NEIGHBORS : SHORT TAKES : A Winning Ride : An Oak View girl and her horse take first prize; Circus Vargas comes to Oxnard College.

Congratulations to Janette Sherman of Oak View. The 13-year-old Matilija Junior High School student finished first in her age group at the Ram Tap Horse Trials in Fresno this month.

Janette won the three-part riding competition aboard 9-year-old thoroughbred Payasito.

The duo competed in dressage, an event comparable to compulsories in skating; a 1 1/2-mile, 18-jump run, and a jumping drill inside the stadium.

Sherman’s coach, Greg Coulson, said the competition was developed shortly before World War II by cavalry officers.

“Nations would compete against one another,” he said. “In the 1950s, the Army disbanded support for equestrian competition and left it to the civilians.”

The business card of the week is of Ojai’s self-proclaimed “Psychotic Fiddler.”

His card lists some of his supposed selling points: “Up to no good,” “Drives people to drink,” “10 Most Wanted List,” “FBI Subversive of the Year.”

We tried phoning Mark Parson on several occasions, but never got an answer, so we can’t tell you exactly what a psychotic fiddler does. Then, again, maybe you’re better off not knowing.

If all went well, Circus Vargas has finished pitching its tents at Oxnard College in preparation for a show tonight.

And it’s in no small part thanks to Michael Gorman, the circus’ advance logistic representative (more fondly referred to as the 24-hour man because he does his most important work about 24 hours before a show at a new site).

Wednesday night, Gorman’s job was to chart a course from Saugus Speedway (the circus’ last stop) to Oxnard College. Along the way, he was to post directional arrows for the various circus vehicles to follow as they pass from town to town in the middle of the night.

One arrow pointing to the right or left meant “Prepare to turn,” two arrows meant “The turn is imminent” and three arrows meant “Make that turn.” Gorman said two arrows next to each other pointing straight are called “encouragement arrows.” They let the drivers know that they are headed in the right direction.

How important is the service that Gorman provides?

“I put the arrows at strategic places. Generally, it’s not more than four to five miles between arrows,” Gorman said. “Have you ever gone down a road in the middle of the night and you couldn’t see the road sign for the life of you? And we’ve got people driving 60-foot semis behind them.”

Speaking of the circus, here’s a quiz. How much food do you think the Circus Vargas elephants eat?

“It depends on the season and the quality of the hay,” said Garnet Pasquale, whose job includes securing the pachyderms’ edibles.

Generally, she said, the five elephants eat 10 bales of hay a day. While they are in Ventura County, they will chomp on local hay. They top that off with 150 pounds a day of sweet feed--a mixture of corn, oats, barley and molasses.

“That’s what makes them so fat,” Pasquale said.

You don’t have to be an avid moviegoer to be familiar with the age-old warning: “Don’t yell ‘Fire!’ in a crowded movie theater.” Well, that’s especially valid at the Mayfair theater now that Oxnard’s Jorge Vargas is the lessee. Vargas has been a firefighter on San Nicholas Island since 1983.