Saanich Fair

Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010

Horses

I focused on the horses this visit, although the horse show is a far cry from what it was a few decades ago.

English riding.

Western riding - there isn't much of it at the fair any more and here it was done in a bit of an English style. Overall, this nearly could have been called The Arabian Horse Show.

But then there were the draft horses. Above: Clydesdales.

I am intrigued by the lively Gypsy Vanner breed of horse. This one became quite cantankerous after the other horses were taken out of their stalls. He tried everything he could think of to escape and, as if out of frustration, knocked over a table outside the stall with his nose. But inside the ring he was like a different animal. As feisty as these horses are, I suspect they have a pleasant disposition and would be fun to be around.

Other sights

Scottish Highland dancing seems popular these days. It didn't stop during the 5 hours we were at the fair.

We didn't see all the events or go into all of the barns this year.

New to us was the duct tape contest. People make all sorts of things with duct tape - jeans, shoes, a purse, vase, photo album, even a 'toaster'.

In the flower section was this arrangement with an interesting plant on the right. We were told it is a cardiocrinum, a plant in the lily family. Why 'cardio'? Apparently it has heart shaped leaves.

Another thing I'd never seen was a mobile bank machine.