Horse Show

HARRODSBURG - Mitch Clark will be here no matter what, and he hopes the Mercer County Fair & Horse Show will be as well. Like many others who came to the opening night of the horse show Tuesday, Clark couldn't help but notice how quiet it was at the Mercer County Fairgrounds, where a schedule change this year has separated the horse show from the rest of the fair for the first time. The move was made in large part with horse owners and trainers in mind, and Clark, a Danville-based trainer with a long personal and family history at the show, said he appreciates the effort by fair officials to make things better for them but also realizes that the show's future is tied to the overall success of the fair.

HARRODSBURG - Tré Lee had just ridden out of the center ring with his blue ribbon, and his wife was trying to get in. Lee got off his horse and helped wife Emily and a few handlers get the horse she was showing out of the trailer and hitched to a buggy, and they had no time to lose. Minutes later, Emily Lee earned the family's second consecutive win, making it a blue ribbon kind of night for the family at the Mercer County Fair & Horse Show. “We're thrilled,” Tré Lee said.

The Grassroots Committee of the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) has awarded $500 to the Bluegrass Buckskin Horse Association. This grant is to be used to sponsor a horse show. The Boyle County team leader for KEEP is Mike Martin. KEEP is a statewide association formed to promote and educate the public on the value of the horse industry to the state of Kentucky. KEEP and its board of directors represent all breeds of horses in every county of Kentucky. Its mission of education and promotion is enhanced by its grant program to assist local horse shows, horse clubs, and 4-H horse activities.

Friday NHS Good Hands - 1. Jabez, Amber Lynn Lowery, Donna Fiaschetti, Wilmore; 2. Callaway's Dubonnet, Morgan Burger, Monroe, N.C.; 3. Pinstripe Dancer, Katelan Crabtree, Donna Jury, Boston. ASB country pleasure championship, junior exhibitor - 1. Whats My Line, Margaret Lawrence, Simpsonville; 2. Tip Top's Sonata, Carolina Millard, Waterwild Farm, Lexington; 3. Charlie Brown, Katie Dasuman, Evansville, Ind. ASB country pleasure championship, adult - 1. Striking Point, Caroline Gillespie, Delovely Farms, Rockport, Ind.; 2. CF Not Tonight Chief, Cece Hagan, Anchorage; 3. Tin Roof Sundance, Ann Marie Brickzen, Shelbyville.

LIBERTY - Central Kentucky Ag/Expo Center has booked another major horse show. The Kentucky Saddle Horse Association decided this week to have its show at the center, according to Richard Owens, chairman of the center's board. "They want to make this their home," Owens told the board Tuesday. This is the second booking for the new ag center in the past week. The Kentucky Walking Horse Celebration membership decided last weekend to move its annual four-day show from Mercer County to Casey County for the next three years.

Sierra Newsome competed in the Indiana American Saddlebred Association Spring Warm-up horse show in Cloverdale, Ind., on March 22. Sierra received two blue ribbons for winning first place in both the Academy Saddle Seat Pleasure and Equitation classes for 7 and 8 year olds. She and her horse, Big Love, competed against other entrants from throughout Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky. Sierra is the daughter of Vince and Debbie Newsome.

When the horse show part of the Mercer County Fair and Horse Show got under way Wednesday night, much of Brad Noel's work already had been done. Noel is chairman of the show and for the first time in about 16 years, he was not serving as the show's ringmaster. He decided that was too much work for one person. Charlie Wilson of Lawrenceburg is the ringmaster this year. Noel, 42, can be found on the grounds answering questions, directing traffic and solving problems for the people involved in showing horses.

"Bigger and better" is a mantra the Mercer County Fair and its signature saddlebred horse show have lived by for decades. And Brad Noel is sure both those adjectives will apply this week. Noel, the horse show manager, said interest in the show is noticeably higher than it has been in recent years. Requests for stall rentals at the Mercer County Fairgrounds, where the show opens its four-night run Wednesday, have traditionally been a good measure of how strong the show will be. "It's going to be an excellent turnout," Noel said.

LIBERTY - The 42nd Kentucky Celebration Tennessee Walking Horse Show will be held Wednesday through Saturday at Central Kentucky Ag/Expo Center on U.S. 127 South. Local organizers are excited to host the event for the first time since it was moved from Mercer County Fairgrounds to the local arena. "We feel like we're going to have a big show this year," said Jerry Hoskins, a member of the Kentucky Celebration board of directors. "I'm hoping for 1,000 entries," he said, adding that he expects to see owners and horses from 10 states in the four-day competition.

The following results of the Mercer County Fair and Horse Show are listed by horse name, owner and rider for each respective category. 17 and under equitation: Feng Shui, Steven E. Chancellor, Hunter Chancellor, first; Ch Royal Messenger, James and Judy Skinner, Caroline Skinner, second; and Worthy Am I, Olivia Weber, Kelsey Olson, third. Country pleasure adult: Cheetah's Admiral, Joellen Fisher Blount, Joellen Fisher Blount, first. Five-gaited amateur: Arrowhead's Dreamcatcher, Butler Enterprises, Deborah Butler, first.