I absolutely love spending time at the county fair. It's not because I go watch shows, or go on the rides. It's because I have friends who show animals there, and for just one week, I'm able to spend time with people I used to be able to be very close to, but now only seem to be able to visit with them, once or twice a year.

I spent the past week helping out with a multitude of animals, including but not limited to bearded dragons, chinchillas, guinea pigs, dogs, and horses or all sizes. I grew up showing animals at the county fair, and because of that I'm still recognized by people I don't even remember. Yes there are things that become frustrating from other individuals, but when I dig past the nasty politics, that I know are killing my fair, there are things are good that happen as well.

I was given the chance to show, Bell, My friends spotted Draft horse, Friday. Of course I took the opportunity right away and when I was getting her ready outside the show ring when a group of individuals approach us. They were from a group home and consisted of three care givers, and three people in wheel chairs with different ranges of disabilities. They asked if they could touch Bell, and I was going to say no.

I've been showing horses since I was 12 years old, at the county fair. People always ask if they can pet your horse, and to be honest, after 13 years, giving permission, or not giving permission becomes routine. With the last horse that I showed in 4H, Abe, I would always say yes, as long as he was out of the stall, but with Bell, I really didn't know what to expect until she told me with her body language.

Her ears perked forward, and her head lowered so her eyes were level with the closest young man in the wheel chair. She didn't disobey me by taking a step forward, but she was leaning, just waiting for permission, so I said yes.

I'm never going to forget the first of the group, to pet her. He couldn't of been older than I am but his arms had trouble stretching out, so that his hands could reach more than 8 inches away from his body. I expected Bell just to look at him. maybe sniff his chair. Of course this isn't what happened, and the horse nearly gave me a heart attack when stepped closer to him to put her nose nearly in his lap. I was frozen, She wasn't doing what I had trained her to do, witch was to stand away from a person's personal space, yet the smile the man got on his face when she stepped so close stopped me from correcting her and pushing her back.

Bell was holding perfectly still, with her nose just above this man's lap. He was having trouble working his arms to touch her, and she was just standing there waiting. Suddenly it hit me. Bell knew she had to stand this close to the man in the wheel chair to let him pet her. I can't explain how she knew this, or why she wanted to do this, but for over a minute, she stood with her nose nearly in his lap, waiting for his hands to work for him. When his fingers finally started to brush against Bell's nose, his face lit up into the biggest grin I've ever seen.

Bell spent a minute or two letting that man pet her, then with no cue from me, moved on to the second, then the third. The process repeating as if Bell had been letting people in wheelchairs pet her for her entire life.