Saturday's Foal-A-Palooza was an opportunity for Haley McMullen to introduce her mare Gracie to horse shows while benefitting a good cause.

The Dream Equine Therapy Center event at Three Runs Plantation held western, hunter and children's classes and a hunter pace.

It serves as a fundraiser for the York-based equine facility, whose mission is to provide emotional support and wellness to the terminally and chronically ill through rescued and rehabilitated equines, said Terri Stemper with the Dream Equine Therapy Center.

"We have a good nucleus with Gina (Greer) and the team here in Aiken," said Stemper. "We want to do something annually. We wanted to have a horse show that offered some variety."

A number of new foals will be shipped to the facility in the near future, said Stemper.

"The end of March and the beginning of April is our busiest time of the year," said Stemper "We should receive 30 to 40 foals over the next couple of weeks. We brought home six foals recently, and I'm pretty sure we already have five adopted out. I hear from a lot of people who are interested in adopting foals. They call and e-mail me every day. We just don't have the foals yet, but, as soon as we receive them, I'm sure they will be placed."

Foal-A-Palooza also featured a silent auction, and the community demonstrated its altruism through the gifts it donated for the charitable endeavor, said Greer, a Foal-A-Palooza organizer.

"We're going to call our annual event Foal-A-Palooza," she said. "We're experimenting this year with some western classes. Julie Sessions is our western judge, and she's going to help with marketing the event to horsemen involved with the western disciplines. We're going to try to do a little bit more next year. We had to have our hunter pace so the horsemen would have an opportunity to enjoy Three Runs Plantation. Next year, we'll hold the event a little bit later in the year."

McMullen and a Gracie, who is 4 years old, were among the entries in the western classes.

"I ride working cow with her," said McMullen.

Lori Admire brought her 5-year-old mare, whom she adopted from Equine Rescue of Aiken.

"I hope to one day to show her in dressage," said Admire. "It's a good fundraiser and a learning experience. It was her first show away from home, and she did great."

Contact Ben Baugh at bbaugh@aikenstandard.com.