BEAUTY AND BRAWN DRAFT HORSES DAZZLE AT VENTURA COUNTY FAIR.Byline: Amy Raisin raisin, in botany and cooking raisin, dried fruit of certain varieties of grapevines bearing grapes with a high content of sugar and solid flesh. Although the fruit is sometimes artificially dehydrated, it is usually sun-dried. Staff Writer VENTURA - On a dusty back lot at the edge of the Ventura County Fairgrounds n. pl. 1. same as fairground. , not far from the agricultural aromas of the livestock exhibition, are the majestic, artfully adorned horses of the carriage, draft and Friesian show. Hundreds filled the grandstands all day Sunday, watching the trotting Percherons, Belgians and Clydesdales pulling fifth-wheel hitch wagons, just as they did for centuries before the invention of gas-powered tractors and trailers. ``I think everybody probably likes simpler times - it's a reflection of the past,'' said Jan Janikowski, superintendent of the horse show. ``They're awesome. And when they trot across a bridge, the ground shakes.'' Each team of horses for the draft exhibition were impeccably groomed, their manes manes (mā`nēz), in Roman religion, spirits of the dead. Originally, they were called di manes, a collective divinity of the dead. Manes could also refer to the realm of the dead and, later, to the individual souls of the dead. and tails brushed and arranged with silver medallions and colored ribbons. Pat Perkins and her husband, Wayne, said they come to the fair every year from Van Nuys just for the horse events. ``I just find it astounding a·stound tr.v. a·stound·ed, a·stound·ing, a·stounds To astonish and bewilder. See Synonyms at surprise. [From Middle English astoned, past participle of astonen, what (horse handlers) can do with the wagons and drafts,'' Pat Perkins said. ``How they can turn them and park them. I just enjoy the artistry.'' Added her husband, ``We've been up here in the evenings when they run them with the carriage lamps. It's just beautiful and really neat to watch.'' For the people behind the scenes, however, showing and training the horses is a full-time job. Michael Pariseau, owner of Hidden Springs Equestrian Center and Stallion School in Mareno Valley, stood beside a Friesian stallion, its pitch-black hair lustrous lus·trous adj. 1. Having a sheen or glow. 2. Gleaming with or as if with brilliant light; radiant. See Synonyms at bright. lus under the sunshine, and demonstrated what the horse undergoes when not performing. ``Friesians are known for a lot of hair, like its long mane mane the region of long coarse hair at the dorsal border of the neck and terminating at the poll in the forelock. Present in the horse and other Equidae. Similar gatherings of coarse hairs are present in the giraffe, gnu, various antelope, cheetah and lion. Called also juba. and tail,'' Pariseau said. ``As soon as he's done out here, his mane is braided braid·ed adj. 1. a. Produced by or as if by braiding. b. Having braids. 2. Decorated with braid. 3. up and he's kept in an air-conditioned stall.'' Imported from Holland, Pariseau said Friesians were used as light draft horses draft horses see draft animals. . A horse named Willem S. later was hitched to a carriage and pulled Pariseau as he performed. Janikowski said the breed was used by the rich in centuries past, perhaps because of the beauty of their long hair and feathered appearance at the bottom of its legs. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Kevin Simms and his mother, Susan, compete in the horse- and-carriage segment of the fair's equestrian show Sunday. (2 -- color) Ladonne Hatley and his horse, Jay, maneuver their carriage around Morgan Arena at the Ventura County Fair on Sunday. Lilly Barrett/Special to the Daily News |
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