EYES AND NEIGHS: RAIN DOESN'T DAMPEN SPIRIT OF HORSE SHOW

A few raindrops and overcast skies didn't stop Larissa Hawthorne, 3, from bringing her horse to the SEMO District Fair Sunday.

She pointed out where her horse had gotten wet from the rain as she climbed atop a concrete barrier to get a better look at the animals inside the ring at the grandstand.

Unlike the Tennessee Walking, Appaloosa and other horses in the ring that had been meticulously groomed and polished for the show, Larissa had a much easier time getting her stick horse, Buddy, ready for competition.

Her father, George Hawthorne, said Larissa wasn't quite ready to climb into a saddle and enter the serious competition. However, the family always starts their trips to the fair with the horse show and has competed in years past, he said.

A brief rain Sunday afternoon dampened the ground but did little to thin the crowds who entered the SEMO District fairgrounds at Arena Park. Admission to the fair was free Sunday -- the opening day of the fair -- and 22,370 people attended.

Events continue tonight at 5:30 p.m. with a parade to the fairgrounds and a demolition derby at 7:30 p.m. at the grandstand. Midway rides are open from 5-11 p.m. Admission is $2 and parking is $3.

The horse show has been a fair attraction for 13 years and Sunday was no different, event organizers said.

There were trailers and horses waiting for show director Becky Huck at the fairgrounds when she arrived at 7:30 a.m. Sunday to prepare. Each year the number of entries grow and the show competition a little tougher.

Beth Nenninger of Leopold, Mo., can see that the quality of horses entered in the show has grown steadily over the four years she's been entering the competition.

"You can see by looking around who's going to place," she said. "You can tell the caliber that you're going up against."

Standing behind the grandstand arena, waiting for her division to be called, Nenninger pointed out several other horses that could easily earn top place in the show.

Nenninger, 19, shows her horse, The Unexpected Star, nearly every weekend, so entering competitions doesn't make her too nervous.

But it can be upsetting to the horse if it loses concentration or gets scared. The Unexpected Star has been entering shows for four years now, so she isn't often nervous. It helps to have an older, more mature horse for entering competitions, Nenninger said.

The horse knows the drill of a show, but "you hope she doesn't forget," Nenninger said. She entered the ladies gaited class in the English riding style and the halter leadline class. She placed sixth in the halter class.

Judges looked at how the horses were groomed, how their bodies and gait conform to the breed standards and how the horse moves, either while being lead or ridden, said Huck. Classes were divided by age and Western and English riding styles.

Entrants who place in the top five of their class won a cash prize and sixth through 10th place received ribbons.