Fair showing
Bailey Brown strides into the showmanship competition leading her horse. Brown came in right behind the reserve grand champion for the juniors competition in Tuesday’s horsemanship contest at the Grant County Fair.
R. HANS MILLER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Competition judge Heidi Bach eyes the skill of a young equestrian and makes notes during Tuesday’s competition. Bach said she competed herself when she was young and began judging at 18.
A young woman works with one of the more stubborn horses in the equestrian competition Tuesday morning. Multiple novices, competing for the first time, faced a few challenges but stood proud with their four-hooved friends at the end of the novice heat of the competition.
A young rider leads one of the smaller horses along the route to show off his skills. While both the competitor and his animal were smaller than others, they did well and showed that they’d put in work ahead of the competition.
A young lady holds her horse as she prepares to begin her run through the course for judging. Her purple, black and white outfit was one of many traditional Western outfits competitors wore for the horsemanship competition.
Members of the juniors heat of the competition wait with their horses lined up for scores to be tallied. Boys and girls both led horses through the horsemanship event with varying degrees of success, but consistently with appreciation and care for their animals.
One of the competitors waits for judging to finish in the heat ahead of hers. Competitors generally carried themselves with grace as they worked with their horses.
MOSES LAKE – Perhaps the only thing more colorful than the variety of horses in the Harwood Pavillion Tuesday morning were the outfits of the young equestrians who came to show off their skills. One standout was Bailey Brown, a young horse lover who dressed in more English than Western attire for the event she’d worked hard to prepare for.
“The gal that gives her lessons has her come and help with the horses, so she spends a lot of time actually working with the horse,” said Riley Brown, a family friend who looks at Brown from the perspective of a grandfather. “I mean, it’s one of her favorite things to do.”
Brown was among a large group of youth that came out to show their skills in managing their horses. The showing seemed simple if someone observes casually. The young riders would lead their horses up to a stopping point, get the animals to stand in a particular stance, allow Heidi Bach – the judge for the event – to examine their companion, then jog the horse to a stopping point, turn the animal in a three-quarter turn and lead them off the competition floor. Overall, Bach said, the competitors performed excellently in the pavilion’s arena.
“They did really well,” she said. “What showmanship is all about is a partnership between you and your horse on the ground. So, you want to be at the same time; you want the horse listening to you. Overall, they did really really good.”
Bach said she grew up doing 4H herself and began judging competitions at 18.
“I got into it young and I’ve been at it for a minute or two,” she said.
Bach said a few of the competitors stood out and she could tell that they had really worked with their horses to develop a rapport while others had some challenges. Still, she remained impressed with this year’s competitors who worked past a few particularly stubborn four-legged friends, gave it their best effort and several managed to take home ribbons of one sort or another.
“It’s the ones that the teamwork is really good. The timing’s really good. There’s a couple of (competitors) that just stand out,” she said regarding her impression of this year’s class of equestrians.
R. Hans “Rob” Miller may be reached at editor@columbiabasinherald.com.
Editor’s Note: The Columbia Basin Herald will be collecting results for various competitions throughout the fair and will print consolidated results in our Lifestyle section once that information is compiled.
