BY MONICA SPRINGER

Click Photo to Purchase Photo Reprints!

mspringer@gctelegram.com

LAKIN -- As kids lined up their horses at Loucks Park Arena, horse show judge Karen Jones told them to look up and smile.

"Always keep your eye on the judge," she told the 4-Hers. "You're doing a good job."

Those in open class and 4-Hers competed in two components of the horse show: showmanship, in which participants showed their horses on foot, and horsemanship, in which they saddled up and rode their horses.

Patterns were posted at the arena before the show started. During the showmanship portion, youth had to walk to the second cone in the middle of the arena, then trot their horses to the third cone.

One more pattern was completed during the showmanship. They walked past the first cone, then walked in a circle once they got to the second cone, then walked to the last cone, stopped their horse, positioned the horse and waited for the judge's inspection.

Then participants walked to the side of the arena to see where they placed.

During the senior showmanship class, the judge again gave the youth some tips to get their horses to trot.

"Don't look at them," Jones said. "It will slow them down."

Instead, she instructed the kids to look forward and place their hand on the halter by the horse's mouth to get them to trot.

Kids 11 and younger were the in junior class, and those 12 and older were in the senior class.

Maggie Olson, 14, and Clay Davenport, 10, two 4-Hers competing in the horse show, are new to the event, with Davenport participating for the first time and Olson seeing her second year of competion. Davenport was showing a horse named Cob and Olson was showing a horse named Dick.

"It's fun," Olson said.

Olson and Davenport said the horsemanship is their favorite part of the show because they get to ride. It helps them gain experience for future endeavors, they said.

Davenport said he has hopes of becoming a calf roper and Olson said she wants to try breakaway roping when she gets older.

Davenport and Olson said they have been working with their horses for months to prepare for the show.

For the showmanship competition, Jones said she wants to make sure participants always are looking at the judge and are in the right position to maintain eye contact. Jones said she also wants to see how kids react to their horses. If a horse moves, she likes to see kids reposition their horse. That action lets her know they are paying attention to their animals, Jones said.

But eye contact and being in the right position is not all the judge is looking for.

"A smile never hurts," Jones said.