Monday, August 25, 2014

The Fall Fair

There's no marker of the changing seasons quite so obvious at this time of year as the Fall Fair!  Actually the one here in Markdale is fairly early; it isn't actually fall yet.  But it heralds a whole season of small town fall fairs across rural southern Ontario.

The heavy horse pull was probably the most popular event.  These enormous teams of beautiful workhorses are harnessed up to pull a stoneboat, and weight is continuously added until one team wins.  The strength in these horses is just amazing - this team looked like it has most of its feet off the ground at once!

Another of the beautiful heavy horse teams.  I can just never get enough of these magnificent animals.

There were several hours of individual riding events too, mostly populated by young girls, who obviously love their horses.  This team lined up and took off at a gallop.

But this girl twisted her horse through these posts like nothing I've ever seen, beating even the adults' time for the event.  It's very much a team of horse and rider; some beginning riders with horses who had never competed walked through this fairly slowly, concentrating on completing the course correctly rather than speed.  It takes a lot of competing to win the prizes!

There was the cattle show too, with lots of young people showing off the calves they're raised - in this case beef cattle.

I always enjoy seeing the cattle lined up waiting their turns in the pens.

And there were fun events for the little kids, including this young man we know, chasing bubbles!

The indoor displays are harder to photograph, but their are lots of them.  Dozens of arrangements of flowers.

And a lot of vegetable displays. Attending the fall fair is a great way to connect with the rural farm community around here; I always learn a lot and enjoy it - such a strong tradition among farm families.

Linking to:
http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.ca/

15 comments:

  1. The fair looks like a lot fun. I love all the horses and the cows.. The little one with the bubbles is cute. Great photos, enjoy your week!

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  2. I remember these when I was a kid. There are still some around, but mostly out in the small towns.

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  3. These events are such fun for everyone. Great photos and I love the action shots of the horses.

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  4. Still have the pillow cases I won blue ribbon on at our county fair in 1956.

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  5. You had a very good day at a terrific fall fair.

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  6. The animals are my favorite part of the fair. Love those horses.

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  7. Wonderful pictures of the horses!

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  8. -:) So like our Annual Show except that here the accent is on shearing sheep not those magnificent draught horses. So nice to see them happily at work as in bygone days.

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  9. We have events like this too, though I've never seen horses pulling stones competitively. Nice variety in your photos.

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  10. lovely horses! my daughter is a horsey girl, she loves them

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  11. Nice stuff. There are some horse pulls around here too.

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  12. I enjoyed going to the fair with you!!! [loved the bubble chaser]....The work horses stole the show today.

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  13. Love all your wonderful Fair shots ~ Fairs are so delightful ~ Happy Week to you!

    artmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)

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  14. It looks like a very nice fair. Both the horses and the cattle are very nice.

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