The Carroll County Fair 2016

The Third week of July was the Carroll County Fair. I miss attending with my horse, but it was great to have the chance to take so many cool pictures. This post will feature a few of them.

Watching the Sulkies is always one of my favorite parts of going to the fair. This time, I got to take some decent pictures. (If you forgive the distracting background)

Seeing all the well-groomed horses and ponies doing showmanship, almost makes me miss showing -- until I remember all the time it takes to get horses that clean...

I enjoyed taking "abstract" pictures of the horses. Yes. The one on the left is a Norwegian Fjord!

 I took a lot of pictures of the Draft and Pony Pulls.
This guy was flattered that he was the subject of my camera and kept posing for me. I had to humor him and kept taking more and more pictures. He is very handsome don't you think?

This pretty boy was not nearly so agreeable to pose for pictures and found it more entertaining to be naughty. After several failed attempts, I managed to capture him.

Watching this little boy try to control this huge draft was quite amusing and they were the subject of quite a few pictures. It was funny seeing this draft's attitude. If the boy annoyed him by jerking the reins or tapping him with the crop, he shook his head and continued to disobey, but he took very good care of the boy. This draft will be a great teacher.

 Contesting night was a blast to get pictures of.

 The Western Pleasure classes were not as entertaining. Now that I've moved on to eventing, show-jumping, and dressage, watching theses horses being forced to move without genuine engagement  and impulsion is rather painful.

 Here are some more abstract shots. How can I resist taking a close up on the depths of a horse's eye?
 Look at those shoes on the pulling horses!

 Now, to the Norwegian Fjords!

In case you cannot tell, they are one of my favorite breeds. It was a treat to see them in person and so close to home! There was a pair of fjord stallions doing the Pony Pulls and two other teams with a fjord on the team. (So four fjords total.)

 This is an awesome picture of a great team that was also competing in the Pony Pulls

This team of horses was the subject of many pictures. Well... at least the one on the near side as shown. This team seemed unevenly matched with completely different personalities, but I really liked the flaxen one featured in the picture. He was very eager and always pranced with his neck arched and head on the vertical. Such a beautiful creature.  I really enjoyed taking pictures of him.

That is all I'm sharing for Fair pictures. Come back Thursday for more horse themed pictures from the 2016 United States Pony Club East Championships at Tryon International Equestrian Center.