He’s Not Horsing Around

William Shatner is rustling up his Hollywood friends and mounting up for his fifth annual Hollywood Charity Horse Show. The event is more spectator-friendly than ever, with fast-paced reining horse competitions, celebrity riders in team penning contests and lots of equine exhibitions, including trick riders and drill teams on horseback and a country-Western hoedown.

Shatner is an avid rider and competitor (“I’ve gone from trying to remember the (reining) pattern to wanting the blue ribbon”) and he’s combined his interest with raising money for children’s charities. Tens of thousands of dollars have been raised for Ahead With Horses and other groups through the show, Shatner said. A new beneficiary this year will be Futures for Children, a support organization for Native American children.

The group sponsors about 2,500 youngsters, said Al Minturn, a sponsor and acting spokesman for the group. “But there are probably 25,000 who need sponsorship. . . . We hope to make the program better known through participation (in the show.)”

The event begins Saturday at 6 p.m. A party sponsored by Chatsworth’s Cowboy Palace Saloon also gets under way at the Equestrian Center on Saturday night, with barbecue, dance lessons, live band and a silent auction included for $30.

On Sunday, amateur reiners will compete, drill teams and stunt and trick riders will perform at noon.

L.A. Equestrian Center, 480 Riverside Drive, Burbank. Admission, $10; children younger than 12, seniors and handicapped, free. (818) 840-9066.