Contestants not just horsing around
Staff writer
Sunday’s hot weather, which peaked at 99 degrees, had decreased only slightly, to 94, when Marion County Fair’s horse show began at 6 p.m.
With zero cloud cover and an outdoor arena bereft of shade, spectators in the bleachers sipped from Big Gulp cups and sweated the showcase out.
Opinions about how much the horses would be affected by the heat were mixed.
“It does have an effect,” extension agent Brett Toews said. “Once we put a saddle pod and a blanket on, it’s just another layer of stuff they have to deal with.”
Stuart Andres, helping his 9-year-old daughter, Skylar, prepare her horse for the showcase, said differently.
“I mean, they’re animals,” Andres said. “They’re outside 24/7. Kind of like me. I work outside full-time, so I’m used to this.”
Before their turns inside the arena, horses and exhibitors waited outside in a grass lot.
Horses whinnied, nibbled at the ground, and side-eyed the cars that took their place as transportation long ago.
Skylar was one of nine competitors. Her steed, Levi, was double her age at 18.
“A pretty good horse,” she said definitively, applying a final brush to Levi’s mane and tail.
Andres and Skylar began washing, combing, and grooming Levi at 2 p.m. that day.
But physical training for the competition started far earlier.
Skylar has owned and trained Levi for five years.
“We’re really only getting a snapshot of time here watching them, because at home, they’re spending hours working,” Toews said.
Extension agent Rickey Roberts, positioned next to a cooler of ice water, agreed.
“The amount of work it takes to get here is through the roof,” he said.
During the first event, “horsemanship,” horses are judged on appearance, gait, and how they are handled.
A calm horse is essential for a good score.
“This horse is totally broke,” Andres said of Levi. “You can set a small bomb next to it, and it won’t do nothing.”
Clarissa Peterson’s daughter, in contrast, was skipping the horsemanship event.
“Her horse likes to bite her,” Peterson laughed.
In the second part of the showcase, 4-Hers mounted their steeds and navigated a trail pattern full of obstacles.
“It’s something you might incur if you’re out pasture riding, where you might be stepping over logs, going over a bridge, or opening a gate,” Toews said. “We ask them to do a side pass, too, so they have to walk sideways with the horse.”
Horses were judged on footwork, maneuverability, and “smoothness in the saddle.” No one likes a bouncy ride.
Sixteen-year-old E.V. Cannon of Goessel rode Reba, a chestnut-colored red roan.
“She’s going to stand with you and listen,” E.V.’s mother, April Tucker, said. “She’s not going to throw a fit out in the arena like some of the others might.”
The Cannons purchased Reba in October.
“She’s kind of a spoiled brat,” Tucker said. “She likes to be babied.”
Even without many competitors, the horse show took around three hours to complete.
Roberts complained jokingly about Toews’ commitment to the show.
“Brett makes us stay all night,” he said. “At least we got a breeze.”
Unlike livestock, which are showcased at the fair in part so they can fetch high prices at auction, horses are a permanent fixture in riders’ lives.
“A lot of these kids will keep these horses for their whole career,” Toews said. “They’re very attached to them.”
Often, a seasoned horse will spend many years at showcases, having grown up alongside its rider.
For local youths, competing is less about a high score than it is about an evening out with a four-legged friend.
“They spend hours to get 15 minutes in front of the judge,” Roberts said. “But the journey is what develops those life skills that we think are so important.”