Competing at the County Fair...

E. and Curly had their first full day together at the fair. They completed the Western equitation and pleasure classes and the trail course but scratched on the bareback competition.

We arrived at the barn at 6:30 this morning to complete all the cleaning chores and get ready for the day's events. The trail pattern was a bit more complicated that what they've done at other shows this spring and summer. Since Curly was not in the mood to listen to E., it was difficult going. Here are a couple of pics showing him backing up through the Z pattern and also going up on the "bridge."



We don't know what her placing was for this event yet. They immediately went from trail into the equitation class. Curly was far from cooperative - too many nerves? - so again, it was tough going. But E. persevered and ended up with a red ribbon and 4th place. In pleasure, it was the same scene, with another red and 10th place.

Everyone in the club is amazed at how good Curly looks - called him a "diamond in the rough who's more diamond than rough!" - and think that by next year his training and behavior will have caught up with his looks.

The club is doing great with herdsmanship (a.k.a. barn duty). They got a perfect score for Wednesday and Thursday (only club that did!); scores for today have yet to be posted. They are really working at keeping the stalls clean and greeting all the visitors to the barn area.

It was a long, hard day for the girls. The temps nearly reached 100 and it was super muggy. Plus lack of sleep is catching up with everyone. Only two more fair days left....

Working hard?

Last night was fair decorating. Some of the more established 4-H clubs have amazing stall decorations. One has recreated a wild west town using old barn wood to cover all their horse stalls. Another club even has a little sitting area, complete with glass topped table!

Ours is a tad bit simpler. We have a young group and this is their first year out at the fair together. The girls had a great time running around, helping get ready. But the fun did eventually wear off:

This is what could mostly be seen at the barn:
I did notice that our group was one of the few that actually included the kids in set-up. Those amazing decorations from other clubs were definitely "adult inspired and executed!"