Document text
Photo by Jim Craven Vicky Smothermom of Estacada gives her miniature horse, Be Bops Leader of the Pack, a shave on the nose in preparation for competition at the Jackson County Exposition Park Saturday. Expo hosts a little horsing around Tiny-animal show club's first in Southern Oregon By JIM DAVIS CENTRAL POINT -- Vicky Smothermon pulled nose to nose with her horse Saturday morning to get him ready for the big show. Of course, Smothermon had to sit. The Estacada woman shaved the nose hair off the tiny stallion in preparation for the Northwest Miniature Horse Club's show at the Jackson County Exposition Park. "They're a lot like a dog," Smothermon said. "You can take them anywhere and do anything with them." Her horse -- Be Bops Leader of the Pack -- was one of about 75 to 80 miniatures at the park Saturday. The horse show continues today. "It's our first show in Southern Oregon," said Grants Pass resident Sheryl Peterson, the event's coordinator. The American Miniature Horse is bred to be exactly like a regular horse in proportion -- simply much, much smaller. The horse owners took their animals through a variety of competitions Saturday, ranging from cart races, in which the horses race pulling small carts, to halter showing, which is basically a beauty contest. To qualify, horses had to stand 34 inches or shorter from the withers -- roughly near the shoulder blades. The smallest horse at the show was Rough and Rowdy, a 22-inch-tall pinto owned by Barbara Ashby of Woodland, Wash. Ross Originally from Europe, miniatures were brought to America in the 1940s and 1950s to work in the small coal mine shafts of the Appalachian Mountains, said Joanne Ross of Siletz. She brought her black-and-white miniature Oreo to the show. Over the years, people began raising the horses just to raise them. Shows such as this weekend's have become common. Ashby said she fell in love with the animals when she saw a news story in Texas about how one was stolen and later found. "I'm scared of the big horses," Ashby said. "These (the miniature horses) are just the sweetest animals on earth." Ross owns one of the largest herds in the Northwest with 95 miniature horses at her ranch on the Oregon Coast. "They're just so sweet and lovable," Ross said. "They're not spooky at all and they just love to be touched." Miniature horses cost little to feed or keep. Ross said a miniature horse eats about $10 worth of food a month. She said the horses are safe for children, older people and disabled people. "You don't have to worry about your child being kicked and killed like you with big horses," Ross said. Ross and Peterson said there are all sorts of uses for the animals: They can be used as pack animals, can carry children and even can be taken into the house. With carts, the horses can haul their owners, Ross said. "If you're strictly into riding, this isn't your breed," Ross said. "But if you enjoy all the other aspects of horse ownership, then this is it for you." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA