Horses, costumes, horses, professional dancers, horses, an evil villain, a silent auction, a musical soundtrack and more horses.  

This weekend marks the 14th annual Spirit of the Horse Live Equine Holiday Spectacular at the Lake City Oaks Equestrian Center with a show on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. 

Hosted by Horses without Humans Rescue, the performance raises funds for their work of providing a future for unwanted horses. The nonprofit has 66-70 horses that it’s currently working with in Florida.  

“If you don’t even like horses, you’ll love them by the time you leave,” said Yvonne Barteau, executive director of Horses without Humans Rescue.  

Barteau spoke with Larry Wilson from 106.9 I Am Country to highlight the event. She told him the Spirit of the Horse event is the best thing she’s ever done. And she’s done a lot within the equestrian world.  

Barteau has trained over 30 horses to the Grand Prix Level/Olympic level dressage and qualified horses and riders for World Championships—earning dozens of titles. She also trained GP Raymeister, the Most Winning Horse in United States Dressage Federation history. 

Besides training, she’s also participated in other entertainment performances including ‘An Evening of Dancing Horses®’ and the theatre dining attraction ‘Arabian Nights’ in Orlando.  

For Spirit of the Horse, Barteau brings down dancers from the University of Illinois along with custom costumes and kidnapped children—for show purposes only. But, spoilers, Barteau said the end befits the holiday season.  

You can purchase tickets online. General children’s admission is $15 with adults at $25. There’s also a family bundle (two adults and up to three children) for $75.  

The Friday and Saturday shows run from 7 to 8:30 p.m. with Sunday starting at 6 p.m. 

“Everything’s larger than life,” Barteau said, adding that the show hasn’t had a complaint in 14 years.