I’ve spent some time talking with kids that are showing livestock this year, so now it’s time to talk about horses! I stopped by the Kandziora’s and spoke with Ellie about showing horses at the county fair. Ellie’s basically been showing her whole life! One of the most interesting parts is the story behind Joe, the horse she barrel races with.
Joe’s already twenty years old, but he’s still great when it comes to competing around the barrels. He was actually her mom, Pam’s horse. Pam trained him, started showing him, and now her daughter gets the chance to bring him out to the ring. Clearly, she did a great job!
This year, Ellie’s planning on barrel racing and doing all gymkhana events. In case you’re not sure what gymkhana is, you’re not alone. Gymkhana’s a Native American word that basically means “a place where you do skill-based contests.” This would make sense since gymkhana events are all timed and they definitely take some skills.
She talked bout how this week is so important when it comes to getting ready for the fair. Ellie normally tries to pinpoint any weak areas that her horse has so she can practice and improve.
One thing she said was that if you make a mistake, you have to learn from it and move on. You can’t just get upset and quit. If you don’t try again, you’ll never learn. Embrace the mistake and use it as a learning tool.
See you at the Brown County Fair, August 19th to the 23rd!
