There are a few new events added to the horse riding program this year and a strong group of competitors.
Angela Halvorsen Smith is on the fair’s board of directors as well as taking lead on the horse show portion of the event. She says she reached out to the regular competitors to ask their opinion on the event.
“We did have a bit of a change this year,” she said. “Earlier this year I put out a survey to my horse show participants from last year and just asked them if there were any suggestions they had or if there were changes they’d like to see us make. I’m also on the fair board so I brought those ideas to the fair board and we actually added a few classes on Friday that some of the people were asking for.”
Friday traditionally features performance classes, including halter classes, showmanship classes which are more geared toward performance and are judged by a judge brought in from outside the region.
They’ve added three Gymkhana classes or competitions to the Friday program this year while the rest of the Gymkhana will take place on Saturday.
The three competitions added to the Friday portion of the schedule are Skudahoe, Quadrangle and the Ribbon Race.
In Skudahoe riders will start on the left side of the pattern, weave the five poles to the end, turn and go over a jump in the middle then weave the three barrels on the right side of the pattern, turn and go over the jump in the middle again to the finish line. There will be no time if riders go off pattern or if they touch a barrel or pole with their hand and time penalties will apply to barrels or poles that are knocked over.
In Quadrangle riders enter the ring heading to the first barrel in either direction. Circle the two bottom barrels in a figure 8 pattern then ride up to the top barrel, circle it, ride straight across, to the final barrel and then race back to the finish line. There will be no time if riders touch the barrel with their hand and time penalties will apply to barrels that are knocked over.
In the ribbon race two riders hold a 3-foot-long ribbon as they race around the barrels at the end of the arena and back around to the finish line. There will be no time for losing or breaking the ribbon.
The Saturday program begins at 8 a.m. with a break for the riders who want to enter the parade. The events on Saturday include Keyhole, Flag, Pole Bending, Egg and Spoon and the ever-popular bat race where riders must ride their horse then dismount and spin around on a baseball bat on their foreheads then remount their horses and continue riding.
Halvorsen Smith says over 25 riders registered for the horse show and there are usually some last minute registrations.
Horse show classes begin at 9 a.m. on Friday Aug 16 and 8 a.m. on Saturday Aug. 17.
