Horsemanship, showmanship showcased in horse show

WORLAND — The 2016 Washakie County Horse Show got started Friday, thanks in part to first-year superintendent Jessica Tharp.

Tharp said she volunteered this year because she didn’t want to lose the horse show as part of the county fair. “They didn’t have a lot of volunteers and I didn’t want to see the horse show go away. There aren’t as many kids in this show but they work just as hard,” Tharp said. There were 12 participants in this year’s horse show.

Tharp herself is fairly new to 4-H, having grown up in Oregon and competed in other horse competitions. “It’s (4-H) is new to me, but I really like it.”

First up for Tharp was adjusting to the move to a new day. Traditionally the horse show has been on the first Saturday of fair week. It was moved this year to accommodate the tractor pull which is at 6 p.m. tonight.

Tharp has one child involved in the horse show, daughter Natalie, who won her second-straight 4-H Intermediate grand champion showmanship ribbon Friday during the Washakie County Fair Horse Show.

Tharp’s son, Beckett is just a year shy of competing at the county fair.

The horse show featured the judging of Casper College Assistant Livestock Judge Reba Smith. Smith, who hails from Oregon, earned a collegiate scholarship for livestock judging. She was active in 4-H and FFA and has been judging for the past 15 years.

Just prior to showmanship starting, Smith said, showmanship is about the horseman and whether they have properly prepared their horse for showing, is the horse clean, how well do they demonstrate safety, control and perform the maneuvers as marked on the showmanship pattern.

Eight of the 12 horse show competitors competed in showmanship, four in juniors, two in intermediate, one in seniors and one in FFA.

Tharp, with her horse Apache, earned top honors in juniors. She said she likes being able to work with her horse and likes the challenge of showmanship, including making the horse stay in position, maneuvering her horse around the pattern and just.

Reserve champion went to first-time showman Bailey Wright. Daniel and Dylan Casdorph also competed for their first year. Father, Myron Casdorph said, “That’s what we do, horses. We ride horses.”

Smith, following the junior showman competition, told the young horsemen “the fundamentals for showmanship are so important when you are around horses. You have the knowledge of where be with your horse, especially if it’s a young horse.”

She advised them to keep their leads “figure-eighted” in their one hand.

Smith added, “You guys look pretty sharp. Just remember to know how to be safe with your horse.”

Bailey Gibbons won her second straight grand champion 4-H senior showman award, winning this year with her horse Comet. She has been involved in 4-H for eight years. Gibbons, who competes in barrel racing in high school, said she practices a lot and showmanship helps show her what she and her horse need to work on to get better.

Makayla Fulfer was the lone FFA horse show competitor on Friday. Fulfer, who enters this school year as a junior, has competed in the horse show in FFA for three years. She said she enjoys working with her horse for the various events in the horse show.

This year, she and Mert, won grand champion FFA showman. It was Mert’s first time in showmanship Fulfer noted.

At the intermediate level, Maddie Fantaskey and Jon Nicholas competed for grand and reserve showman honors. Fantaskey, with her horse Lucky, won grand champion.

“Horses are everything,” Fantaskey said of competing in the horse show. For showmanship, she said, “I like making my horse pretty.”

Nicholas, like Fantaskey, has been competing for two years, and said it’s just one event for him as he vies for the all-around honor.

The Washakie County Fair show continues today with the horseshoe contest at 10 a.m. and tractor pull this evening.

The judging continues on Monday with the 4-H dog show at 8 a.m., swine show Tuesday at 6 p.m., goat show Wednesday at 8 a.m., sheep show at 10 a.m., flowers at 1 p.m. and cat show at 2 p.m. On Thursday is the beef show with breeding beef at 8 a.m. and market beef at 11 a.m. The rabbit show is at 1 p.m. followed by the poultry show at 3 p.m.

Friday is the alpaca show at 9 a.m.

Round robin is back

Back this year is the round robin at noon on Friday. This year there will be a large animal round robin for grand champion showmen for each division in horses, beef, sheep, swine, goat and alpaca. If a grand champion opt, the reserve champion has a chance to compete.

There will also be a small animal round robin featured the showmen from rabbits, poulty, dogs and cats.

Each showman first shows his/her animal and then rotates to the next animal, showing each animal in the round robin.