Between an eventful afternoon for the kids, a celebrity rodeo competition that included Leonard Nimoy, and a rousing banquet with Jim Belushi bringing down the house, it was a lively and memorable day for all the participants in the Hollywood Charity Horse Show last Saturday hosted by William Shatner.

It was the 13th such event, which proved to be lucky, because it was the most successful to date with the largest attendance ever. Actual dollars raised for charity have not been tallied yet, but the amount is expected to reach well into six figures. The beneficiaries are the Ahead with Horses therapeutic riding organization for severely disabled children, and LA's BEST (Better Educated Students for Tomorrow), an after-school program for inner-city schoolchildren.

Besides being a fundraiser, the day was also about doing something special for the kids. About 2,000 children involved with the LA's BEST program were bussed to the L.A. Equestrian Center in Burbank, where they spent the afternoon in the center's large yard and were treated to a plethora of activities and demonstrations. As they came in, they were greeted by a group of volunteers dressed as Star Trek and other science-fiction characters. Shatner himself welcomed the kids with a hawk in-flight demonstration. The consummate performer, Shatner made everyone laugh when the demonstration didn't go quite right, improvising jokes about the hawk being more interested in a crow and an airplane flying overhead. But the hawk eventually returned to his arm, to enthusiastic applause. The children then got to watch dog tricks, visit a petting zoo of exotic animals, take part in facepainting, get a close-up look at a fire engine from the L.A. Fire Department, and visit with mounted officers from the LAPD and L.A. County Sheriff's department, among other activities. (They also got lunch, on the house.)

All the kids received T-shirts courtesy of the event's corporate sponsors, and part of their afternoon was spent going around to the Klingons, Vulcans, Starfleet officers and other costumed characters to get their autographs as the characters, along with such greetings as "Q'apla!" and "Live Long and Prosper." Many of them even learned how to do the Vulcan hand salute for the first time.

"I love being out there spending the day with the kids, and just having fun," said Danny Thomas, a volunteer dressed in a gold Next Generation-style uniform. "I'm not anybody, I'm just a squirrel, but I've been giving the kids autographs, signing the back of their T-shirts, signing autograph books, whatever they give me. They think I'm a movie star or something... I had the greatest day of my life. It was outstanding." Most of the volunteers were members of fan organizations in San Diego and Las Vegas who come to the horse show every year. For Thomas, a Navy veteran from Detroit now living in Orange County, this was his fifth year dressing up for the event. "It seems to get bigger and better every year. This is the best one I've ever done," he said.

Late in the afternoon, the main horse show event for the paying customers commenced in the Equidome. After opening remarks by Shatner and a demonstration by the children of AHEAD with Horses, the much-anticipated "celebrity team penning" competition took place. A herd of calves was brought into the arena all bearing numbers. Each team of three riders was given a number, and they were charged with the task of herding the three calves with that number into a pen on the opposite side of the arena within an allotted period of time, without allowing any of the others to cross the midway line.

Nimoy was a rider on one of those teams, as was Shatner, and Shatner's wife Elizabeth, an accomplished equestrian herself. Each team consisted of a professional rider, a paying "civilian" benefactor, and a celebrity. Besides Nimoy and Shatner, the celebrities mostly included radio personalities. (Alan Thicke, a friend of Shatner's, was slated to take part, but he suffered a recent injury involving a hockey puck ... no joke.)

The penning activity proved to be a formidable challenge. Only a few of the 14 teams succeeded in getting any cattle into the pen. But someone had to take first, second and third place, and despite a spirited effort, neither Shatner, Nimoy, nor Elizabeth were among those winning teams. But it was sure fun watching them try.

As evening fell and the kids filed out to go home, the adult crowd made their way through a silent auction of Star Trek, Hollywood and horse-related memorabilia, into a banquet room for the main fund-raising event, the Western Dinner Party and Dance. The room was packed, not only in anticipation of a great barbeque dinner, but also the evening's entertainment, Jim Belushi and the Sacred Hearts band. Shatner first took the opportunity to raise more money for charity by auctioning off a guitar signed by country music star Brad Paisley, which sold for $1100, and a two-week luxury cruise, which brought in another $7000.

Then the Sacred Hearts took the stage, followed by Belushi, who raised an already successful event several notches higher with a boisterous musical performance that immediately brought people to their feet on the dance floor and practically lifted the ceiling off the Equestrian Center facility. The energetic rhythm and blues set included a rendition of the Sam & Dave song Belushi's late brother John made famous, the Blues Brothers theme "Soul Man."

Story & photos by Sandy Stone

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