Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 26, 1995 TAG: 9505260032
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: SUSANNAH CLEMENTS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
Gaidos is addicted to horses.
A native of Northern Virginia who now lives in Pulaski, Gaidos will show her American Saddlebred at the New River Valley Horse Show this weekend.
Her fascination with horses began when she was just 10, riding a pony once a week at her 4-H leader's house. "We had to drive 45 minutes to get there," Gaidos said.
Throughout high school she continued riding, and she even got a job in a barn so she could work with horses.
Though she only rode occasionally during college and graduate school, she could not stay away from horses for long. Now she has her own horse, Commander's Foxy Lady, and rides at least twice a week after work.
"I am addicted. I grew up with horses, and now when I haven't ridden for a while, I'll go to a show and feel like I really need to ride," Gaidos said.
Gaidos participates in horse shows about twice a month. "This show is pretty big, but I go to a lot of smaller fun shows because, after all, I am doing this for fun," she said.
The New River Valley Horse Show, which continues tonight and Saturday, is one of the bigger shows in Southwest Virginia. The show is held at the New River Valley Fairgrounds off Virginia 100, three miles north of Interstate 81 at Exit 98 at Dublin.
Stanley Crigger, co-manager of the show, said that he tries to spread out the different classes, so the show has something everyone - children and adults - will enjoy each night. Horse shows are a family sport.
Commander's Foxy Lady - nicknamed Kate after the character in "Taming of the Shrew," Gaidos jokes - is a country pleasure mare, and Gaidos will show her tonight in the Adult American Saddlebred Country Pleasure Horse class.
The country pleasure class is a relaxed class. Bonnie Burgess, who trains Kate for Gaidos, explained, "The horse is judged on performance and how the horse and rider get along."
Burgess has stabled and trained Commander's Foxy Lady since March at her stables in Pulaski County, and she admits that she also is addicted to horses. "I've been around them since I started to walk, and I just can't stay away," she said.
Burgess' husband, Rick, who co-owns the stables, also is a horse lover. "A horse is like an athlete, a performer. Horses are entertainers; they may not be Garth Brooks, but they give a different kind of entertainment."
Gaidos has a master's degree in animal science; and when she is not riding her horse, she works as a Pulaski County extension agent for 4-H.
The New River Valley Horse Show continues at 6:30 tonight and Saturday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. It is being held at the New River Valley Fairgrounds off Virginia 100, three miles north of Interstate 81 Exit 98 at Dublin. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for children.
by CNB