With the Knox County Fair just around the corner, the Boone family of Danville are getting ready for another year of equine competition. This year, middle daughter Marley Boone will participate in equestrian events with two horses in two fairs. She’ll be in the Ohio State Fair as well as the Knox County Fair.
Marley will ride her bigger horse, Monique, in the pole bending and barrel racing competitions. Both are timed events that feature tight turns and require precise coordination between horse and rider.
In barrel racing, rider and horse circle each of three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. In the pole bending, the rider is required to ‘weave’ the horse through a series of six poles, planted in the ground.
Marley will also be at the reins for her smaller horse, Mandy, in the miniature horse trail cart competition. These horses are all 38 inches tall or less, but display strength and athletic skill in the arena. The mini horses are judged on their ability to pull a cart through a preset pattern or course with finesse and responsiveness. The driver rides in the cart, directing the horse who must be able to use various gaits (walk, trot, and cantor) while the judges rate the horse’s performance, manners and responsiveness to the driver’s cues.
Marley, and her older sister Quincey (the latter of whom aged out of competition) have done this for the past decade as a 4-H project. The youngest, Willow, will benefit from the knowledge that both her sisters have amassed in their years of competition, when she takes over the competitive reins in two more years.
Because they have grown up on a small farm, Marley, Quincey and Willow are no strangers to hard work and have learned much about responsibility. With no brothers, they learned to run a farm, maintain automobiles, and farm vehicles. They learned to enjoy the outdoor life through hunting, fishing, and living off the land.
Marley’s work ethic shows in the ring with the hours of practice it takes to perfect the speed and skill of barrel and pole riding. In the small horse classes, Marley’s hard work shows once again, in the precision and teamwork of negotiating obstacles, while Mandy pulls a cart in the arena. Marley’s father is quick to point out that he wasn’t the one who got his daughters started in horse competition.
“I have to credit their mom (Sandy) with that,” Marley’s father Jason Boone said. “She kind of got them started on that, with the mini horse that we had years ago (Mandy) and we've still got that same one.”
Mandy, who is now 27 years old, is a small horse, who really knows her end of the job, but once in a while, she needs to be reminded who is the boss.
"The little one is very stubborn,” said Marley. “She likes to push me around and push my buttons, but she does a lot of what I ask her to do. So, she's very good at listening to cues and things like that. She is very stubborn and bullheaded. She likes to think she's in charge, but sometimes I can put her back in her place. We just butt heads sometimes.”
When the lights come on, however, Mandy is all business.
“We get the job done in the show arena,” said Marley. “It's crazy but we'll go into the arena, and she will snap right into this perfect horse. Then we will go out of the arena, and she will butt me with her head and be stubborn like she is. Yet, she's a totally different pony when we are in the arena.”
Perhaps Mandy is looking for top billing.
“Definitely likes to take credit and she is older so she's getting grumpier, but she still does everything I ask her to,” said Marley. “We still have to work for it but she tries.”Rounding up the horses that need to be transported to a fair or a family camping trip can turn into another challenge.
"There's just some horses that will come right up to you because they love being in your personal space and they love going places,” said Marley. "Then, there are other times that they don't want to work, and they just want to stay in the field. The best trick for us is we put grain in a bucket, and we shake it like we are going to feed them. Then we catch them. Or else, we lock them in the stalls and act like we're going to feed them. Extra treats always help too, because they do know. They see you coming and close the gate to come in and they will start running away. They are smart and they like to push your buttons. Especially when you’re trying to catch them. Treats work well.”
Sometimes treats include sugar cubes.
“Also, whenever we eat sweet corn we always take the cobs out,” Marley said. “We feed our horses everything.”There’s a difference strategy to work with Monique the taller, barrel riding horse.“I’m working with her most days, so I've had a lot of time with her,” Marley said. “Doing the pattern helps, but not just the pattern. I also do different tricks with her that I've seen on YouTube. I ask my (4-H) adviser first. A lot of things I do are things like stretching on the sides I've always learned to pull her head toward my knee, and she will give in and that stretches them. That helps them get around the barrel so they're not so tight. Also, doing circles. I do a big wide circle getting her on the right lead. Leads are like putting the best foot out first. Putting the correct foot out first makes a smoother turn. Practicing that has always been helpful because it just sets you up for the whole pattern. When they get the correct lead, it makes the whole pattern so much, smoother.”
Jason Boone has shared everything he knows about the outdoors with his daughters.
“Well, I like to get them outdoors to do hunting, camping, and boating type things,” said Jason. “Those are the sort of things I liked to do when I was a kid. I didn't want them to feel like they needed to do all girlie type things. They could do whatever things they wanted to do, whether it was guy things or girl things. They, all three, like to hunt. They've kind of taken a liking to that.”
That means that, when the Boone family wants to head out for a vacation, there has to be enough horses and feed so everyone can go trail riding. There also has to be enough trailer space, gasoline, and other supplies. Most of all every vehicle and, trailer must be maintained, right down to the tires.
“It's a lot of work too,” Jason said, “I got a lot of equipment to maintain. Everybody's got a horse that they can ride. As a family, we actually go out camping and trail riding regularly. I’ve got to maintain equipment for all the horses.”
All of this and a decade of 4H has instilled life lessons in Marley, leaving her unafraid to set her sights high or to take on responsibility. She is enrolled at Ohio State University at Newark with the hope of becoming a NICU nurse, working to care for premature babies.
“It has helped me grow into a better person, and it has helped make me tougher and more hardworking,” said Marley. “I didn't just get everything I wanted. I had to work for it and I've learned to be more grateful for what I have from working hard."
