MURILLO, Ont. - When racing a horse down a dirt track and carefully guiding it between a series of obstacles, Johanne Fenwick said there is only one trick to getting it right.
“Holding on,” she said after her race.
Fenwick travelled all the way from Dryden, Ont. to participate in the annual Murillo Fair this weekend, which includes rodeos, horse racing, and gymkhana.
“We came last year for a quick barrel race and liked it so much we decided to come back and spend the entire weekend here,” Fenwick said. “It’s been wonderful. People are so welcoming and great. It’s a lot of fun.”
The Murillo Fair, hosted by the Oliver Agricultural Society, is now in its 126th year and it continues to draw hundreds of people out for a taste of a good old country fair that includes rides, food, music, and of course, animals.
“It’s more of a family and relaxed environment,” said David Allen, president of the Oliver Agricultural Society. “It’s a smaller area where you can’t lose the sight of your kids. And all the animals. We have pretty much every animal you could think of that you can find in a barn.”
The three-day fair kicked off on Friday and Allen said participation this year has exceeded expectations.
“Yesterday was excellent,” he said. “Even the rides. The rides are the biggest numbers we’ve had since they’ve been here. It’s a big family event and there’s a lot of kids.”
Like any good fair, it’s a perfect way to spend time with the family and enjoy the waning summer season, which is why Laura Meisner and her family came out for the second year in a row.
“It’s a beautiful day and a great community event and something fun to do with our family and we are happy to come out and support it,” Meisner said. “The rides, the foods, the games. There’s a lot to see and it’s just pure good family fun.”
Allen added that the Murillo Fair is one of the few events in area that showcases not only the region’s agricultural past, but also allows people to bring out their animals for some friendly competition.
“It’s a big undertaking and a big job for some of these people,” he said. “I think some people are losing track of time and not able to do it, but we are trying to bring that back by making the grounds a lot better and hopefully make some bigger purses and get some bigger and better events as the years go on.”
For Fenwick, who has been riding horses for the past 12 years and has competed in events in Dryden and Manitoba, coming back to the Murillo Fair has been a great experience and a great way see just what her horses are capable of in the ring.
“There is a lot of excellent competition, excellent horses, really talented people and it’s great to come out and have some competition like that,” she said.
But when it comes to competing, there’s actually a little more to it than just holding on as the horse barrels through the course.
“It’s time in the saddle,” Fenwick said. “When we come to race, we only push our horses during the race. At home it’s very slow and very monotonous training to keep them together. Time is the important thing.”
