PENCE SPRINGS, W.Va. — Horses will return to the historic Pence Springs resort grounds this summer when the Alderson Fourth of July Celebration hosts its annual horse show at the former mineral-springs resort, reviving an equestrian tradition that helped define the property more than a century ago.
Organizers say the event, part of one of West Virginia’s largest Independence Day celebrations, will take place on the resort’s sprawling grounds overlooking the Greenbrier River, where visitors once rode horseback along trails that made Pence Springs a popular destination in the early 1900s.
For local officials and historians, the event is more than a change of venue. It marks the return of horses to a property where equestrian activities were once central to daily life.
Randy Burdette, the listing agent with Foxfire Realty, which is marketing the resort for sale at $2,200,000, said it’s a dream come true to imagine horses trotting across the historic grounds.
“Once again the public is gathering at the historic Pence Springs Hotel for an equestrian event,” Burdette said. “It’s good to see horses back at the resort.”
The horse show is being organized by Corianna Spinks and will be held at the resort property at 158 Academy Drive in Pence Springs. Registration begins at 10 a.m., and competition starts at 1 p.m.
Classes will include halter competitions, barrel racing, trail classes, western pleasure, English riding, driving events, costume classes, gaited horse competitions, and championship events.
A Resort Built Around Recreation
Today, the Pence Springs Hotel is best known for its imposing brick architecture and long history as a resort, reformatory, school, and community landmark. Yet many visitors are unaware that horseback riding was once among its most popular attractions.
The resort traces its origins to mineral springs long believed to possess healing properties. Entrepreneur Andrew Pence developed the site into a destination for visitors seeking the reputed benefits of the spring water, which gained national recognition after receiving honors at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.
After an earlier hotel was destroyed by fire, the present structure was constructed between 1916 and 1918. Guests arrived by rail to enjoy the springs, recreation opportunities, and mountain scenery.
According to local historian William Jones, horseback riding quickly became an important part of the resort experience.
“The original wooden stables sat up Valley Heights behind the flea market beside the road,” Jones said. “This was used to keep the horses for the hotel trails in as well as housed the travel horses from its early days.”
Read More: Historians continue search for lost Pence Springs mineral spring
Jones said the stable later found a second life as storage space after automobiles gradually replaced horses as the primary means of transportation.
“It was used to store items for the bottling house after horses became unpopular with an increase in automobiles,” he said.
Equestrian activities remained associated with the property decades later, including during the years when a private girls’ school operated on the grounds.
A Natural Setting For Horses
Mayor Travis Copenhaver said the historic property offers an ideal setting for the event. “The Pence Springs Hotel is an amazing place,” Copenhaver said. “It’s an honor to see the horse show being carried out there.”
The 138-acre property includes extensive equestrian infrastructure, including an eight-stall stable, training ring, covered arena, wash facilities, and fenced areas that support horse-related activities.
Burdette said those facilities help demonstrate the property’s potential for future equestrian use.
Currently offered for sale, the resort has attracted attention as a possible destination for tourism, recreation, events, and hospitality development.
Spinks believes the property remains ideally suited for an equestrian-oriented future.
Part of a long-standing Independence Day tradition
The horse show is one of many activities associated with the Alderson Fourth of July Celebration, one of West Virginia’s oldest and largest Independence Day festivals.
For more than six decades, the celebration has drawn thousands of visitors to the Greenbrier River town, where patriotic decorations, parades, fireworks, community events, and family activities transform the community into one of the state’s busiest holiday destinations.
The festival’s parade is among the largest in West Virginia and serves as the centerpiece of a celebration that has become both a community tradition and a homecoming for former residents.
This year, the horse show will add another chapter to that tradition while reconnecting the festival with a piece of local history.
For at least one day, horses will again occupy the grounds where resort guests once saddled up to explore the hills above Pence Springs, reviving a scene that has not been common there for generations.