Why we're not going to the State Fair Show

The deadline has come and gone. This year, we're not going to the state fair horse show, even though it's one of the few we go to that you have the chance to come home with more money than you spent. That's hard to pass up.

Actually, not at all. Not when you're going to spend that money at the therapist's.

The state fair show has lions and tigers and bears -- oh my! Actually, what Buddy could see was the elephant ride and the camel ride, which was somewhat distressing, but not nearly as bad as (drumroll) THE PIGS! Their show barn was within sight of the horse show arena, and though you could not exactly see a pig, you could hear hundreds of pigs. You could also get whiffs of pig, which as everyone knows, smell to a horse like lions and tigers and bears -- oh my!

We actually worked through that last year and almost stayed worked through that. Well, sort of except in one class where there was some pig squealing drifting over. But all the clamor, the lights, the ferris wheel, the idiots schooling in the arena and schooling area.  I don't know  why more people weren't killed.

Well, I don't really know if they were killed or not, because I had my eyes shut. They needed a traffic cop in there. Horses jumping two directions at once, a few collisions. Kids falling off. Coaches screaming. Mothers crying. Dads calling 9-1-1. (Not really. the dads were calling to make sure their horse insurance was up-to-date. Or maybe they were calling to check on football scores.) And horse-clueless spectators  eating cotton candy and enjoying the show, thinking this was the way things are supposed to be.

A friend of mine quit going the year before when the fair set off their fireworks show -- and she and her horses were still there, at least until they all turned upside down. We cleared out before the fireworks because, although Lily managed to qualify for a championship class, she wanted to Go Home. (Me too!)

Buddy showed us how good he could be -- and how bad. He got second in two classes with lots of competition, then had to be withdrawn from almost every other one -- in the middle of the class. No, wait. I have that wrong. Lily jumped the wrong courses in two classes (perfect rounds at that, but they do care which jumps you jump, in case you were wondering).

Mid-show, after Buddy had to be withdrawn from a flat class that he was convinced he was winning because he managed to gallop past every other entrant and almost flatten the judge and clip the ringmaster, I ended up being one of those mean horse show moms you see working with the horse and child. We scratched the next class, but in the meantime I made her ride in what passed for a quiet area (did I mention the trains? That there were trains running right by the fairgrounds and blowing their horns throughout the day?) until she was recovered and felt like she was In Charge of Buddy, since this was a concept he had not fully agreed with earlier. It actually turned out to be a good experience that we often refer to when things are Not Going Quite Right.

The icing on the cake for me is the parking. I could not park my Prius where they wanted me to back my trailer. I offered my keys to the attendant, but he wouldn't take or park my rig. I've discussed this event at length with my therapist, thank you, and don't want to say anymore about it.

That was last year. We did take Annie, the World's Best Pony, a couple of years ago. Annie was great, because nothing bothers Annie except when she has to stay in the Jenny Craig paddock (sand) because she is about to founder and explode. The poor thing lived on three small handfulls of pellets the whole time I had her (and one flake of hay) and was still rotund. Anyway, Annie was fine at the state fair show, though I don't think she won anything. She was fine - until the mules started arriving for the mule show the next day. Annie was confronted by a mule, and got an expression I have never seen before. I think it was, "Dude! What did they do to your ears? Man, I'd better leave." So she backed up, very, very slowly. Her version of spooking.

Here's a photo of Annie and Lily waiting their turn at the state fair show before the mules showed up (click to make big enough to see):

Comments

[Kathy C]

I love this photo.

We are heading down for the Horse Expo Friday night. It's where Nicole has her pictures entered. (thanks for the comments) This is the big English/Western state show. Because my kids do mainly barrel racing we don't often enter classes that would qualify us for the Expo. Next year they are thinking of having the Gymkhana event there, which is another reason to check it out.

[Anne]

Thanks!

I hope Nicole wins in the ring and with the photo! And your other daughter, too.

Congrats to both of them for qualifying! I know everyone must be pretty excited waiting for Friday.

Good luck -- and have fun.

[Lori]

yoga on horseback? new event??

[Lori]

yoga on horseback? new event??

[Jen]

To be that limber again. sigh.

I am still laughing at the mule comment. The horse I am leasing now lives with a mule that they use for fox hunting. You can always tell new horses at the meets by how they react to Mr Mule.LOL

[Anne]

I never was that limber! And they should make it a horse show class, though I certainly can't enter (but it would be entertaining to watch).

I think if I saw a mule foxhunting, I'd have to back up out of the way, too. I'm a little perplexed by the mule trend. Guess I should ride one to find out why they're getting so popular. What do you think?

[Jen]

I've never ridden a mule either. The one at the barn is particular about who rides him, sort of a 'one-person mule.' I'm envious of his hooves though, they are like rocks. He is a steady guy too, I've never seen him spook at anything.

[Anne]

To have mule hooves! That would be great.

I know nothing about mules. Didn't know they could be one-person animals. I understand that they are smarter than horses. Which may be the subject of a soon-to-come post! Thanks for the idea.

[I Gallop On]

Wow! That's one limber kiddo. What a darling photo.