Fair riders strut stuff

MILTON -- Riders young and old strutted their stuff Friday evening during the Cabell County Fair Fun Horse Show at Pumpkin Park.

Riders competed in a wide range of categories, from toddlers on toy stickhorses to adults with stallions.

Ethan Bills, 3, of Salt Rock was participating in the event for the first time. He rode alone on a horse lead by an adult as part of the "leadline" class. He and the other participants took home trophies.

Events like the horse show provide "good, clean fun" for everyone, said Tammy Steward, a friend of Bills' family.

"You don't really have a lot of that anymore," she said.

Steward, 35, of Barboursville has been riding horses since she was young. She and 13-year-old daughter Morgan also were participating in Friday's events.

Morgan Steward said she was looking forward to taking to the arena with her horse, Captain's Merrymaker.

"She gets to go out there and show off and show how pretty her horse is," Tammy Steward said.

While the competition in part judged on gait and form, most riders were just happy to be around horses.

Anna Davis, 12, of Ona said being with horses makes her feel better.

"They're like a little lifeline you can always go to when you're feeling bad," she said.

Davis started taking lessons about three years ago, but started riding when she was 4 years old. She said her mother was going through a divorce at the time.

Now Davis has her horse Cherokee, who had never been in a competition until recently. The pair placed in three of four classes in their first show together, she said.

Aaron Lawson, 26, of Salt Rock came to the event with Lawson Stables.

"This is a good show. It's a lot of fun for the kids," he said.

Lawson became active in Cabell County horse shows when he was just 8 years old. Since then, he's won two world championships, and he now trains other youths to ride.

The Cabell County Fair continues through Saturday, July 26.

More information is available at www.cabellcountyfair.org.