ready and knowing when she was up to ride.

“Straight up, I was expecting it to be more chaotic than it was, but it was better than I thought because we had everything planned out mostly,” she said.

The competition was also different for Sylvester, who hadn’t participated in a dayshow before or shown in a grass ring.

“It’s interesting, very slippery,” she said, recounting what riding on the grass was like.

Braman said that compared to other horse shows she’s competed in, judges in the Marion Horse Show judged more fairly.

“I really appreciate how they care to take the time to look at everybody because [in] a lot of bigger shows where it’s not breed based, usually saddle seat horses get ranked higher because they are flashier, are fancier,” she said.

She explained that the judges recognized that Western and English styled riding are different and were judged accordingly.

In Western style the rider holds the reins loosely in one hand while in English riding, the rider holds the reins with both hands and while the horses walk similarly, their trots and canters differ.

“You would think the [English] horse would win because it’s flashier, but you have to look at them both together, and some judges don’t do that,” she said.

Riders had to show judges that their horses could trot, canter, properly walk and follow instructions, such as turning around and walking around the ring clockwise.

Henderson said participating in the event’s 78th year was “really cool” because her mom used to do shows in Washburn Park when she was her age.

“It’s really cool to be here with her because she used to be here, and it’s fun to know that when my mom was this age she did what I’m doing,” she said.

Henderson added, “She told me on multiple occasions it’s very nostalgic.”