A horse show that will help feed kids this summer

Splendid horses sprinted and leaped Saturday in a competition at an acclaimed Petaluma training center. The third annual Derby Show & Clinic at Sonoma Valley Stables produced many thrilling moments for riders and spectators alike ― and a bonus:

Proceeds from the equestrian games will help to advance the quest to assure that no child in Sonoma County goes hungry this summer.

Saturday’s competition was central to the Derby Weekend activities at the stables located off of Old Adobe Road, between Penngrove and the rural area east of Petaluma. Sonoma Valley Stables is regarded as a world-class training center for riders interested in hunter/jumper competition.

Owner Ned Glynn and his crew co-sponsored Saturday’s Derby Show & Clinic with the Sunnybrook Elite Riding Club, located between the Pacific and the Santa Ynez mountains in Carpinteria.

Through much of the day, riders and their mounts warmed up in one ring at Sonoma Valley Stables, then headed into a second ring to compete.

Proceeds from sponsorships and from fees paid by competitors will be shared with the Santa Rosa-based Redwood Empire Food Bank and its Every Child, Every Day program.

That initiative serves nearly 1,000 Sonoma County children who risk going without adequate food during the summer, when their schools and the schools’ nutrition programs are closed. From June through August, Every Child, Every Day will provide more than 41,000 hot and meals to youngsters who otherwise would likely go hungry.

The Redwood Empire Food Bank serves the meals at more than 30 sites in areas of high need. At many of those locations, the kids are also offered enrichment activities that help to assure that their minds will remain active and engaged throughout the school break.