155TH CANFIELD FAIR Kids get kicks out of horses' tricks

By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- They stood up, jumped and trotted sideways. And through it all, 18-month-old Taylor Bucci stared in awe with her little mouth open.
"She loved it," said Taylor's mother, Jodi Bucci of Columbiana. "She was so excited."
Taylor was one of several youngsters in the crowd Thursday afternoon at "All the King's Horses," a free, half-hour performance by an ancient breed of horses and their trainers at the Canfield Fair.
The show is sponsored by The Vindicator and held three times daily on Holowach Drive near Gate 8A.
At the show, several young children were transfixed by the horses' tricks and the costumes of the trainers. The horses that participate in the show include three Lipizzaner stallions of Austria, a breed traced to the 1560s that is a cross between Arab and Spanish horses. The white horses are renowned for their beauty, intelligence, proud carriage and docile disposition.
Also taking part in the show are an Arabian horse, a Frisian of Holland and a miniature horse named Goliath.
Tricks galore: Each of the horses perform several tricks, including trotting sideways and standing on their hind legs. One horse, a Lipizzaner, also performs a maneuver called the capriole, in which the horse leaps through the air, extends its body and kicks its hind legs.
The performances by the horses are their first at a county fair.
During the performance by the Arabian, a white horse with light spots, one child yelled, "That horse has glitter on its body!" As Goliath performed, another child turned to his mother and said, "I want to get a pony like that!"
Each maneuver drew enthusiastic applause from the crowd. When Taylor's sister, Tori Bucci, 4, was asked to name her favorite part of the show, she responded, "the jumps!"
"All the King's Horses" is scheduled for 1, 4 and 8 p.m. each day of the fair.
hill@vindy.com