The Freedom Special Appaloosa Horse Show

Halter  •   Western Pleasure  •  Hunt Seat  •   Games •     Cattle Classes

Saddles for High Point Awards!

Cattle Classes!

NSBA Classes!

2010 Judges:  Al Anderson, Delena Doyle, Debra Jarvis and Dave Parlier

History of the Freedom Special

In 2003, the Hoosier Appaloosa Association and the Indiana Appaloosa Association combined to sponsor a major event for Appaloosa horse owners throughout the Midwest — The Freedom Special. This show has grown to be the second largest regional Appaloosa horse show in the nation in 2006 and 2007. In early April of 2009, exhibitors will come to the new Crossroads Arena in Cloverdale, Indiana, for a four-judged show featuring the major stock horse disciplines — Halter, Western, English, Cattle and Games. To accommodate the large number of exhibitors, the show has expanded to four full days of competition. With the late March date, this is one of the first shows that is held in the Midwest, so it has a substantial draw from people who have sat out the Winter and now are ready to get back to showing their horses. Plus, the multiple judges, class size and resultant national points awarded, and the accommodating facility now attracts exhibitors from the eastern 2/3 of the USA.

Show Facts:

• Exhibitors are mostly from Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, but come from as far away as Texas, New York, Florida, Connecticut and Minnesota.
• 125 classes for Open, Youth and Non-Pro exhibitors
• Show attracted 1,068 entries for open classes, 1,144 for Non-Pro and 1,208 for Youth in 2009, making it one of the  largest regional show in the nation.
• Appaloosas are the only breed to run barrels and poles “horse against horse” — two horses enter the arena and compete against each other. The first horse back to the finish line wins that heat and advances through a bracket system to determine the overall class winner.

Our 2009 Freedom Special High Point Winners