1. Read and follow all rules in the Marias Fair 4-H Horse Show Rule Book.

 2. Bulletin #353 Training Horses: Yearlings to Five-Year Olds and current project material will be used as reference materials for the Marias Fair Horse Show.

3. Helmet Requirement: The State 4-H Helmet Policy will be enforced.  Protective headgear is encouraged in all 4-H horse activities and required for all speed events.

4. Seek information from Horse Committee members or county Extension agents concerning any questions you may have. If in doubt, ask! 

5. Members enrolled in either English or Western Horsemanship may enter Bareback Equitation, Western Pleasure, and/or English Pleasure in the level that corresponds to their Horsemanship project level. Members wishing to show a Green Horse or Colt to Maturity must enter under the member’s most current Horsemanship level. 

6. To participate in Colt to Maturity or Green Horse, the member must be 12 years old or older during the current project year; have completed Horsemanship Levels 1, 2, and 3 AND have completed a standard written test and/or demonstrated ability to handle the project to the county horse leader or designated person.

7. Two-year old horses may be entered to a) ride, b) lunge or c) drive. This allows the 4-H’er who has a two-year old that is not ready to be ridden to still be shown at the Fair.

8. Cross entries will not be allowed. Horses or ponies entered in Colt to Maturity or Green Horse lots will not be allowed to enter Western Horsemanship or English Horsemanship lots.

9. A colt in the fifth year of the Colt-to-Maturity project may cross enter to Horsemanship Level 7 if the member has been assessed out of Horsemanship Level 6.

10. A member may ride only one horse per Western and one horse per English Horsemanship Level. Members may ride only one level apart if riding in both Western and English Horsemanship.  A maximum of two horses are allowed in the Horsemanship Levels if showing in both English and Western. 

11.0Miniature horses may be entered in Miniature Showmanship, In-Hand Trail, Miniature Obstacle and Driving.

12. Only a 4-H project horse may enter event classes at the Marias Fair Horse Show. 4-H horses not entered in at least one Marias Fair 4-H horse exhibit will not be stalled in the 4-H horse barns or exercised in the 4-H arena. Extra horses (horses not entered in the Marias Fair 4-H horse show) are not allowed on the 4-H show grounds or in the 4-H barns.  This is for health, safety and liability reasons for members, spectators and the organization.

13. A Pre-Show Equipment Check by a Horse Project Leader in your county or reservation is required. Bring your showmanship halter and lead ropes, all bridles and attachments, and the age of your horse to a designated horse project leader BEFORE the Fair registration deadline in June. Your horse leader must approve your tack before registering for fair.  The intent of this check is to ensure all horse members have appropriate tack before the horse show, and to allow members time to make necessary tack changes for the safety of all horses, riders and judges.  Tack that does not meet the requirements as described in this Fair Book and the Marias Fair Horse Show Rule Book will result in a red or white ribbon, based on the judge’s discretion.  If in doubt about tack, participants should seek guidance from a Marias Fair Horse Committee member at the Awards Stall.

14. The Marias Fair 4-H Horse Committee requires each competing 4-H member to submit current year assessments with their entry fees by the deadline in June. The level of projects/events entered should be the level at which a 4-H member is assessed and submits with Fair entries.

15. A $40.00 per stall fee will be required at the time of registration. 4-H horses may be stalled for the entire fair, a portion thereof or brought in and removed the day of the show. The length of stay must be noted at registration prior to fair.  Fee will be refunded after the stalls are cleaned. If stalls are not cleaned by Sunday at 10 a.m., fees will be forfeited to the Horse Committee. Members will also be required to help clean up the horse arena on Sunday Morning. 

16. All Horse projects will be judged on Wednesday in the Exhibit Building. All Horse members must be interviewed on each project.  Educational displays and Independent Study exhibits will also be judged in the Exhibit Building on Wednesday and will be displayed in the Exhibit Building. 

