MANSFIELD — Aubrey Timmons bounced out of the arena and towards the worn wood bleachers, grinning and holding up a ruffled blue ribbon.
“Grandma, I did it!” she said.
Her grandmother, Susan Timmons, smiled back and fist bumped the young competitor.
This is the first year Aubrey, 9, and her older sister Hannah, 11, have shown horses in the Richland County Fair, but they’re not strangers to working with them.
“They’ve been around horses since they were born,” the girls’ father, Jason Timmons, said.
Last year, Aubrey helped her grandfather show the family’s draft horses.
“I kind of like showing draft horses more. They’re bigger,” she said. “You have to be really strong to handle them.”
The family typically shows horses in Morrow County, but decided to give the Richland County Fair a try this year.
“They do things completely different,” Jason said. “All the showing is completely different, The patterns are all different. They’re learning a lot of new things.
“They’ll to make mistakes, but they’ll learn from it, I’m sure.”
The Timmons sisters competed in several events during Tuesday’s small equine competition. Their steeds jumped hurdles and pulled carts. They pursued snacks during the bribery barrel — an event where competitors lead horses around obstacles by dangling a carrot in front of their nose.
Jason said caring for the horses has taught his daughters responsibility, but they also have a lot of fun.
“He’s the sweetest boy,” Aubrey said of her horse, Ranger — even as he whipped his head, neighed repeatedly and pulled against his reins.
The girl pulled back and issued a stern warning, but she knew why he was upset. Hannah’s horse, Mojo, was on the other side of the arena.
“When he’s agitated it’s because his brother’s gone,” Aubrey said. “It’s kind of hard because he goes crazy and he’s noisy.”
Miniature horses are too small to be ridden, with a maximum height of 38 inches.
But Marla Reynolds, whose family owns both saddle and miniature horses, said miniature horses aren’t that different than their standard-sized counterparts. Showmanship standards are largely the same, as are the methods of preparing for a competition.
Reynolds said the biggest challenge for competitors in the horse show is the unpredictability.
“They’re animals, you never know what they’re going to do,” Reynolds told Richland Source last year. “They may behave perfectly at home and then you come here. There’s golf carts and there are people and there’s different noises that they’re not used to.
“They’re also pinned up all day and that makes it a little bit more challenging.”
Fortunately, the Timmons sisters like a challenge.
“He loves to goof around. That’s my favorite part,” Hannah said. “I like controlling him. I love teaching myself how to get him going.”
