ANIMAL ATTRACTION

By Elise Franco | September 5, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

Canfield Fair

Gallery

For Ridge girl, ponies are a family tradition

By ELISE FRANCO

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

CANFIELD — Though she’s only 7, Abbie Postlethwait said she can’t remember a time when she wasn’t on a pony.

Abbie, of Mineral Ridge, said she’s been around the animals all her life and started riding as a toddler. She said her older sisters became interested in ponies through an uncle.

“I’ve been riding since I was real little,” she said. “My sisters wanted a pony, so we bought Rascal. Then my sisters started riding, so I did too.”

This year is Abbie’s first time showing a pony at the Canfield Fair. She and her family have several ponies in the Pony Palace barns.

Her parents are Jim and Patty Postlethwait; her sisters are Brooke, 19, and McKenzie, 15, and her brother is Robbie, 16.

“I showed my pony Marybelle [Friday] morning, and it went really good,” she said.

Abbie said it takes a lot of work to care for her ponies, but she enjoys it anyway.

“Before we show, I have to brush her really good and put the saddle on,” she said. “When we’re in the ring I have to listen to what the judges tell me to do and then do it.”

Because pony riding is something Abbie’s family has been involved in for years, she said she plans to continue riding as she gets older.

“I like riding,” she said. “The best thing is that you and your pony both really have fun.”

When Abbie isn’t at the fair, she spends her time training and practicing for competition with Marybelle, she said.

She also said she loves the rest of the Canfield Fair and has been coming with her family since she was a baby.

“I like that you get to see all your friends and family,” she said. “I wish the fair was going on two times a year.”

efranco@vindy.com