This Saturday we had a family day off the farm. Rufus’s sister, Jessica, bought Rufus, Aurora, and I tickets to the Midwest Horse Fair in Madison where we witnessed some pretty amazing stuff. Horse lovers from all over brought a stunning variety of equine life to the Alliant Energy Center. We saw breeds of horses I have never even heard of like the curly horses who have hair that looks more like a sheep or poodle. Some of our favorites were the Rocky Mountain, the Icelandic, the Norwegian Fjord, the Gypsy, the Clydesdale, and last but not least, the mini donkey. We walked around the stables, watched horse clinics, ate some extremely questionable food, drank a couple heinously overpriced beers, and meandered among a crowd of people which was a bit too large for my liking. The big event of the night was the Mustang show, an event which offers the chance to train a wild mustang in 90 days and give a presentation of their progress at the show. It is phenomenal to see the connection between man and beast, or in this case, young teenage girls and beasts. The winner of it all was an unlikely candidate, a short petite blonde girl who I believe was only 15 years old. She used no lead rope and was able to get her mustang to follow her lead, perform tricks, and even lay down, which is apparently a pretty big deal. Although the crowds were overwhelming, the animals and our ability as humans to connect so strongly with them captivated me.  

~Joy