NORWICH – With just a year under his belt, the Chenango County Agricultural Society’s newest board member has already made his mark on the Chenango County Fair. Since joining the fair board last year, Jason Lawrence has made a concerted effort to put an added emphasis on the event’s equine exhibit.
“Developing the equine area has been a new focus this year,” said Ag Society President Mary Weidman, who credited Lawrence’s efforts in this regard.
Until two years ago, there were only a smattering of horses among the numerous farm animals and livestock displayed by local farmers and 4-Hers. Sure, there was harness racing, which has been a fixture at this and other rural agricultural expositions for more than a century. But once the races were over, those horses would head home, leaving little opportunity for fair goers to get up close and personal with the animals.
That changed in 2007 when Lawrence and his wife Leslie organized the first live Horse Barn Exhibit, which they populated with their own horses. That first year, they exhibited eight horses of different breeds, including two Chincoteague ponies, a breed of wild horses which populate the Chincoteague and Assateague Islands off the coast of Virginia.
For the Lawrences, exhibiting at the fair gives an opportunity to share their love and appreciation of horses with others.
“I think there is a special bond people and their horses,” he explained. Watching them work together, he said, gives people a better understanding of the trust and teamwork that transpires between the two which cannot be fully appreciated by observing from afar or on television.
This year the Lawrences will be exhibiting at the fair once more. The couple has brought with them a total of five horses: two Belgians, an American paint horse, his 4-year old daughter’s pony and a young Chincoteague pony named Salt Water Taffy.
“(The Chincoteague) is always a crowd pleaser,” Lawrence said, explaining that everyone enjoys the history of the breed, which traces its lineage back to a Spanish shipwreck off the Virginia coast.
Joining Lawrence for the second year in a row will be J.D. Winslow’s Equine Entertainment, who will no doubt wow crowds of fairgoers once again with his circus-style bareback riding.
“It takes a special person to do what he does,” said Lawrence, who added that this year’s show will feature several new acts including a race between Winslow and another rider, both of whom will be standing on their horse. “I guess it is a sight to be seen.”
Also appearing in the show ring will be Root Farms, an equine-assisted therapy center based in Verona, which will give demonstrations on how horses are used to help people with physical and developmental disabilities.
For Lawrence, perhaps the most exciting addition to this year’s equine area is the six-horse hitch of championship Percherons being show by Mark and Sandy Kent of Sennett, NY. According to Weidman, it has been more than a decade since anything of the like has made an appearance at the fair.
At an average height of 18 hands (72 inches) and weighing in at roughly 2,000 pounds each, these powerful draft horses put on an impressive show as they pranced their way down East Main Street during last night’s Fireman’s Parade.
“It was my dream to get a 6 horse hitch here for the parade,” Lawrence said. “It sent shivers down my spine when I saw them last night.”
According to Mark Kent, he and his wife are honored to be a part of the fair this year. They have brought a total of eight Percherons, which they normally show at approximately 15 shows throughout the Northeast each year. During the week, they will be working and hitching the impressive horses in the ring, as well as breaking a 3-year old colt, he explained.
According to Lawrence, equine shows will be held continuously in the show ring in the equine area between approximately 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. each day of the fair. A detailed list of show times will be posted at both the ring and in front of the fair office at the base of the grandstand, he said.
Sponsors of the equine area include Norwich Kid’s Kingdom, KMC Sand and Gravel, Burrell’s Excavating, the Ag Society, DJ Do-It and Rentals to Go.
The equine area will also be the sight of Chenango County Habitat for Humanity’s inaugural skillet toss from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday and 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday. During the event, which will raise money for CCHH’s activities, contestants will “toss” a 5 pound steel skillet for distance.
The Chenango County Fair is in town through Sunday. For a detailed schedule of events or more information, visit www.chenangocountyfair.homestead.com or call 334-9198.