Montgomery County Fair: Nerves turn into victory for first-time horse show participant

Jul. 10—The Montgomery County Fair hosts lots of events and competitions for those showing off their animals. But what is it like winning your first show?

Liberty Shell, 10, from Farmersville, and her horse, Amos, participated in their first horse show — the Novice Showmanship Competition — on Tuesday, competing against other girls her age.

"I definitely had a ton of butterflies in my stomach," Shell said.

She was nervous about Amos staying still during the show, which consists of walking, trotting and showing off her horse.

Sherry Keener, Shell's aunt, owns horses and helps Shell with Amos. She says that Shell started training Amos about four months ago and worked with him practically every other day.

"She's just like my trainer," Shell said, "And if I didn't have her, I wouldn't know anything about horses."

Shell has been showing pigs for the past few years and already rides horses, but she wanted to try showing them. She looked at this year's show as a learning experience. She has only been training Amos for about four months, according to Keener.

But to Shell's surprise, she came in first place in her competition. She says that she became calmer during the show, which she believes gave her the edge over the competition.

"I feel really good about it, I'm still kind of shaking," said shell.

She believes that this show's victory will give her more confidence for future shows in future years and plans to compete in horse shows at future fairs.

------

How to go

What: Montgomery County Fair

When: Through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Where: Montgomery County Fairgrounds, 645 Infirmary Road, Jefferson Twp.

Ticket cost: $10 per person before 4 p.m., $15 per person after 4 p.m.; parking is included in ticket price

More info: www.montcofair.com