By LINDA KELLETT

C-S-E News Staff

FONDA — Winning isn’t everything.

A surprising number of Fonda Fair exhibitors and event organizers said while it’s nice to win prize money or bring home a trophy, scoring a victory isn’t always the primary reason that people show animals or participate in activities at the fair.

Equestrian Kendra Kilcullen, 15, of Ames, who did extremely well with her horse at this year’s fair, said winning’s “not really that important.”

Her mother, fair board Director Betty Killcullen, said, “I believe you should have enjoyment first then if you win, be proud. You can’t look at everything as competition. You just do your best.”

That was also the outlook of Marla Knowles, of Canajoharie, who was at the fair participating in driving events with her Shetland pony, Mr. Bo Jangles.

A newcomer to the event, Knowles, whose daughter used to show horses, said driving a horse cart definitely draws upon different skills than riding.

Killcullen and Knowles took turns describing what an official is looking for when judging a pony and cart competition: “It’s how you sit and present yourself in the cart, how the pony moves, the way they stride, extend themselves. There’s no cantering. Everything is walk and trot, and there are different speeds of the trot. There are also obstacles, how well you maneuver,” they chimed in.

Knowles said, “I just started. I’m having a blast with it,”

The ponies that Killcullen brought to the fair did exceptionally well: She earned two reserves and a grand champion with the animals. Ironically, one was acquired from a “car dump” and the other a “kill pen” — bound for the proverbial glue factory.

She said the pony from the junk yard was good at negotiating the obstacle course.

Rusty Bits 4-Her Aryn Feagles, of St. Johnsville, said she wasn’t able to show her horse, Ringo Starr, much at this year’s fair because he was lame.

Normally, she does some jumping with him and English and Western pleasure riding, she said.

When showing, Feagles said she’s primarily interested in putting on a good performance with the horse.

She said she works with her 16-hand, 3-inch mount twice a week, “training him on the right leads. Like when they’re loping. The inside foot has to go forward more, the same as in the show ring. You have to pull with the outside rein and kick with the outside foot. If he has the wrong lead, you have to slow him down and pick it up to get it right.”

Canajoharie horsewoman Nancy Walrath, who’s been coming to the fair for more than a dozen years, brought a young horse with her this year, having retired the one she usually rides.

As she talked, the horse occupied himself with a large, bouncy stall ball, hung at nose level. “He’s very green,” she said. “He’s not used to standing in a stall all day. This is his first outing away from home. He hasn’t shown much, but he’s learned a lot and taking everything in.”

Walrath said she comes to the fair for the camaraderie and her love of horses. “There’s really not that much prize money,” she said.

Fultonville resident MacKenzie Dopp, who exhibited her quarter horse in open class hunt seat, English, and jumping competitions, said she’s been showing horses since she was 18 months old.

“I love it. It’s my life. I’m so dedicated to it. Some people say it’s not a sport. Whether it’s halter, English or Western, it’s all an equestrian sport,” she said.

Dairy and livestock competitors expressed similar sentiments. Alexandria Opalka, 16, of Fort Johnson, showed alpine and Saanen goats during the fair, beating her twin sibling in competition. She also has a younger brother who exhibited goats, too.

Showing goats is a little like showing dairy cattle. Exhibitors are trying to display their animals’ mammary systems and dairy character, said Opalka’s parents. For 4-H showmanship competition, they and their animals should be clean and trimmed. The showmen should also be knowledgable about their animals’ breed and lineage.

Opalka’s parents jokingly said the independent 4-H member was “in it to win it,” but Opalka downplayed that aspect of the competition.

In the Cow Palace, 7-year-old Owen Feagles, of St. Johnsville, took part in his second year of peewee showmanship in the open class.

Although he wasn’t old enough to show his calf in 4-H competition, his grandmother,  Fonda Fair Board Vice President Joan Feagles, said Owen did “pretty good” in the peewee class. “[The judges] don’t place them. They just give everyone a ribbon to encourage them,” she said.