On Sunday, the Shawville Fair was once again packed with hundreds of people ready for one final big party before calling it a summer and they couldn’t have asked for more better weather.
In the morning, the action began inside the arena with the Light horse show, which featured over 50 riders competing in 48 different classes.
Emceed by Veronique Thomas-Ewen with Kirk Douglas serving as the judge, riders showed off their equestrian ability and elegance while soft melodies played on the organ emanated through the speakers.
Classes ranged from individual riders roaming the course and jumping over a series of obstacles while some featured people rolling around the perimeter of the course in horse drawn carriages. For one of the classes Thomas-Ewen explained that the goal was for the horse to lift their knees as prominently as possible whilst roaming the course.
The top riders from each respective class earned ribbons, and the overall winners went home with cash prizes as well.
Over at the outdoor ring, hundreds of people packed the stands while many others stood alongside the railing hoping to get the best view of the horse pull.
Boasting 23 contestants coming from all over Quebec and Ontario competing in light and heavy classes, the event showcased pairs of robust horses attached to a sled weighing over a ton hitting to the track trying to pull it as far they could.
Bonnie Nolan served as the emcee and at the end of the competition, just like last year, Kazabazua’s Brent Gabie walked away as the grand champion of both classes.
Inside the Agricultural Awareness Station, there was a number of workshops taking place, including demos on milking cows, grain grinding and beekeeping. A sandbox and a petting zoo were also on site, giving kids a chance to pretend riding trucks in the dunes or hang out next to the livestock.
Pontiac Agricultural Society Fairboard Director Josey Bouchard explained that the station aims to teach people who aren’t from agricultural-centric areas what farming is and the process behind how farmers ensure that Canadians-grown commodities are safe to consume.
“It’s to show the city dwellers what [agriculture] is all about,” she said. “They get to see how producers take care of their animals, how they grow and manage their crops. They get to see what happens before they take their package of meat out of the freezer.”
Outside, festivities continued as usual with all sorts of family activities and entertainment throughout the day. Plus, a solid lineup of musicians took the main stage throughout the afternoon.
Featuring a number of local performers, the acts consisted of the Steve Stock Band, acoustic duo Michaela Cahill and Rene Bertrand and none other than Ottawa born and bred 2010 Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Wayne Rostad.
Giving the crowd a good slice of humourous tunes with plenty of personal interaction in between songs, Rostad spoke about what it meant to him to be putting on a big show in the region he’s from.
“There’s no where I’d rather be than in the great Ottawa Valley,” he said. “This is God’s place isn’t it?”
At the main stage area, Ottawa-based circus phenom Rockabilly Joe held a hands-on juggling workshop for kids where he taught youngsters and adults how to maneuver a variety of objects in the air.
The objects included white balls, bowling pins and devil sticks, which seemed to be a popular choice for the little ones participating.
On the stage in the children’s area, a number of performers entertained crowds of families, including puppet shows put on by Rock the Arts, a wildlife conservation workshop courtesy of The Keepers and an eye-catching one-man circus put on by Rockabilly Joe himself.
His first experience performing at the Shawville Fair, the acrobatic wunderkind from Ottawa found it and enjoyable one because of its wide variety of great people and entertainment to see.
“The people are super nice,” he said. “I really love the environment. Everything is really close together which I liked. The stages are really fun. The workshop did really good. The kids really enjoyed it. They had a blast I think.”
Back in the arena, crowds grew gradually as the day went on and by the time the Western Horse show rolled around, the place was packed with folks eager for the highly anticipated event – shifting the atmosphere from modest to prime-time.
The first event was a test of balance and concentration, as 16 riders were tasked to carry an egg on a silver spoon while Thomas-Ewen instructed them when to go from walk, to trot and cantor.
Some saw their eggs crumble on the dirt immediately while a good portion of the group managed to keep up their eggs for a good minute until things got bumpy when they’re horses started to run faster.
The next event was the apple dunking contest which drew quite a few loud laughs and raucous cheers from the large crowd.
Eyeing a red bucket filled with water and granny smith apples at one end of the arena, riders went head to head in a special relay race.
Starting from the other end, a pair of riders had to run towards the bucket, dismount their horses, snag an apple from the bucket using nothing but their mouths and get back to the starting line the fastest.
After a series of races, each one as action packed as the next, Hope Morrissette ended up as the winner with a total time of 25.87 seconds.
The final event and perhaps the most highly anticipated was the Musical Stalls.
With 11 contestants and only 10 bags of feed lined up across the length of the middle portion of the course, A game of musical chairs on horseback, contestants had to walk their horses along the perimeter of the course as country music blared on the speakers.
As the beat stopped, riders had to dismount their horses, run them over to the nearest bag and jump on it to avoid being the lone one left out.
Participants were rattled off one by one until it came down to two contestants: a familiar finalist in Ethan Law and Natasha Kargus who looked determined to steal his thunder with almost the entire crowd behind her.
Judging by the sounds of the crowd, the spectators were hungry for a memorable finale and the final showdown certainly didn’t disappoint.
When the music stopped, Law seemed to have gotten the best of Kargus as he dismounted his horse to near perfection, simultaneously turning in the direction of the bag.
Kargus on the other hand stumbled on her dismount causing her to be dragged on her knees by her horse for about a yard before finally being able to dash towards the bag.
By that time, Law had already secured the bag and started running to the far end of the course where Kargus wouldn’t be able to reach him.
Whether he caught a gust of wind on his sprint or it simply slipped from his grip, Law lost control of the bag leaving it flying in his wake.
At that point, it was all about who wanted it the most.
They wrestled along the boards, rolled in the dirt and tugged away at the bag for what seemed like a solid few minutes before Law eventually broke away and ran off with it, leaving Kargus lying in the dirt – completely exhausted.
However, being the gentleman that he is, Law returned to Kargus where he sat down beside her and invited her to put her feet into the bag at the same time as he did to call it a draw – a true mark of respect from one competitor to another.
Despite all that, Law came out as the grand champion, while Kargus earned herself a well-deserved second place finish.
Back outside as sunny skies turned to dusk, hundreds of folks gathered in front of the main stage to take in live music courtesy of Pontiac native country artist Phil Denault who got things heated up for the headline show.
Capping off the night in grandiose fashion, Canadian Country music superstar Brett Kissel rocked the crowd under the bright lights in front of a sea of thousands of exuberant fans.
