Tuesday, Aug. 05, 2008

Teen wins horse show at Johnson County Fair

Megan Paulsen gritted her teeth right before she walked into the Johnson County fair arena.

Only days before, the 19-year-old presented her horse, Shez Way Finntastic, in the horse show, Paulsen sprained her ankle. That’s a bad stroke of luck for a competition that is mostly judged on body posture and how the horse looks.

“I was nervous; I didn’t even warm up with the horse,” Paulsen said. “...She knows her job.” Despite the injury, Paulsen and her horse won first prize in her age group at the Johnson County Fair horse show Tuesday.

Shez Way Finntastic, also referred to casually as Abby, has been one of Paulsen’s horses for four years. Paulsen spends four to five hours a day when she can with Abby. Paulsen works for a construction company in the morning and attends community college during the day. Still, she makes time to ride or just go out to see her horse.

“You gotta do it,” Paulsen said. “Having a great horse is everything.”

After the competition, Shez Way Finntastic kept licking the trophy she won.

“She likes her trophy,” Paulsen said. “She knows her job. She’s pretty. There’s nothing bad about her.”

Paulsen has shown horses for 11 years. But this is her last year to participate in 4-H in a variety of categories. After winning the trophy, she talked to younger competitors and encouraged them before they went to show their horses.

“I’m looking to clean up this year,” Paulsen said. “I want younger 4-Hers to say, ‘Hey, she did it. I can do it, too.’ I watched the older age groups and thought, ‘Hey, I can do that.’”

More than 5,000 4-H pre-entries were registered prior to the fair. That’s up from last year, said Bill Gay, president of the fair executive board. So many entries will provide families “lots to see at the fair” that is free, he said.

“I don’t think many people understand that it is free to come and look at the exhibits,” Gay said. “It’s free parking and free entry.”

Estimates on fair attendance typically describe 100,000 showing up during the entire week, Gay said. Those numbers fluctuate usually because of the weather.

“But this is a success for a number of our 4-Hers,” Gay said.

The Johnson County Fair continues in Gardner through Saturday.

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