ARDMORE, Okla. — Tiny horses took Ardmore by storm over the weekend.
The American Miniature Horse Association held its Central Regional Championship show at the Hardy Murphy Coliseum.
There were several entry categories, including obstacle driving and country pleasure driving.
“You can drive them, so they can pull carts,” said exhibitor Lauren Greaves. “That’s actually my favorite thing to do. I’ll be doing it with one of my horses later today. You can also take them over jumps, we just do it in hand instead of actually riding.”
Miniature horses are smaller and less expensive to maintain than their full-size cousins.
“You want to enjoy your equines, but you want something that is safer, or maybe more docile, or just less expensive to own, because horses are a very expensive hobby and miniatures are much more affordable-sized horse,” explained AMHA regional show manager Laura Mullen.
When it comes to these horses, anyone of any age can enjoy them.
“You’ll see here at this horse show that some of our exhibitors are as young as five years old,” Mullen said.
“It’s just fun to come see the different ages of people that are here showing,” Greaves said. “We have everything from probably four-year-old children up to 70. My dad is 73, and he’ll be showing this weekend as well.”
The three-day championship event continued through Sunday. The AMHA World Championship show will take place August 23-31 just down Interstate 35 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth.