September is Fair time! Perth Fair that is!
…and it was a scorcher! With 32 classes to start they were still dragging the ring a half hour after start time and we waited! I think Jennifer groaned audibly at me, “You said we’d be done early!” She proclaimed, last year it had all gone quickly and we were done by 4, maybe not this time! Horse Shows! I was glad she had decided to judge, I told her misery loves company! I appreciate her amazing eye, I’m still looking at a horse’s pretty face and she can tell me it’s not tracking up from behind, right hind leg before I have even gotten past the ears! She has ridden all the disciplines and has so much knowledge, so a great person to judge and help anyone coming up in the ranks! And hey, we were in the shaded building on the edge of the ring, judges, announcer and the amazing Kristyn who organized it all! Not me, I was out in the sun for the first half of the day before admitting defeat and retreating for the 2nd half of the show to take pictures from the building only!
This wonderful Fair is run mostly by volunteers. We ran the Hunter Horse Show for many years when we had Ranyhyn Farm, our equestrian center, so it is nice to lend a hand, a chance for local kids to shine, taking photos and dragging the jumps around is the least I can do! We were well fed by Tommy, delicious pulled pork sandwiches, what else could you want! It started with the English Classes.
There was only one bad pony with a tough little rider and all day long we only lost one kid, bucked off, to an over-enthusiastic horse! It wasn’t a hard hit to the ground so all got up, brushed off the sand and carried on! The came the Western classes…
and then the pairs classes:)
I got a few headshots of the beautifully clean and turned-out horses, the tongue wagger was very comedic. There was a Spanish-speaking family standing next to me at the ring laughing, “Qué divertido esa lengua!” I had to chuckle along with them as well! Provided that the rider is not pulling on the metal bit, and causing pain, it may just be a habit, expression of anxiety, or expression of concentration. Every case can be different.
The we stopped for lunch before the jumping! We had a few hands to help us set up and measure the course that Kristyn had made up. I sat and watched some of the rides as we ate. I zoomed in on some of the faces on one ride, having fun? Not sure;) Ha! We agreed the teacups, or merry-go-round might be more our style;)
The heavy horse and mini show had also started out towards the Scotch Line, that can always cause even the quietest horse to have a look at loudspeakers blaring and jingling harnesses! And those minnies! Way too cute! Please tell me those barrels are full of wine! My perfect ride! hahahaha! I’ll take the large barrel por favor! Merci!
The jumping was fun, as always, we had a few cringes and crossed fingers, stay on kid! Hang in there, what amazing ponies, doing their jobs. Brings back memories of many previous shows!
I did miss a few rounds as the camera battery started to die before it had processed about 60 shots, Perhaps I was shooting too quickly and given the 31° temperature, it wasn’t happy either! I found a corner to stand in where I had a clear shot of the fences, in the shade, Whew…I was sweating even there! These kids and adults are tough, not to mention the horses!
After the over-fences classes, we pulled the rails and standards to the side of the ring while the Costume class participants were getting ready. My favourite part of the show! We had a John Deer Tractor, Harry Potter Pony, a Pirate, a butterfly (?) (too damn cute!), Barbie, A Harley Pony, a busted orange-clad pony and a cop and Yoda with Chewbacca:) I had to admit the cop was my favourite, the pony, Slick’n’Dry was busted for impeding traffic;) Ha!
…and there was more!!! The games! Egg and spoon, the last egg left in the spoon wins after the walk, trot, canter, and multiple stops! Water cup, the most amount of water left in the cup after several maneuvers wins! Relay race, timed, and whew…we were done!
Shouts out to all the volunteers at the Fair and Kristyn who did an amazing job putting the Family Fun Horse Show together! Jennifer did a wonderful job judging, kids even came and asked for more advice, love to see that! Announcers/ring stewards Amanda and Janet, thank you as well! And many thanks to Tommy for lunch! I think it took me as long to go through the photos as the entire horse show! I posted a link online here at the website for the kids and adults to download the pictures, free of charge for them to share and keep. I’ll leave it up for a while, many more pictures there if you want to have a look.
So, we’ll wait for next year’s Fair! Maybe I’ll get out and take a look around at the rides and heavy horses if it’s not boiling again! Look for those casks of wine;) Ha! Saludos amigos! Salutations aux amis!
