Welcome to Maffitt Lake Equestrian Center

In the first-ever Grand Prix at Maffitt Lake Equestrian Center, held May 10, Alex Granato, 25, of Elizabeth, Colorado, took top honors, winning the $25,000 prize with his first, fourth, and sixth-place showings.   Granato, who rides and trains under Teri Knowlton of Wind Crest Farms in Elizabeth, also captured the Welcome Stake award of $5,000, with a first, second, and seventh-place ranking.

Granato began riding hunter/jumpers at age nine, although he does admit to a little Western riding in the beginning.  By age 18, he was competing in Grand Prix events.  Among other accomplishments and honors, he has competed at the North American Young Riders Championships with Zone 8 for 5 years and has won 14 Grand Prix classes in Iowa, Oklahoma, Arizona, Missouri, and Illinois.  He was the 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 HITS Arizona Leading Professional Jumper Rider.

Spending approximately 35 weeks a year participating in shows is mostly a labor of love for Granato, who said the best part is, of course, winning.  And what’s the worst part of his lifestyle?  “Having a rough day with my horse,” he declared.

Commenting on the inaugural season of Maffitt Lake Equestrian Center, Granato was complimentary of the new facility.  “This is such a nice, new place.  Libby and Tim worked hard to accommodate everyone who came and participated.  Maffitt Lake Equestrian Center will continue to grow into an excellent place where riders will come from all over the country.”

Knowlton was equally enthusiastic about the new equestrian center.  “This definitely will be a premier facility, as good as any there is in the country,” she stated.

The next shows at Maffitt Lake Equestrian Center will be August 5-9, August 12-16, September 16-20, and September 23-27.

Scott Lenkart and Un Prince win the $25,000 Hott Horse Shows Grand Prix

On May 17, the final day of Maffitt Lake Equestrian Center’s opening season, Scott Lenkart, 40, riding Belgian-bred UnPrince, captured the $25,000 Grand Prix award. A professional, who began riding at age 6, Lenkart and his wife, Renee, own and manage Wild Oak Farm in Delano, Minnesota.
Although he is an expert on both hunters and jumpers, Lenkart rides mostly jumpers and spends the greater part of the year attending and participating in shows. “I definitely spend over six months at it,” he said, “but actually all year, every year I’m involved with shows and the horses.”
His record proves it.
From Kentucky to Michigan, Chicago to St. Louis, Denver to Des Moines, and many other cities beyond and between those, Lenkart has collected honors. To date, he has won 19 Grand Prix awards, with a promise of more to follow.
In regard to his experience at the newly opened Maffitt Lake Equestrian Center, Lenkart had only positive feedback. “I enjoyed it tremendously,” he remarked. “The farm itself is awesome, and the atmosphere was so friendly and accommodating. The horses love it.”
He went on to say, “The location is really convenient—hotels and restaurants are so close and easy to get to. There’s no doubt that once people get wind of Maffitt Lake Equestrian Center and the word spreads, it will really go to town. I tell everyone I talk to how nice it is.”

Maffitt Lake Equestrian Center, LLC(MLEC) is nestled in a special location on Maffitt Lake Farms in Cumming, Iowa.

This center holds the distinction of being one of the very few privately owned equine show facilities in the country managing it’s own horse shows.

MLEC is owned and managed by Libby Antisdel and Tim Hott. Libby is a former meeting and event planner as well as the current Business and Facility Manager for Maffitt Lake Farms, a hunter/jumper horse barn. Tim is an experienced horse show manager.

In partnership with Hott Horse Shows, MLEC offers exhibitors a unique equestrian experience. Both Tim and Libby are horse show exhibitors and equine enthusiasts and as such have partnered to create a complex state-of-the-art show center, unmatched anywhere in the Midwest.

Hott Horse Shows, LLC, was founded in 2008 by partners Tim Hott and Libby Antisdel as an equine show management and production company offering the highest quality horse management in the country.

Tim Hott is a horse show manager, judge and course designer for hunter/jumper horse shows.

Hott Horse Shows hires it's employees based on horse show experience, knowledge and strong work ethic. Hott Horse Shows offers excellent class scheduling, friendly show secretaries; hires the nations top judges, stewards and course designers and offers great prize money to show exhibitors.

Hott Horse Shows, LLC maintains the corporate office in Jamestown, TN and operations office at Maffitt Lake Equestrian Center.