It’s a unique sight, watching some of your childhood equestrian idols hop on their horses wearing Captain America leggings and cheesehead hats.

That’s exactly what I saw—and more—in the warm-up area for the $20,000 Gambler’s Choice Costume Class at the Washington International Horse Show. In the class, which takes place during the exciting and popular Barn Night at the Verizon Center, top jumpers dress themselves and their mounts in costume and jump a course of their own choosing for the chance at victory.

As soon as I turned around from photographing Megan Nusz dressed as Dr. Suess’ Cat In The Hat, with her mount Vesuvius as Thing 1 (complete with a poofy blue wig and red Jammies) I saw Kevin Babington warming up on Goodwins Loyalty with shackles around his neck as a prisoner in jail.

Black and white stripes, I must say, were very in this year. Babington’s jailbird costume included a horizontal striped uniform, while Todd Minikus donned vertical stripes as a referee.

Read about what it took for Kaitlin Campbell to get Gabriel’s pegasus costume ready.

Sitting at the in-gate for the costume class, where riders had the opportunity to raise money for breast cancer research by jumping the designated jump clearly, was truly entertaining. I could hear top riders reviewing strategies with their trainers with looks of determination on their faces—then adjust the pompoms in their horse’s mane before going in to jump.

This sport is a serious one—it has to be when you’re campaigning atop a 1,000-plus pound animal. But it’s also nice to take a step back and realize that we’re all in this for the fun of horse showing, even the top professionals. Witnessing Shane Sweetnum pull down his giant leprechaun onesie to retrieve his cell phone from his pocket, and hoist it back up to pose for a picture with the horse show staff was proof of that.

Jessica Springsteen, dressed as an Air Force pilot, had the winning round aboard Lisona, beating out McLain Ward and Zander.

And the $20,000 Gambler’s Choice Costume Class was just the tail end of the action-packed Barn Night. Groups of spirited spectators represented their barns in the stands with matching outfits and colorful signs, competing in contests for prizes like a golf cart.

Check out the hilarious winning video by the Autumn Grove Stable riders, who turned on their dance moves to show their adoration for a certain legendary trainer.

The evening started out with the Shetland Pony Steeplechase Championship, which got everyone on their feet. Kent Farrington and McLain Ward served as celebrity judges as the Shetlands and their tiny jockeys who raced around the ring. The crowd gasped when an ornery pony lost his rider and finished the race on his own (both walked off the course unscathed), and chuckled when another thought galloping was too much work and instead chose to canter leisurely 20 lengths or so behind the pack.

Check out a video of all the action here:

Knight’s Taffy won the first race with Taylor Brinsfield atop, and the second race went to Olney Mardi Gras and Heather Euler.  

Team spirit, adorable ponies causing trouble and top jumpers and their horses impersonating the super heroes we all believe them to be—what more could one ask for?

Follow along with the Chronicle as we bring you all the news from Washington here. Full results from the competition are available here and you can watch a livestream of the entire competition for free here.

For a full report from the Washington International Horse Show, check out the Nov. 10 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse magazine.