BUCYRUS – The best horse-and-handler teams of the Crawford County Fair were officially determined on Tuesday at the 4-H Horse Show.
The Western Showmanship competition kicked off on Tuesday morning at the Fairgrounds’ horse arena, and ultimately the Grand Champion of showmanship was 13-year-old Kalyn Carroll of Galion and her horse, Bullseye.
It was Carroll’s first year in 4-H and first time competing at the Crawford County Fair.
“It feels amazing because I worked really hard,” Carroll said. “My heart just jumped.”
Carroll and Bullseye were named the champions from a group of the top two teams from every showmanship class all morning. The championship class included everybody from ages 8 to 18.
“It’s a tough class because we had a lot of good kids,” said Trisha Tackett, president of the Horse Council. “They’re being judged on how they present their horse, how clean their horse is, and how well they perform the maneuvers in the pattern.”
The patterns each team had to perform were different for the showmanship classes as well as the championship class. Horses and handlers had to walk well together, spin in circles, trot together, and stand square during the judges’ inspection.
“We were being judged on how crisp we were, how we were standing, our pivots and how we were in line with the judge,” Carroll said.
Tackett said Carroll was a standout in her class because of how in-sync she was with her horse.
“She had a very nice pattern, very crisp and very clean,” Tackett said. “The crispness of the pattern, how you do your maneuvers, and how you present yourself. Keep your chin up, smile, shoulders back.”
The goal of showmanship is to prove that both handler and horse are working as one unit. Tackett said judges look for how well horse and handler work together as a team.
“I listen to him, and let him do his job and what he’s supposed to do, and then I do what I’m supposed to do,” Carroll said.
“A good showmanship pattern would be like the horse is just going off the body of the person,” Tackett added. “You shouldn’t have to use a lot of lead rope, that horse should just stay right there beside you and do everything that you do.”
That advice was also echoed by 9-year-old Rebecca Davies of Crestline, who won her showmanship class to advance to the championship round. This was also Davies’ first time competing at the Crawford County Fair.
“Be confident of yourself, don’t pull on the lead when you’re making the horse walk, and don’t ever stand behind the horse,” Davies advised.
According to her mother, Amy, Davies has been riding horses since she was 18 months old and living in Wales. After moving back to the United States in 2012, it took the family a few years to get involved in 4-H, but Davies took to the sport very quickly once she teamed up with her horse, Rocky.
“He’s been trained very well, and he’s really good,” Davies said of Rocky. “We know each other really well, and he does what I say a lot.”
“I was excited for her and happy for her when she won, but I’m just glad she’s having fun,” added Amy Davies. “I don’t care if she gets last place or first place as long as she’s having fun.”
Having fun was also a very important part for Carroll and Bullseye – an added bonus to their blue ribbon for the day. Oh, and practice, practice, practice.
“Try really hard, and don’t give up,” Carroll advised. “Do your best, and have fun.”
