Throwback Thursday: the Cow Palace
![Page Impressive at the Cow Palace in the mid-80's. [photo credit: America's Horse Daily]](https://www.showhorsetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Page-Impressive_Americas-Horse-Daily.jpg)
Throwback Thursday isn’t always about a horse. Sometimes, it’s fun to remember a place and time that is near and dear to many people and had a prominent place in history. Today, we remember the heyday of the Cow Palace. While the Cow Palace is still in use today and home of the Grand National Rodeo, the stock horse shows of decades ago are almost starting to fade from memory. Most of the greats from that era can’t tell a story without somehow including a show at the Cow Palace, which tells how important and prestigious it was to show there.
However, that doesn’t stop us from remembering one of the hottest spots to show in not only the West Coast, but the entire country. Do you have a favorite memory of the Cow Palace?
The Cow Palace has historically been the most prestigious show on the West Coast. Held in mid-October, it was the West Coast show that determined how a halter horse would do at the AQHA World Show and was considered a “must win” show. I still remember when My Tru Love, who was not a West Coast mare, showed there.
The arena is small and the warm up is smaller, but we are proud that we have won there in halter, reining and cutting several times. Those Cow Palace coolers are very distinctive whether they were the brown and orange ones, the red ones, or the dark navy blue ones. Still have a few hanging on the wall.