HORSES OF ALL COLORS AT THE FAIR

Horses of all ages, sizes and temperaments competed Sunday in the Ninth Annual SEMO Fair Horse Show.

Some were more excited about it than others and reared, snorted, stomped and neighed while being shown or awaiting their turns near the Arena Park Grandstand's main viewing area.

But one horse stood quietly under Courtney Tanksley as they waited to compete in the Walk/Trot age 12-and-under contest. The 21-year-old horse, named Jim, was so comfortable while in the wings he fell asleep.

"You might want to let him sleep now so he can make it through the competition," Jim's owner, Christina Tanksley of Kelso, told Courtney.

It was that relaxed attitude that carried Jim and Courtney to a third-place finish in the event.

More than 300 entrants were registered for the horse show. Competitors paraded, pranced and posed their way through 19 categories in the fair's first full day.

Event organizer Brenda Reker said an unusually large number of entries in the Pet Parade, which precedes the horse show, put everybody a little behind. Twenty-five people brought their dogs, cats, goats and sheep to the grandstand.

That many entries puts a little added pressure on the judges, who try to come up with a different ribbon for each participant, Reker said. This year there was a ribbon awarded for the dog that most resembled Chicago Bulls basketball player Dennis Rodman.

The brown-and-beige patched pooch paraded out in boa and bows to receive its ribbon.

Judges also awarded ribbons for the "Purrr-fect" cat, the "pointiest" tongue, the pinkest tongue, the most muscular dog, the "sheepiest" animal and the animal with the shortest tail.

And it wasn't just flesh-and-blood horses that were on exhibit. The Stick-Horse Class competition attracted 102 children to the Grandstand's main floor. This class was presented as a tribute to Russell Conley.

While the horse awards were less imaginative, judge Carol Smithson of Clarksville, Tenn., said there is some leeway in what the judges were looking for.

Smithson, who judged the gaited competitions, said a horse's demeanor does have some weight with the judges. "Some breeds are allowed more antsy behavior than others," she said.

A smooth stride, good form and communication between rider and mount are other criteria that factor in the judging, Smithson said.

Darrell Maxwell of St. Louis said the horse he rides in the flat shod racking competition expects some communication. "I talk to him," Maxwell said of Bart's Black Magic. "You have to carry on some kind of conversation, especially out there in the ring," he said.

Bart's Black Magic, which was owned by Al Matthews of St. Louis, was a 7-year-old who Maxwell says has become ring-wise. "He's a show-off," he said. "Sometimes all you've got to do is sit up there and they'll do it all."

Today's events at the fair include a demolition derby starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Grandstand; the annual parade from Capaha Park to the fairgrounds begins at 5:30 p.m.; a free circus beginning at 7:30 p.m.; a smile contest at 7 p.m.; and the May Greene Elementary School jump rope team at 7:45 p.m.