Horse event draws many entries

Cisco Stables held the first of its Fat-n-Fuzzy Buckle Series horse shows on Saturday, February 8. The turnout surprised everyone, with between 30 and 50 entries in many of the classes.

"Everybody seemed to show up at the same time, and most didn't pre-register, so we had a big jam-up at the registration table," said stable manager Amber Rogers.

"We'll do that a bit differently next time, plus we'll make sure we have more restrooms available."

Judge Sharon Takagi from Bend did a sterling job sorting through the competition and choosing the place getters.

The series is made up of three schooling shows. The purpose of the shows is to allow folks to get their horses out and about early in the season. It also is an opportunity for those new to showing to try it out in a low-key environment.

The usual trappings of fancy clothes and gear that one finds on the show circuit were absent, and some of the horses were indeed fat and very fuzzy.

Junior riders outnumbered the adults by a considerable margin, but that didn't stop anyone from having fun.

Annie Hancock, a Sisters Middle School student from Camp Sherman, showed Peppys Shasta Bar (Shasta), her four-year-old Quarter Horse gelding.

Hancock does quite a few shows during the season. She found that this one was good for the first warm-up before the serious stuff.

"Schooling shows aren't so uptight as other shows," she said. "I had a good time, and I think most other people did, too."

Caitlin Mazur of Redmond brought her horse, Squirt.

"He hasn't been shown in two years," said her mother, Lynn.

"It was a good chance for Caitlin to get back in tune with him and give the horse a heads-up about what's coming during the summer."

Julie Kelleher brought her daughter Aubrey and friend Kelly Morton to have a look. The girls are members of the new Outriders 4-H Club in Sisters and haven't shown their horses yet.

Kelleher said they were thinking about entering the next show, which will be held on March 1. The series concludes on March 29.