This weekend we went to the Midwest Horse Fair!
It has been an annual tradition with my mom and sister, this was our 3rd time going but our 4th time in general because we went for a day a few years ago. We went for Friday and Saturday.
It’s held in Madison, WI at the Alliant Energy Center. It’s probably one of the largest horse fairs in the country and according to their website is the largest 3-day horse fair in America.
We met with a family friend that we have met at the fair before. We also saw quite a lot of people from our Pony Club and I recognized a handful of people from our region too! One girl from our region rode as a demo rider for Stephen Hayes!
They have a ton of clinics and all sorts of stuff led by some big people in the horse world. I always enjoy the clinics. This year we went to some dressage ones with Stephen Hayes, we saw the majority of a barrel racing clinic by Amberley Snyder which I was very excited to see her! I saw one on liberty, trick training, a jumping clinic, we saw an arena polo demo and a trick riding and roping demo! I love them and I love watching the demo riders and horses!
We also always enjoy the Grand March, where a bunch of breeds come out in the main coliseum one by one to music and with info about each one. We saw pretty much the full Grand March one day and ended up watching over half of it the other day too! I really enjoyed being in the coliseum this year, the stuff we saw, eating food and snacks and it’s warm and pretty comfortable in there.
One of my favorites was the liberty run where they let horses one by one, run free in the coliseum arena- all to music. It’s so inspiring and fun to watch! We had really good seats too so that made it even cooler. My favorites where the Belgium, the Miniature and the Trakehner!
They have so many shopping opportunities at the Midwest Horse Fair. We enjoyed walking around and seeing the venders and we ended up getting quite a bit! My mom got some gifts for people, my sister got a few toys and bought one for my brother. My mom gave us each some souvenir money and with that I got some horse cookie cutters and some horse socks!! I also had fun because I decided to get my own grooming stuff for Elliot, the horse I lease. That was very fun to pick out! I got brushes, a mane and tail brush and comb, some conditioner and a spray bottle and a blue grooming tote! I’m super excited about all of that! I’m enjoying the idea of horse equipment, supplies and items right now.
We saw some of this last year too but I love watching trick riding! This year we saw a 13 year old do roman and trick riding in the Grand March and we watched a husband and wife duo do a trick roping and riding demo. Seeing how fast those horses go! Ahh, crazy! I also love watching drill teams and there was one we saw where they got super fast at the end. I love when people are going super fast and come close to where you’re sitting.
What’s something you liked about it (and why)? I liked watching Stephen Hayes, the dressage clinician they had this year! We saw two full clinics, one called “Solving Common Issues: Young Horse to Upper Level Clinic” and “Teaching Your Horse Lateral Work From Scratch Clinic”. We also saw part of “The Ideal Dressage Rider Position Clinic”. I really liked seeing the riders and horses in the clinic too and watching them throughout. I took quite a few notes from clinics throughout!
What’s something you disliked about it (and why)? I wish I would have been nicer to my mom and sister throughout the time. I had a hard time with the schedule, there was a lot I wanted to see but I don’t think they wanted to see all of it and I also didn’t want to see it all and be watching stuff all day either. I wanted to walk around and do other stuff. But there’s so many awesome clinics that would be beneficial for me to see. A lot of it was me feeling like I should see them. I wish I would have been kinder throughout and asked what they wanted to do and when they did say what they wanted, to have been more nice and accommodating. There were lots of little things in me being rude.
I also wish I would have been kinder and talked more to our friend that we met up with.
Also, we brought lots of good food for lunch and snacking that I was thinking too much about, ate too much of or had too much sugar and I wish I wouldn’t have done that and made them such a big deal or so exciting in my mind.
What was your biggest takeaway or lesson? One of them would be to keep being exposed to the horse industry. Seeing people who really love horses, it’s interesting as I try and figure out what God wants me to do and if I’m meant to work with or have horses someday. Seeing how big the horse world is and how many different things you can do with them, how many breeds and varieties there are, all the different paths you could go down with them.
We also went to a neat career forum that they had going that was round tables with different experts at it, each on careers and things you could do. You could choose which tables to go to and they’d rotate every 10 or 15 minutes. We sat at the equine entrepreneur and education tables and got some interesting insight and information, hearing about the lady’s small businesses and about having a small business in the horse industry. Also hearing about some possible college programs. That was very interesting!
What is something you’re curious to learn more about as a result of this experience? Coming back, I’m kind of into wanting my own barn and horses, coming up with my own ideas for both and wanting to learn more about other barns and stable management. I loved seeing all the beautiful horses and it’s getting me inspired!
We also watched a clinic about liberty, which is something I’d like to try and work on with Elliot!
Thanks for reading!
Lucy
