Alabama Horse Fair features Westfall
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Stacy Westfall
Popular trainer and YouTube sensation Stacy Westfall returns to Montgomery for the 2017 Alabama Horse Fair. Held March 4-5 at Garrett Coliseum, the annual event draws horse owners and enthusiasts from across Alabama and the region.
The Alabama Horse Fair includes riding demonstrations and entertainment, educational workshops for horse owners, drill team and trail obstacle competitions, and the largest horse-related tradeshow in the state.
Presented by the Alabama Horse Council, the 2017 Fair runs 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. both days. Admission to the event is $15 Saturday and $10 Sunday, with free admission for kids 6 and under.
Joining Stacy in the Coliseum arena are horsemanship trainer Carson James, gaited horse specialist Michael Gascon and mule trainer Steve Edwards. Cowgirl and Christian music artist Crystal Lyons will lead the Sunday morning Cowboy Church as well as perform throughout the weekend.
Crowd favorites at Crawford Arena include the drill team competition Saturday and the trail obstacle challenge Sunday. Returning for the fourth year is the popular Show-Me barn featuring hands-on demonstrations on better horse health and management.
Stacy Westfall first appeared at the Alabama Horse Fair in 2007, shortly after her championship win in freestyle reining at the All-American Quarter Horse Congress and becoming the first woman to win the Road to the Horse colt starting competition.
Stacy’s famous bareback and bridleless championship rides have been viewed millions of times and featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She is an inductee of the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and a regular contributor for several western horse magazines. In addition to her demonstrations, Stacy’s husband, Jesse, will introduce the Alabama Horse Fair crowd to the sport of reining.
Carson James started riding professionally at age 15 and currently splits his time between teaching horsemanship clinics and training horses with the techniques he has learned through a lifetime of ranch riding. Carson uses traditional Vaquero-style training methods made popular by natural horsemanship trainers like Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt.
Gaited horse specialist and national champion trainer Michael Gascon is known for his electric performances and demonstrations of the versatile Paso Fino horse. Based in Southern Mississippi, Michael comes from a long line of successful horse trainers. Though he is a relative newcomer to the horse fair circuit he already has several sold out clinics on his 2017 schedule.
Mule expert Steve Edwards is returning to the Alabama Horse Fair by popular demand. Steve drew large crowds in his 2016 appearances at the fair, helping to dispel the myth that “mules are stubborn.” Steve’s demonstrations and workshops include mule training techniques as well as saddle fit and effective bridling and biting.
The Alabama Horse Council (AHC) is a non-profit organization that impartially represents all of Alabama’s horse industry. The AHC works to enact fair and effective regulation affecting horse use, improve state equestrian facilities, sponsor equine-related educational opportunities, increase public understanding of horses and horse use, and enhance the contribution of horses to the quality of life in Alabama.
For more information about the Alabama Horse Fair, including a schedule of events, go to www.alabamahorsecouncil.org.
