Hey Ho Away We Go!

The fall fair is one of the reasons we love September so much.  The Stisted Fall Fair which we fell in love with last year is coming ever closer.  Which means we are busily sewing, pressing leaves, printing photos, canning and planning.  As is with every year we are way behind on where we want to be in terms of preparation.  To make that an easier task we thought we would try a few new things.  The first was sitting on the board of directors.  This means that I am in charge of the livestock; getting them into their designated areas, making sure the judge has a clerk to work with and actually working the day of the fair.

The other part we have added to our fair experience is entering the horse competition.  Both Ben and Aria are riding on a horse and a donkey, while Elias and I lead them through the competition.  We are participating in some more classic western style competition as well as some not so traditional such as costume contest and seeing who has the most water in their glass after going through a course.

We went over to our friend's house, who is both teaching us the ropes of the competition and handling the animals, she is also kindly lending us her beautiful sandy colour horse Lynn and her sweet sensitive donkey Percy.  I will be leading Lynn, which I am a little bit nervous about.  Her feet are so large and she weighs a mere 1600 lbs, I am forever worrying about getting my foot under hers.  But with practice I am hoping it will lessen. 
Elias is leading Percy.  He doesn't worry about being stepped on, but Percy moves when she feels moved to.  Being a sensitive fellow, this donkey needs a lot of love to get going.  Elias hugs it, whispers sweet nothings it his ear and bribes him with apples.  Being the centre of attention is not what Elias (and I think Percy feels too) enjoys, but he is totally stepping out of his box on this one and I think its great!
We have a little over a week to practice, and we have lots to cover.  I need to start sewing-  for both the kids and the animals! (costumes for a horse and donkey are new ones to add to the resume!!)
We will keep you posted on the fair!