FARMINGTON – Kassie Shurtleff pulled on the reins from atop her horse Oliver as he walked out of the gate of the arena and across the grass at the fairgrounds.
The 12-year-old New Sharon girl kept him under control as she walked the fussiness out of the 20-year-old palomino.
The girl, who’s been riding for five years, wore a newly made purple and gold knight costume and gold spray-painted cowboy boots for her first show, on Saturday.
Even Oliver wore a purple band on his forehead for the Medieval Renaissance Faire.
Her grandmother Marcia Donald of New Sharon taught her how to ride, she said.
First her grandmother led her on the horse with a lead rope, she said, then set up a round pen for her to practice and, when Shurtleff got used to riding the horse, she was allowed to ride up and down the driveway by herself before taking longer rides with family.
“It was a little bit hard at first,” she said. “I had to be strong to control my horse.”
And, in order to get stronger, she had to ride.
“I had to ride a lot before the show,” she said.
She won first place in one of the events: the “beheading the monster” competition, knocking off all the heads of the so-called monsters with stick and a sponge, Shurtleff said.
“At first, I was a little nervous. But once Oliver got better, I was OK,” she said.
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