Over the years the Washington International Horse Show, back in the capital area for the 50th time in as many years, October 21-26 at the Verizon Center in downtown Washington, D.C., has drawn its share of notable guests, including Alice Roosevelt Langford, Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Gerald R. Ford, General William Westmoreland, Christopher Reeve, John Cleese, Bruce Springsteen, William Shatner, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Arthur Godfrey.

Perhaps one of the Show's best-known personalities, and something of a local legend, will be making a return appearance this year, for nearly the 50th time.

Betty Oare of Warrenton started coming to the show back in 1958, its inaugural year.

"My dad was in the horse business in Tryon, North Carolina, and the Washington International was a huge part of the Eastern indoor Fall circuit," she said.

We had met to talk a bit about her life and the Show, both so powerfully intertwined, at the Middleburg Horse Show taking place in nearby Upperville. It's difficult to say what was most striking in that first meeting; her ease and grace around the people and animals so prevalent at any horse show, her generosity and kindness to an admittedly un-horsey reporter learning on the fly, or the fact that not a single person walked by without a 'Hello, Betty!' or a smile for a clearly remarkable woman who so obviously loves the sport and animals and people she's given so much of her life to.

"That first year we won the Virginia Horse Show Association Equitation Medal. 'Can Do' was a wonderful mare," she remembers. "And Sports Illustrated covered it! They had a section then, on the last page of the magazine, called Pat on the Back, and that's where we were."

The next year, Mrs. Oare, then a freshman at South Carolina's Converse College, represented her school aboard 'Colonymas,' another mare that clearly still holds a special place in her heart. "We took home the Junior Working Hunter Championship that year," she says, smiling at the memory.

The Washington International clearly holds a special place in Mrs. Oare's heart as well. After participating in the event nearly every year for half a century, it comes as no surprise. "When the Show started, they held it at the old DC National Guard Armory. We'd stay near Union Station. Then, in 1975 and for the next 25 years, they moved the show to the Cap Centre [in Prince George's County]. It was a much more spacious venue, much roomier, which was wonderful. But it's so nice to be back in Washington. Since the show came back in 2000 it's just had a bit more of that Washington sparkle. And they do such an incredible job preparing the building. They close down one of the streets outside and that's where we set up our portable stalls."

It's hard not to smile, sitting there in the sun, listening to this wonderful woman, the smell of horses and outdoors strong in the air, a picture of horse stalls cropping up on the streets of the nation's capital forming in my mind. It seems right, somehow.

"My husband, Ernie, has been an incredible support over the years," says Oare, smiling. "Family is so important. And my brother, Bucky Reynolds, does an amazing job training the horses. We've been fortunate to have had some wonderful animals, from 'Navy Commander' to 'Spirit of Song' to 'Freedom Rings.' This year we've entered 'Estrella' in the Show as well as 'Kost to Coast' in the Conformation Hunters."

"We are delighted to bring this wonderful event to Washington again this year," said Austin Kiplinger, chairman of the WIHS board of directors. "This is truly a family event with excitement for everyone."

Approximately 600 horse and rider combinations will compete in show jumping, hunters, equitation and dressage during the six-day event, and competitors will vie for more than $415,000 in prize money and championship titles. Since its founding in 1958, the WIHS has developed a reputation as one of the nation's premier equestrian events, drawing competitors and participants from all over the world.

Today, the show's focus is primarily on the core disciplines of show jumping, hunters and equitation, but it's safe to say that there really is something for just about everyone at this show of equine pageantry and performance in downtown D.C.

In addition to more traditional events, there will be a Pony Pavilion for the kids with free pony rides and a variety of hands-on activities and exhibitions on Saturday, October 25th; driving, or carriage exhibitions; Saddlebred horse demonstrations; agility dogs; Jack Russell Terrier races; and a "Big and Little", an exhibition by famous horse-trainer Caroline Williams pairing a large Friesian and a miniature horse.

More than 65 vendors, showcasing everything from gifts, clothing, jewelry and art to equestrian saddlery and tack, will be on hand as well.

"I've been incredibly fortunate to do this my whole life," says Oare. "I love it. So much goes into making it all happen, from the horses to the trainers to the riders. I've been very, very lucky."

Something tells me that there's more to it than that; something tells me Betty Oare is pretty good at making her own luck.