It was a busy, and long, day at the Yukon Agriculture Community Fair Grounds on Saturday as the Spirit Riders 4-H Club Gymkhana fundraiser was held.

The competition started early, at 10 in the morning and ran until 8:30 at night according to Angelique Bjork, a Spirit Riders 4-H Club leader. She noted the long day because the competition saw over 50 riders in 10 events.

In the past, we have had 30 to 40 riders said Bjork and this time we had lots of little kids.

“Hopefully we will see stronger riders in the future,” said Bjork, “but it’s always nice to see the little guys. They all did really well.”

It was the first year the 4-H Club hosted the Gymkhana fundraiser, Bjork said the kids “wanted to have a go at it.” It was also the first time a horse-related event was held at the Fair Grounds.

The Spirit Riders 4-H Horse Club is for youth and young adults, aged 9-21. It is an agricultural-based program focused on bringing the community together.

The Gymkhana was open to anybody in the Yukon, as well, and Bjork said it drew a lot of spectators to watch the different events.

Gymkhana events consist of speed pattern racing and timed games for riders and horses. Some of the more well-known gymkhana games are barrel racing, pole bending, and the keyhole race.

Most events are designed to show precise, controlled actions and tight teamwork between the horse and rider.

The first event held on the day was Stepping Stones, where the equestrian rides up to a series of stones and dismounts. They have to step on each stone and then run or ride around a barrel before dismounting again and crossing the stones.

Bjork said it was a good event to kick off the day because everyone got to see what horses worked well with a rider.

The peewee Stepping Stones champion was Alice Belanger on Moonshine. Presley Bjork and Jackson were the junior winners and Kelsie Olsen on Pippin was the senior champ.

It was a beautiful day with all the fall colours on display on Saturday. The atmosphere was electric with the sounds of horses neighing and country music playing in the background, and then Gymkhana events themselves are wonderful to watch.

Another fun event was the Veggie Stew for the peewees and the Potato Spearing for the junior and senior riders.

The young riders were given a vegetable and had to ride around a barrel and drop their legume into a bucket - highly entertaining stuff. The horses enjoyed it too. Some even stopped for a snack.

Tamlyn Giesbrecht riding Blue won the Veggie Stew event. Ava Shewan and Marrylegs came second and Levi Gun and Little Ben third.

The older riders followed the same premise but instead of holding a vegetable they were given a spear and had to poke a potato onto the point while rounding the barrel.

Paige Stockley on Ripley was the junior Potato Spearing winner. Presley Bjork on Jackson and Sidney Stahl on Mr. Bojangles followed.

Maranda Halliday riding Sundance was the top senior potato spearer. Angelique Bjork got the second and third positions while riding Tulsa and then Chico.

Here are some other winners from the day’s events:

Reily Koss-Young and Spirit, Paige Stockley riding Ripley and Angelique on Tulsa, were the champions of the Barrel Race in their respective age group.

Koss-Young and Stockley found themselves atop their age categories in the Pole Bending event. Halliday and Sundance were the senior victors.

The Key Hole peewee winner was Abigail Shewen on Marrylegs. Stahl and Mr. Bojangles won the junior and Angelique and Tulsa won the senior category.

Of course, these are just some of the events. Congratulations to everybody who won in categories not mentioned. As well, to all the riders, your performances were all great to watch.

With the first Gymkhana Fundraiser in the books, Bjork said they are hopeful to host it again next year.