FINE FOODS, FETLOCKS; ANNUAL FAIR ADDING HORSE BEAUTY, SALSA COMPETITIONS IN '98.

Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer

Admirers of long, shapely legs; big, beguiling eyes - and long, flowing tails - will have plenty to appreciate during the Ventura County Fair's premiere World Equine Beauty Pageant.

This year's fair, which will start Wednesday, will play host to a number of new contests searching for everything from the most gorgeous horse to the world's best butter cookie.

Like a proud stage mother, Carmen Eblen of Newbury Park talks up the charms of her 5-year-old filly Luna Negra.

Born at the Chilean Cavalry's Spanish Riding School, Luna Negra is a mix of thoroughbred, Andalusian and Chilean draft breeds, a combination that produces a beautiful blue-gray coat and a fiery spirit.

``She's a very striking horse because of her color and attitude,'' said Eblen, who fell in love with horses while growing up in Chile. ``She's a horse that says, I'm here, look at me. She's a very proud horse.''

Elsewhere on the scale of equine aesthetics is Spanky, a Belgian draft horse with a four-foot mane.

``He's kind of different looking - and very beautiful,'' says owner Pat Garrison, a professional horse breeder from Thousand Oaks. ``We've just kind of let his hair grow. He kind of looks like Cousin It from the `Addams Family,' '' she said, chuckling.

Both Garrison and Eblen said their love of horses came at an early age. Garrison still remembers how as a girl she longed for a buckskin-colored horse. Their childhood love of the animals has matured over the years.

``It's very rewarding. We breed them, and when they have babies every year, we raise them,'' Garrison said. ``That's kind of fun when you raise them from babies and they prove themselves. It keeps you going.''

Garrison's other entry in the beauty pageant is an Andalusian stallion named Marlo, last year's national champion western pleasure horse.

Frank Becker's competitive streak and his love of food prompted him to enter the fair's salsa competition. Although Becker has a small catering business, this will be his cooking debut at the fair.

``Since I've been catering and cooking, the (dish) everybody raves about is my salsa,'' said Becker, proprietor of Billy Bob's Barbecue in Ventura. ``When I run out (of salsa) I've had people actually wait half an hour for me to make more. . . . I'm 350 pounds, so I love cooking. Like they say, never trust a skinny cook.''

Rose Zellmer, a regular fair contestant, will take the stage with Becker for the salsa cook-off. There's nothing like the exhilaration that comes with cooking in front of judges and a crowd, she said.

``I get kind of a high out of it,'' said Zellmer, a prize-winning cook who will be debuting her artichoke-heart salsa. ``You get the adrenaline and feel the excitement. I find I get real nervous. But it's a whole lot of fun.''

Phyllis Kidd, chief of the fair's cooking contests, said corporate sponsorships helped add a number of new competitions this year. The sponsorships are great advertising for the companies, and local cooks not only receive recognition but in some cases compete for up to $100 in cash.

``It takes a while to get corporate sponsors, but they are definitely helping us to provide an avenue for these people to pursue (national cooking competitions),'' she said.

For two years, Kidd relentlessly lobbied Land O Lakes to sponsor a contest. And for two years, the company declined. But when one county fair dropped out on short notice, Land O Lakes came knocking in Ventura with plans for a butter cookie bake-off.

``There aren't that many companies that offer you a chance to go on to a national competition,'' Kidd said. ``So it's a big deal.''

Although cash prizes are offered in the butter cookie competition, Kidd is fretting that few will enter because word of the butter cookie contest came too late to make it into the fair's contest guide.

Next year's fair is looking to add three additional sponsored cooking competitions. Kidd already has three national corporate sponsors lined up for next year's fair.

``The people at the corporate level are interested in what people are doing with their product,'' Kidd said. ``Somebody's always going to come up with a new recipe.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color in Simi and Conejo Editions only) (Ran in Simi, Conejo, SAC and AV Editions only) Spanky, a nearly leonine Belgian draft horse and owner Pat Garrison prepare for the Ventura County Fair's equine beauty pageant.

(2--Color in Simi and Conejo Editions only) Marlo, an Andalusian stallion, is one of Pat Garrison's two entries in the beauty contest.

Terri Thuente/Daily News