Horse show hopes to preserve, expand on rural industry potential

In El Paso’s Upper Valley this weekend, a small but growing group of people are trying to keep more rural traditions alive and want to turn it into a major economic driver for the area.

Just off Doniphan Drive in Canutillo, about 100 people and horses are gathering to take part in the dmDickason Open Invitational of the Southwest horse show at the Taylor Ranch at Rio Grande Valley Ranch. It’s the fourth year of the show. And it’s growing.

“It started pretty small. The first year that we had it,” said Show Manager John Joyner, “8 horses showed up. So it’s grown from there considerably.”

Joyner believes that El Paso has lagged behind other big cities in the southwest in the equine and livestock industry.

“My goal is to grow this show into the largest open show in the United States,” Joyner said. “So it’s a pretty lofty goal.”

One of the big differences between a horse show and a rodeo is that at this event, it’s as much about the performance of the animal as it is the rider. Horses get scored on how they perform specifically, in addition to what the rider guides them to do overall.

“I started doing reining when I was 8, then I started competing at the worlds when I was 12,” said Taylen Marler, a rider in this weekend’s show.

Marler is also a world champion ranch rider. Now 17 years old, he’s been doing this since he was just 3.

“To me, it’s like a motorcycle,” Marler said. “Like, it’s fun. It’s a way to relieve your stress. Like people go to workout to relieve their stress. This is just like that.”

Joyner has a bigger picture in mind for this show in the long run. He and others are working towards an indoor, hundreds of acre site where horse and livestock shows could be held. He claims comparable events to what could be done at such a facility draw in tens of millions of dollars every month in other cities, and bring people from California, Nevada, Oklahoma and more.

“When we get those kinds of people coming here, it’s going to be a major event and have a major economic impact on El Paso,” Joyner said.

If you’re interested in seeing the horse show, it will continue tomorrow morning starting at 9 a.m. The ranch is at 300 Canutillo/La Union Road in Canutillo. The event is free and open to the public. To find out more about the events and schedule, you can visit the event website at http://www.invitationalbymcj.com/