It was a busy day at Washburn Park for Marion’s annual Horse Show. Now in its 64th year, the show was bustling with spectators, pony rides, and competitors. With 86 classes, or showings, between two rings, horses rapidly moved around those at the grounds.

Debbie Martin, who has been involved with show for a number of years both as a committee member and show manager, said the event is very important to the community and for herself.

“I grew up coming to the show and bringing horses here," said Martin. "My children have shown here. So, now I’m back to help keep the show running. It’s such a nice tri-town thing that went on, so you want to hold on to it so others can experience it too. That’s why I do it.”

Many local riders and businesses take part in the show. The Mattapoisett Lion’s Club ran the food booth, selling the standard July 4 cuisine of burgers and dogs, but also had fare such as egg sandwiches, sausage and peppers, and chicken on a stick. They also sold raffle tickets as a fundraiser for Harbor Days, with prizes including an Ipad 2 and Red Sox or Patriots tickets. There were also vendors selling toys or horse-related grooming products.

Martin, however, mentions that usually more youth groups such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have booths set up for fundraisers as well. The absence could have contributed to the amount of people, which was low this year. And, though they do take donations for overhead such as programs, trophies, and compensating judges, Martin said they were just breaking even this year, but that did not worry her too much.

“We’ll keep plugging at it,” she said.

Rider Deirdre Shaw said the event was awesome. Shaw, with her horse Jack, won multiple classes throughout the day. A rider of 15 years, she’s been doing shows for about 11 years and loves the competitive nature. She did, however, say that the small turnout in riders was stressful.

“This is a tiny show,” she said. “There aren’t enough people here, so they’ve been cancelling classes. When they do that, you think you have time between the next classes, but you get called up suddenly and have to be in the ring. So I’ve been doing a lot of running around.”

Despite the stress, she enjoyed being at the park.

“The grounds are awesome,” she added. Everyone’s excited to be here and there’s shade so it’s nice.”

Martin said that Washburn Park is an excellent location for a horse show, not just because of its size but also because of its natural seating and abundance of shade. Many shows are held in open, dusty fields and often without shade or even restrooms, she mentioned. The show committee tries to highlight these factors and push for more attendance.

The low turnout in horses didn’t affect the crowd size, explained show manager Deb Sukeforth. She said many of the spectators file in from the Marion parade. She believed the economy was a big factor in how many people, both to watch and to take part, arrived.

“People are more selective on the horse shows they go to now,” she said. “Usually it’s a much nicer and busier show.”

Sukeforth also added that everything went smoothly overall, and the importance of the event is prevalent throughout the community.

“It’s good for everyone,” she said. “It’s steeped in tradition. Many of us have shown here at one time or another and it’s just wonderful.”