Grand gaits - Riders give their best at Fair's horse show

Some trotted. Others cantered. Many clopped.

Riders and their horses strove for their most impressive gaits Sunday at the SEMO District Fair Horse Show.

Wearing a stern expression like a seasoned pro, 6-year-old Kaitlin McWhorter eased Ace, a 15-year-old quarterhorse, through each gait as they competed in the walk-trot class for children 11 and under. Aside from posing for her camera-wielding mother, she hardly cracked a smile through the judging and announcements of winners.

She and Ace placed fourth.

Once out of the arena and on the ground, standing barely taller than Ace's leg, Kaitlin flashed a toothless grin over her most recent victory.

"She's been riding since she was 2," said her mother, Kim McWhorter of Cobden, Ill.

"Nuh-uh, since I was in your belly," Kaitlin said, pointing to her mother's stomach.

Either way, Kaitlin has regularly competed just for fun, her mother said, and only her last three competitions have been for money. Helping care for 11 horses at home has contributed to her all-business demeanor during the recent competitions, Kim McWhorter said.

For Kaitlin, the walk-trot class is just the beginning.

"I want to ride barrels and poles and ride really, really fast on Ace," she said.

Also the grand champion winner of the pet parade, Kaitlin said that the best part of her day was losing control of the chicken she was carrying.

For those who did not own a horse or could not ride one, the pet parade and the stick-horse class allowed children and senior citizens the opportunity to show off.

"Every child is a winner in their own category," said horse show secretary Belinda Goggin.

Judges created categories for each entrant such as "Dog with the Bushiest Tail," "Dog that Best Led Their Child" and the grand champion "Best Use of a Dog with a Chicken," which featured a Rottweiler pulling a miniature covered wagon with a stuffed chicken as the driver.

Organizers said the 15th annual horse show attracted more than 300 entrants in 20 classes -- the18 horse classes, pet parade and stick-horse class.

"This is definitely the largest and most attended show in the region," said Jim Goggins, chairman of the horse show. With the show lasting for about five hours, as many as 1,000 people were seated in the grandstand at one time. The 100 percent donated time and resources from the sponsors contributed to the success, he said.

"Spirits are good," Jim Goggins said. "People are happy, having a good time."

'Always tough competition'

Angela Runnels of Cape Girardeau, co-owner of Cornerstone Stables, was in good spirits after three of her horses placed in three classes.

Even though I'm A Sharper Image, nicknamed Cocoa, placed first as a 4-month-old weanling in the yearling gaited halter class last year, Runnels was not sure that Cocoa would win again.

"Stiff competition, always tough competition," she said. "There are a lot of good horses in this area."

And a weanling outdoing a yearling is like a child outdoing a man in a competition, said Jim Goggins. So Cocoa's victory last year was rare, but her beauty has enhanced her chances.

"She's just got a good look about her," Runnels said.

For the second year in a row, Runnels and Cocoa won first place. In addition, Cocoa's mother, Solidarity's Ebony Star, placed first in the ladies' gaited class and Ebony's Luck Be A Lady placed fourth in the senior gaited halter class.

The next step is to put a saddle on Cocoa.

"Hopefully, she'll do as well under saddle as she did under gaited," Runnels said.

jmetelski@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 127