Family Comes In 1st Again
You have to get up pretty early in the morning to beat out the Stewarts of Simi Valley.
Once again, as has been the case for more than 20 years, a member of the family has been the first in line to walk through the gates on opening day of the Ventura County Fair.
On Wednesday, three generations of Stewarts--represented by four family members and a friend--woke up at 6 a.m. to beat the crowds and keep their streak intact.
“They didn’t want to take any chances,” said patriarch Jim Stewart, 55.
The Stewarts started the line at Seaside Park at 9 a.m. and stood there alone for about an hour. At 11 a.m., granddaughter Kaelie Johnson, 4, helped cut the ribbon before heading straight for the Lolly Swings.
Next year, the Stewarts plan a full-on family blitz with 30 of their clan storming the gates on opening day.
“I’m getting older and it’s getting harder to do this,” Jim Stewart said. “We want to make a big bang at least one year.”
As the morning haze burned off and the crowds downed their first bites of fried dough, many wondered who would be the first to try the newly added bungee jump. Down the midway, visitors could purchase everything from hats to ceramic lawn ornaments.
A water buffalo sat passively near the livestock pavilion, though its horns were dwarfed by those on a pair of African Ankole Watusi cattle, whose massive headgear resembled the handlebars of a motorcycle.
Near the stables and animal pens, breeders and caretakers gave last-minute makeovers to their sheep and horses. The Budweiser Dalmatian rolled lazily in the grass while some of the signature Clydesdales received soapy showers.
Nearby, Jessica Gaytan painted the hoofs of Galeno, her chestnut Andalusian horse. The black polish helps give the hoofs a visual pop during competition.
Gaytan and her grandfather, Ventura County native Art Gaytan, had been up since 6:30 a.m., bathing their two horses, working them in the arena and then bathing them again.
They shaved the horses’ faces and removed stray hairs from their ears in an effort to get “a highly polished, well-groomed and manicured horse,” Jessica Gaytan said.
The Shadow Hills family has been working horses for more than 40 years, getting them used to the noise and commotion associated with fairs. “We’re just bombarding them with so much stimuli that it’s no big deal,” Jessica Gaytan said.
Anita Alfaro, a breeder from Spanish Eyes Ranch in Chino, also hoped to impress the judges with her gray Andalusians. The breed, originally bred to carry royalty, is known for its long manes and tails, flashy movement and manageable temperament, Alfaro said.
Every performance venue is different, so the horses need to be ready for anything, she said.
“We basically do our training on the streets of Chino,” Alfaro said. “Look at all you’ve got going on here. You can’t duplicate this in your backyard.”
The fair ends Aug. 11.