MANSFIELD — In costumes, including a Native American princess, a little mermaid and at least two gown-wearing snow queens, Friday’s freestyle reining competitors at the Richland County Fair performed to contemporary hits like Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” and Florida Georgia Line’s “This Is How We Roll.” And judging by the response of the appreciative crowd, the show was a resounding success.
The Richland County Saddle Club-sponsored event featured competitors in three classes: junior (13 and younger), senior (14 to 18) and open. Costume-clad contestants and their costume-clad horses executed several compulsory moves in front of a pair of cowboy hat-wearing judges seated just inside the ring while music thundered from the sound system.
Meanwhile, fans of all ages sought refuge from the late afternoon sun under the covered aluminum bleachers surrounding the outdoor arena or on blankets laid out in the shadows of the adjacent barns. They snacked on corn dogs, french fries and funnel cakes, drank fresh-squeezed lemonade and cheered wildly as participants and their equine partners sped around the oversized oval ring.
“I’ve been riding since before I could walk. We’ve had horses all of my life,” said 17-year-old Ellyse Shafer, who won the senior class atop Spirit, her 10-year-old American Quarter Horse. “There’s nothing I’d rather do.”
A Clear Fork High School student and member of Bellville’s Clear Fork Colts and Fillies 4-H club, Shafer performed to the song “Rodeo” by country legend Garth Brooks. She wore bull riding chaps, a western shirt and an oversized belt buckle.
“My boyfriend used to be a bull rider until he got into an accident, so I use all his stuff,” Shafer said. “I don’t rodeo myself, but I’m a barrel racer.”
Riders in the freestyle reining competition are judged on a series of required circles, spins and stops.
“We have to do two large, fast circles in each direction and one small, slow circle in each direction,” Shafer said. “Then we have to have a lead change in each direction, which is when the horse switches its leg movement (without breaking gait or changing speed.
“Then we have to do two spins in each direction and we have to stop and back up for at least 10 feet. Those are the required maneuvers, but people will throw in their own moves.”
Ontario senior-to-be Allie Atkinson finished second to Shafer in the senior division. Not surprisingly, Atkinson, a standout on Ontario’s girls soccer team and the daughter of Ontario girls soccer coach Larry Atkinson, had a World Cup theme for her performance.
The fan favorite in the senior division was Shelby’s Mallory Lynch, who made for a convincing Princess Ariel from “The Little Mermaid.” Lynch died her hair red and her horse was made to look like flounder, Ariel’s sidekick in the 1989 animated Disney film.
“I don’t know if the (red dye) is going to wash out,” Lynch said as she waited for the results of the senior class to be announced.
The junior class was won by Madelyn Strouth, who entertained the crowd with a hand-clapping performance to Pharell Williams’ anthem “Happy.” Shelby freshman-to-be Marissa Lynch, dressed as Princess Elsa from the 2013 Disney film “Frozen, had a crowd-pleasing performance to the hit song “Let it Go.”
All the riders made it look easy Friday, but Shafer said looks can be deceiving.
“Oh my gosh. To get (Spirit) to where he is at has been a few years,” Shafer said. “I’ve taken lesson every week for at least two years with him, but it’s worth it.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
