Dixon May Fair Junior Horse Show Showcases Skills of Young Solano County Equestrians

By Brianna Boyd
Special to Dixon Patch

Solano County equestrians galloped to victory April 23 during the annual Dixon May Fair Junior Horse Show.

Sixty-five girls from throughout Solano County participated in the all-day event at the Dixon May Fair. Based on their age and skill level, the children and teenagers were divided into three divisions – novice, junior and senior – and each group had its own contests.

By the end of the day, the girls proudly carried multiple colors of ribbons for contests that included walk trot for the beginner riders and showmanship, trail, English and Western for the more advanced participants.

Families began arriving at the fairgrounds bright and early that Saturday morning for the event that included youth between the ages of 9 and 18. The May Fair’s royalty court participants were the first to enter the arena at 7:30 a.m. for the Royalty Court Horsemastership Class. From that point on, shows were non-stop throughout the day, with riders and horses doing their best to shine.

While the day included a lot of work for the participants, there was also plenty of fun. For many of the riders, the Dixon May Fair Junior Horse Show is a tradition they have enjoyed for a number of years.

“I’ve been doing this for so long, I have friends here with me,” said Stephanie Marshall, 17, of Vacaville, who rode with her paint horse, “Firecracker”. “It’s a fun show to be around and ‘Firecracker’ likes it too because she has something to do.”

For Marshall and many of the other girls in the senior division, one of the most popular contests is Gymkhana, a competition that includes barrel racing, pole bending and a flag race.

 “You can go fast, and I like to run and make sharp turns,” said 15-year-old Alex Atkinson of Dixon, who rode in the senior division with her quarter horse, “Lexi”. “I like the extra adrenaline. The horse is ready to go and it makes you excited and ready to go too.”

The event was Alex’s second Dixon May Fair Junior Horse Show. She won the Hi Point Award last year for the walk trot in the novice division, and proudly wore her winning belt buckle as she competed in the senior division for the first time.

“I’ve practiced a lot,” she said. “I’ve been riding her almost everyday and working on Western Pleasure and Showmanship. You have to learn the horse too, learn their personality and the different things they do.” 

Chloe Maciel, 16, of Dixon, regularly rides her Arabian horse, “Tricia”, at her family’s home.  The two do practice show rides all the time, Maciel said, but it is not the same as actually being at a horse show. This was their fourth Dixon May Fair Junior Horse Show, and Chloe, who enjoys the Gymkhana most, said both she and her horse love it.

“This is pretty much the only event we go to every year so it’s fun to prepare for it and have a play date to go out with everyone,” she said.

Division: OPEN JR. WALK/TROT

Class:    BAREBACK-WALK/TROT

  1. Sydney Immel, Fairfield

  3. Olivia Nesbitt, Vacaville

Class:    ENG.EQUITATION-WALK/TROT

  1. Sydney Immel, Fairfield

  2. Renee Reeves, Suisun City

  3. Kendra Atkinson, Dixon

Class:    ENG. PLEASURE-WALK/TROT

  1. Olivia Nesbitt, Vacaville

  2. Sydney Immel, Fairfield

  3. Renee Reeves, Suisun City

Class:    WESTERN EQUIT.-WALK/TROT

  1. Shelby Cooper, Dixon

  2. Olivia Nesbitt, Vacaville

  3. Caitlin Estes, Fairfield

Class:    WESTRN PLEASURE-WALK/TROT

  1. Olivia Nesbitt, Vacaville

  2. Caitlin Estes, Fairfield

  3. Shelby Cooper, Dixon

Class:    TRAIL-WALK/TROT

  1. Kendra Atkinson, Dixon

  2. Alexis Lyn, Travis Afb

  3. Olivia Nesbitt, Vacaville

Class:    CA.POLE BENDING-WALK/TROT

  3. Olivia Nesbitt, Vacaville

Class:    FLAG RACE-WALK/TROT

  3. Alecza Hoover, Vacaville

Class:    CLOVERLEAF BRLS-WALK/TROT

  3. Caitlin Estes, Fairfield

Division: OPEN JR. HORSE SHOW

Class:    BAREBACK - JUNIOR

  1. Corinne Reece, Vacaville

  2. K-la Duncan, Dixon

  3. Paige Evans, Fairfield

Class:    ENGLISH EQUITATION-JR.

