FROM THE ARCHIVES

Sports

Horse Shows on Fishers Island

Many residents of Fishers Island today are surprised to learn that from 1927 to 1933 there were elaborate annual horse shows on Fishers Island staged just northeast of today’s Driving Range at Middle Farms.

They were complicated sporting events run by a professional, Mr. Frank B. Aninger, with up to 25 classes of competition. Stores on Fifth Avenue took out full page ads in the printed catalogues. Sponsors purchased slots for their automobiles that afforded them front row seats from within, atop or on the running boards of their automobiles. Both spectators and participants dressed for the occasion as this was a major event of the summer season, for the brief period it lasted. Records have not been found that reveal why the horse shows disappeared from Fishers Island after the 7th Annual show in 1933. Less formal activities, like gymkhanas, riding lessons, and riding on bridle trails continued throughout the 1930s, but these activities ended with the outbreak of World War II.