The story of Thunderbird Show Park began in 1966 when George and Dianne Tidball purchased a horse out of a field in Penticton. As the story goes, after driving past and feeding the same horse two days in a row on the way to a ski hill, their oldest daughter Kathy suggested to her parents that they buy it. They did... for $150.

From there, things took off at a gallop. Dianne started looking for acreage and in 1969 the family sold their house in West Vancouver to move to a place more suitable for horses - Fort Langley. From that point on, the horses always came first. While the indoor arena and stables were built, the family lived in a trailer, their house would come later.

While son Stephen was team roping and cutting in the high school rodeos, the girls were refining their own riding skills. Having hired western trainer Doug Henry, George asked him to teach Kathy and Jane and get them ready for their first show.

When Doug asked which show and how much time he had to work with them, George simply replied, "The PNE - next week." And sure enough, the girls were both showing at the PNE the following week.

In 1970, George and Dianne purchased property at 200th Street and Highway 1 in Langley. Soon after the purchase, construction began on an indoor riding arena, two stable buildings and two outdoor riding rings which would host the first show in 1972 - and quarter horse show and team roping at Thunderbird Equestrian Centre.

Jumping horses soon followed with the first hunter/jumper show just a year later.

Laura, the youngest of the Tidball children, had been riding stock horses but quickly realized that when there were no cattle around, the kids on the jumping horses were having more fun. She made the switch, clearly the right choice as Laura would go on to win both the ASPCA Maclay and AHSA Medal finals in 1980 and join the Canadian equestrian team for two Olympic Games - 1984 in Los Angeles, Calif., and 1988 in Seoul, Korea.

Throughout the '80s and '90s, Thunderbird built its reputation as a quality horse show facility in the Pacific Northwest. Of course, having a Keg Steakhouse attached to the indoor riding arena added a little something to the experience.

In 1998, as development was quickly closing in on the properties prime location, the decision was made to redevelop the property and close down the equestrian centre permanently.

"We never intended on relocating. We all understood that this was going to be the end of Thunderbird Equestrian Centre," George recalls.

However, Dianne had something else in mind. She refused to give up her annual show dates and despite not having a facility, went on to hold the Thunderbird horse shows in 1999 - at Milner Downs. Within the year, Dianne broached the subject to George.

"Dianne whispers to me, 'We have 30 years of experience, I know if we do it again we can really do it right.' In a moment of weakness, I agreed."

That summer, the current 83 acre plot of land was purchased and Robert Jolicoeur of International Equestrian Design - the same firm that planned the equestrian venue for the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta - was brought on board to create Thunderbird Show Park.

"Robert was integral in the entire design process from the site plan right down to the drainage and sound," George recalls.

Though the original plan was to build the Park in phases, beginning with one hunter ring, one jumper ring, two warm-up rings, and indoor stabling for 200, Dianne wasn't one to wait.

"With Dianne's indomitable spirit, we opened with three hunter rings, three jumper rings, four warm-up rings and indoor stabling for 450," laughs George.

Dianne oversaw the development of Thunderbird Show Park and managed it until 2005 when she handed the reins over to her daughter Jane.

What had begun with a $150 horse in 1966 had become a multi-million dollar state-of-the-art equestrian facility.

Coming into the 2010 show season, Thunderbird now has three indoor arenas, three hunter rings, three jumper rings, five warm-up rings, one outdoor rodeo/multi-use arena, a total stabling capacity of up to 980 horses and a par 72, 18-hole putting course - just to list a few of the features.

The facility carries on as a family business. Daughter Jane is the president and tournament director; granddaughter Stephanie is the marketing manager; and son Stephen sits on the board of directors alongside his father.

Daughter Laura with her husband Brent run a successful hunter/jumper training business; granddaughter Laura-Jane successfully competes in many of the Grand Prix events; grandson George holds team roping and rodeo events; grandsons Scott and Matthew can be seen selling their fabulous smoothies and other goodies during the horse shows; and the rest of the family - Kathy, Mark, Jill, and Christine - all play active roles in the Thunderbird Vision Committee and are present for many of the main events.

The Tidball family is now 37 years in the horse business and from modest beginnings looks forward to the future with two World Cup events in 2010 and a vision of combining world class events with a fun and welcoming family atmosphere.

- Reprinted, with permission, from the Thunderbird Show Park 2010 Premium publication.