  1. Madison Lowrie, Dixon

  2. Corinne Reece, Vacaville

  3. Karin Aksnes, Fairfield

Class:    ENGLISH PLEASURE - JR.

  1. Corinne Reece, Vacaville

  2. K-la Duncan, Dixon

  3. Delisa Fracchia, Vacaville

Class:    WESTERN EQUITATION - JR.

  1. Madison Lowrie, Dixon

  2. K-la Duncan, Dixon

  3. Corinne Reece, Vacaville

Class:    WESTERN PLEASURE - JR.

  1. K-la Duncan, Dixon

  2. Corinne Reece, Vacaville

  3. Madison Lowrie, Dixon

Class:    TRAIL - JUNIOR

  1. Ashley Cooper, Dixon

  2. Delisa Fracchia, Vacaville

  3. Paige Evans, Fairfield

Class:    CALIF. POLE BENDING-JR.

  3. Abigail Gustafson, Dixon

Class:    FLAG RACE - JUNIOR

  3. Amy Chancellor, Vacaville

Class:    CLOVERLEAF BARRELS-JR.

  3. Abigail Gustafson, Dixon

Division: SR.YOUTH HORSE SHOW

Class:    BAREBACK - SENIOR

  1. Danielle Mccants, Vacaville

  2. Allie Huduck, Vacaville

  3. Paige Leber, Dixon

Class:    ENGLISH EQUITATION-SR.

  1. Danielle Mccants, Vacaville

  2. Christiana Rankin, Vacaville

  3. Allie Huduck, Vacaville

Class:    ENGLISH PLEASURE - SR.

  1. Christiana Rankin, Vacaville

  2. Paige Leber, Dixon

Class:    WESTERN EQUITATION - SR.

  1. Allie Huduck, Vacaville

  2. Alex Atkinson, Dixon

  3. Paige Leber, Dixon

Class:    WESTERN PLEASURE - SR.

  1. Allie Huduck, Vacaville

  2. Paige Leber, Dixon

  3. Katie Berg, Vacaville

Class:    TRAIL - SENIOR

  1. Sabrina Brown, Vacaville

  2. Annaley Herzog, Vacaville

  3. Katie Berg, Vacaville

Class:    CALIF. POLE BENDING-SR.

  3. Sabrina Brown, Vacaville

Class:    FLAG RACE - SENIOR

  3. Haley Yost, Fairfield

Class:    CLOVERLEAF BARRELS-SR.

  3. Danielle Mccants, Vacaville

Division: HORSE SHOWMANSHIP

Class:    4-H NOVICE SHOWMANSHIP

  1. Holly Welpott, Dixon

  2. Allison Jones, Dixon

  3. Kylie Goetze, Dixon

Class:    4-H JUNIOR SHOWMANSHIP

  1. Macy Nielson, Vacaville

  2. Delisa Fracchia, Vacaville

  3. Karin Aksnes, Fairfield

Class:    4-H SENIOR SHOWMANSHIP

  1. Annaley Herzog, Vacaville

  2. Alice Hoover, Vacaville

  3. Stephanie Marshall, Vacaville

Class:    FFA SENIOR SHOWMANSHIP

  1. Katie Berg, Vacaville

  2. Alex Atkinson, Dixon

  3. Sabrina Brown, Vacaville

Class:    IND. NOVICE SHOWMANSHIP

  1. Olivia Nesbitt, Vacaville

  2. Kendra Atkinson, Dixon

  3. Alexis Lyn, Travis Afb

Class:    IND. JUNIOR SHOWMANSHIP

  1. Paige Evans, Fairfield

  2. Amy Chancellor, Vacaville

  3. Kayla Ward, Vacaville

Class:    IND. SENIOR SHOWMANSHIP

  1. Christiana Rankin, Vacaville

  2. Allie Huduck, Vacaville

  3. Chloe Maciel, Dixon