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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Heritage Days in Amish Country Pt 2


Sorry it took me so long to 
do part 2 of
Heritage Days In Amish Country.

(if you missed it you can see Part 1 here)

There were so many pictures
to choose from it was hard to 
decide which ones to leave out!

After Hubby and I watched the parade
and the buggy races that day
we headed home to take
a nap.

We're getting old...what can I say.
;-)


We went back later in the afternoon
just in time to see the
horse games.


On the way over to the horse grounds
we stopped to listen to some
blue grass music.

They had different groups playing
off and on all day
which was really nice.


The horse games were fun to watch.
Amish and 'English'
adults and children all joined in
for some good old fashioned fun.


This woman and her horse were
fascinating to watch... 
The rider was fearless...the horse tried hard.
In the above picture she is trying to get that 
grain sack into a barrel
but her horse wasn't having any of it .

Below she finally gave up 
since she was being timed and
moved on to the next obstacle.


Next was to cross what they called
a cattle crossing.
He did much better with that.


Next they had to kick that big ball
through a goal post.
They made good time with that one.


They then had to run over to a pen...
untie a pony and...


....hand the pony off to the little
Amish boy.


They then ran over to a stack of straw bales...


...where she had to lift the top bale 
and carry it over to another pile and
set it on top...with out dropping it
or knocking the pile over.
They did great!



Next she had to race over to a log
and get her horse to jump it.
As you can see ....he had no trouble 
with that at all.

There were a lot of competitors 
in this race.


The little fellow who was handed
the pony rope each time
proudly lead his
steed away
when that part of the competition was over.


They then had a different course to master.
Plastic bags moving in the wind 
seemed to really make some of the horses
nervous. This young fellow was riding
a nice little horse who liked to jump.


The same girl I photo'd before
had a good jump here!


This fellow above rode a small mule...
I have never seen another animal
try so hard for it's master.

These two had a ball
and they were in just about every
competition there was!


This young 'momma to be'
was in a few events.
In this one she was dragging a log
through an obstacle course...
she was very careful.


The photo above was of a hilarious
event where two teams of two
riders entered the ring...
one pulling a pack horse.
The pack horse is loaded up with 
camping gear and each team has to 
unload the gear...stake out the horses...
set up camp with bedding and chairs
and then split wood until
they have 10 pieces for a fire.
Then they have to run to a bucket
and get water for coffee.
They don't have to start a fire or make coffee!
Then they have to sit and drink "coffee"...
get onto sleeping bags then pack up
camp and race back to the finish line!

The picture above was all I had room for
and you can see they were having fun
as gear spilled out of their packs as they 
trotted to their camps.

I was laughing so hard...you 
didn't know which team to look at
as everything was happening at once
and so fast!


The next games were
fun to watch too.

This little fellow stood on a barrel
and waited for his daddy to come and 
get him.


He stood on that barrel 
so straight and tall
and totally trusted his 
daddy to pick him up
and swing him onto the horse.


And off they raced to the finish line!


Calf roping was next and it
was a 'free for all'!
See the cowboy on the left?
He's the fellow riding the mule.
You can see his lasso he threw
just in front of him.


Regular cowboys having fun.


Who says you have to ride 
a horse to be a cowboy!


Last but by not least by any means
was the
'broom polo'.

Now this is where the Amish
really show their fun and 
competitive spirit!


This young man in the blue shirt
above and below
could really ride that horse...
he was all over that ball
and his horse!


Even the cowboy couldn't keep
up with him.



I bet each and everyone of those
people slept well that night.



It was a wonderful day.

It's hard to believe that it's 
over for another year. 

It's sad to see it end ...but next week
is the State Fair.

Funnel Cakes
here I come!

:-)

Is your State Fair 
happening soon?









21 comments:

Mellodee said...

What fun!! I've always thought the Amish tried to remain completely apart from the "English", so it is a pleasure to see them interacting especially in a competitive event!

Julie Harward said...

That is some wild jumping! Looks like you do it just like here...love the fairs! ;D

Janet said...

Oh Maura ! what wonderful photographs -I have enjoyed them all- what a fantastic day out you had -I would have loved to have been there-My favorite photo has to be of that little boy leading the pony away-that made me all emotional
for some reason ! take care wonderful post xx

Sunray Gardens said...

What a fun day. I would have been very fascinated to watch it all.
Cher Sunray Gardens

Dagmar said...

Hi Maura,
Looks like you have had alot of fun at the summer/fall fair...what a lovely new blog header..we are in a September heatwave in the OKanagan valley..forests are tinder dry..but beautiful warm nights.

xo

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

Old-fashioned, good fun for all to enjoy. This is what summer is all about.

Kath said...

Fab photos, I can taste the dust!
We had a wool fair here in Glastonbury on Monday where they herded a small number of sheep down the High street and they diverted into the "Boots" store until the staff shooed them out LOL

Country Gal said...

What a fun time your photos are fantastic. I love watching events like this it is so exciting! Thanx for taking us along. Have a wonderful day ! Oh P.S ,Papa and I often have afternoon naps so guess we are old to lol !

Donna said...

Oh, what fun! It reminds me of home, back in Lancaster County. I enjoyed all the photos. Our state fair is coming up soon too, and, yes, funnel cakes!

Love your new header!

hugs

LANA said...

Looks like it was some really exciting fun! Great photos, I love the Amish. xoxo Lana www.lifeatwildberrycottage.com

Chris at Red Gate Farm said...

That broom polo looks like a lot of fun! And my husband would have loved to see those red Farmalls!

~Chris

PS have one of those funnel cakes for me next week!

quiltzyx said...

Thanks for sharing the horse games with us! It took me back to the summer I spent with my penpal's family in Idaho. Their Dad was in the mounted Sheriff's Posse, and every weekend we went to another fair or rodeo where they competed in different competitions. What fun we had!!

Kim said...

What a fun thing to watch!
Those plastic bags are scarey things to horses. We have been desensitizing our horses to them but haven't had them jump over them yet. Might have to try that with me on the ground first though!

Sherri said...

Maura, what a fun day!!! I remember doing similar events with my horse when I was in 4-H at the Fair. Nice memories!!

Michaele said...

Oh my gosh! This puts the PRCA to shame! I would have loved to see this live - but you did an excellent job of sharing. Really good job!

camp and cottage living said...

Looks like lots of fun! And I miss those funnel cakes. They are easy to make though.
This reminds me of the fairs in Missouri were I was raised. It was carmel apples, cotton candy, and homemade lemonade then.

GardenOfDaisies said...

Everyone looked like they were having such a fun time! It seems like it's been forever since I was at the state fair! I'll have to see if I can talk DH into going.

Donna Heber said...

Hi Maura,

Wonderful pictures! It looks like it was a beautiful day. I would have enjoyed watching the horses too.

Catherine said...

Hi Maura,
Unsual pictures to me! i like them, they are all very skillful.I hope some day i could go back to Lancaster and see the Amish crafts and rat their SO GOOD food again!!! nice day to you Catherine

Anita at Cedar Hill said...

I just linked to your blog in my current post about my new creekside deck. Have a blessed day.

NanaNor's said...

Hi Maura, I'm new here but so glad I found you-we're sort of neighbors-I'm in Colorado. Loved these photos, reminded me of a horse show I went to in Tennessee. I also love all things Amish. I'm assuming you are Irish(we have many Maura's in our family); I can't wait to read some back posts. I'm going to follow you-can't wait to get to know you.
Noreen

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