17. Horse Project Presentations will be included in the Public Presentations schedule.

18. A member may be asked to remove a horse from the fairgrounds and forfeit their entry in the horse show for any of the violations named below, and/or an Extension agent or a horse committee member can consult a veterinarian to inspect an animal in any of the following circumstances:

  • Excessive use of a whip on any horse in a stall, runway, schooling area, show ring or elsewhere on the competition grounds, before or during a competition, by any person. Any striking of the horse’s head (on the poll and forward of the poll) with the whip shall be deemed excessive.
  • Rapping the legs of a horse with the butt end of a riding crop or other implement
  • Use of any substance to induce temporary heat
  • Use of an electric device in schooling or showing
  • Use of shackles (not to be construed as rubber or elastic exercising devices)
  • Showing a horse with raw or bleeding sores around the coronets, pasterns, or legs
  • Withholding feed and/or water for prolonged periods
  • Letting blood from a horse for other than diagnostic purposes
  • Keep all horses, stalls, equipment and feed clean and neat. All bedding must be in designated areas.

19. A veterinarian’s slip must accompany a request to change horses BEFORE the day of the horse show. The Horse Committee must decide whether or not to allow the change of horses.

20. All horses should be properly vaccinated and in good health. 5-way and West Nile vaccinations are recommended.

21. Horses that kick MUST HAVE red ribbons tied on their tails at all times.

22. Exercise horses stalled at the fair at least twice a day, more often if you desire. Horses are not allowed to run free in arena or the exercise area.

23. 4-H horses may be exercised in the 4-H horse arena and/or in the exercise arena. HORSES MAY BE RIDDEN ONLY IN DESIGNATED AREAS.  4-H horses will not be ridden on the fairgrounds (midway) at any time. Practice safety at all times.  Horses may only be ridden at a walk enroute to warm up or to the event arena.

24. Watch for all children or adults harassing the horses or otherwise endangering themselves or others. Report any such action to a Horse Committee member or one of the county Extension agents

25. Notices regarding 4-H horses and exhibitors will be placed on the back of the wash rack and/or at the ends of each horse barn. It is the exhibitor’s responsibility to examine these areas daily for notices.

26. All major clipping/trimming should be done prior to the fair and all minor clipping/trimming at the fair should be done by a qualified adult or with adult supervision in the designated area. For safety reasons, an exhibitor may have his/her horses shod on the fairgrounds anytime during the fair by a qualified adult or with adult supervision.  All washing and trimming will be supervised by adults.

27. Wash racks were not built to withstand horses being tied to them, and they’re expensive to fix. Horses may only be tied to the wash rack while being washed; horses are not to be left unattended while tied to the wash racks at any time.  Hitching posts are available to the north of the wash racks.  Members should be supervised by an adult while washing horses.

28. For consideration for herdsmanship, horses need to be stalled by Wednesday at noon, Friday, and Saturday until the noon checkout time. All other horses are due at the fairgrounds by 7:00 a.m. Friday of the fair. Members with horses stalled at the fairgrounds will follow the following: 

  • Properly feed and provide clean water at least twice a day and when prudent management dictates.
  • Bring own bucket to water horse - there will be no trough.
  • Clean the aisle in front of their stall(s) and keep it free from manure, equipment and garbage.
  • Pens will be kept clean and presentable with or without bedding.
  • Have all fitting and showing equipment and herdsmanship tools stored properly in non-exhibit locations in appropriate containers or tack boxes.
  • Maintain a fit and clean appearance to their animal during normal fair hours, 8:00 a.m.to 10:00 p.m.
  • Maintain their display in a way so as not to endanger the public.
  • In case of a tie, stall presentation will decide the award winner.
  • Any 4-H horse assigned a stall shall remain in that designated stall until released by the barn superintendent.

29.No activities are allowed at the barns, wash rack or arena after 10:00 p.m., including but not limited to riding 4-H horses in or out of the facilities.

30. Members involved in a demonstration/exhibition must announce their own narratives or give a printed narrative to the announcer in the morning prior to the show.

31. Scratches will be done Friday morning at check-in

32. Showmanship is not a required class. However, members exhibiting at the Marias Fair Horse show must show in their project class to participate in any and all optional classes and other 4-H horse exhibitions (i.e. Tough Enough to Wear Pink, Freestyle…).  Anyone scratching all Horse Show events will not be able to participate in the optional events.

33. The top three places from Pre-Junior, Junior and Senior showmanship will come back for Overall Showmanship. The top two from Overall Showmanship will proceed to Round Robin.  The third-place winner is the alternate for the Round Robin in case the first or second place showman is unable to attend.