The Washington Capitals will be on their western Canadian road trip this week against the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, and Calgary Flames. Taking their place at Capital One Arena will be the 60th annual Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) which runs from Oct. 23-28. And this year there will be a special nod to the Caps and their Stanley Cup win.
David Lauinger, an equestrian designer also in charge of installing and overseeing the footing at the horse show, designed a Capitals-themed horse jump. Yes, horses will be jumping over crossed hockey sticks and giant pucks adorned with the Capitals logo. On the outside wings of the jump, or standards, are two replica Stanley Cups.
The jump, which is approximately six feet tall, won’t be used in any official competition, but it will be used during the jumper classes held by WIHS this week.
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“WIHS is very excited about the jump and how it turned out. It’s unique and eye-catching and will look great in photos. We are proud of the Washington Capitals’ success and proud to be able to share the Capital One Arena with them!” said Jennifer Wood of Jump Media.
One lucky winner will get to take the jump home with them. WIHS, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is auctioning the jump in order to fund future horse shows.
While Wood said she believes this is the first sports-themed jump at WIHS, in 2011, horses jumped over 2,000 individual pink-frosted cupcakes in a Georgetown Cupcake-themed jump.
On Friday night of the event, the show hosts a charity jump benefiting TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), an organization that the Caps have worked with in the past. When riders clear the American flag jump, they earn a donation to TAPS.
Headline photo: @djlequestrianservices
