Pairing party matchups announced

Bryn Sadler of the Harry Potter team clears a jump with Badley’s Waymaker during the inaugural Children’s Charity Classic presented by the United Way of Marion County at HITS Post Time Farm in Ocala on Feb. 21, 2025. This year’s event is set for Feb. 20 at the farm. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette file photo]

United Way of Marion County hosted a pairing party on Jan. 22 for its second annual Children’s Charity Classic, which will take place Feb. 20 at the HITS Post Time Farm west of Ocala.

This year’s event will feature nonprofits paired with equine teams under a selected board game theme.

The inaugural show jumping event, which took place Feb. 21, 2025, featured riders and horses adorned in costumes based on classic children’s books. Event proceeds of $100,000 were distributed to 10 local agencies and programs.

The Children’s Charity Classic was envisioned by Niki Tripodi, United Way’s vice president of resource development, who saw an equestrian event that combined a love of horses and philanthropy. Each participating organization in the classic was selected from a pool of applicants that proposed innovative programs to support children and families.

As with the inaugural pairing party, this year community leaders served as celebrity drawers to match the charities, board games and equine team captains.

“The charities will benefit based on their riders’ performance, ensuring that every jump supports programs advancing education, financial stability and health for children in Marion County,” the news release stated.

The pairings of nonprofit, board game and team captains, respectively, are:

• CASA Marion, Clue, Lee Hughes
• Community Partnership Schools, Candyland, Tracy Fenney
• Cornerstone Ocala, Monopoly, Jamie Gibson
• Episcopal Children’s Services, Twister, Dorrie Douglas
• Grateful Hearts Educational Resource Center, Operation, Elizabeth Reilly
• ReadingPals, Chess, Morgan Ward
• Kimberly’s Center for Child Protection, Battleship, Emil Spadone
• Strong Families, Uno, Jessica Grutkowski
• SMA Healthcare, Hungry Hungry Hippo, Jonathon Martin
• The Pearl Project, Scrabble, Dana Waters

Peter Engelhardt, owner of HITS Post Time Farm, was a celebrity drawer and shared remarks about the power of combining world-class equestrian sport with philanthropy and Grand Prix Sponsor HCA Florida Healthcare was represented by Alan Keesee, CEO of HCA Florida Ocala Hospital and United Way board chair, who shared the organization’s commitment to the event, the release noted.

The Children’s Charity Classic is a family-friendly event. General admission tickets are $10, with free admission for those 12 and younger.

To register, go to uwmc.org/childrens-charity-classic