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if The heavy cost of showing horses Sgrgpjugity 0" Edge -' ing ' and l‘brcherons. his § favoflffiice is and always has and Lois Lewis of UxbfldgE. : entries in Markham Fair's heavy horse show: and other , country exhibitions extend thmugh five generations. Gord's grandfather. his famer. two sons. two daughters and six gmnd- ' childxen. ~ “It's an activity that’s held us all together." the 85~year~old who. although no longer actively engaged inmehobby.wascenaimobewatch- ing proceedings from a ringside seat I "Jhat’s what my father raised down on the farm." he said. "He also showed his prim-winning steeds at Agncoun fair.” ~ ' "lwas lOveamold at theu'mc and living on Mcfman Roadacmss from the present Markham fair site. My dad arranged for Markham drov- er Gordon Lunau to transport a mare and a colt to the old Markham fair- gmunds then located on the south side of Hwy. No. 7, east of Hwy. 48. beenflydesdales later. when a little older. he would drive a heavy horse team down Markham's Main Street in a plows- sional fair parade. That. too. was a satisfying Occasion. WhlIc Cord appreciates the quali- ties of all heavy horse breeds inn Belgian: and I‘brcherons, his 7' Cord mmembers the very first time he entered a heavy horse For the proud participant. receiv- ing a bright blue ribbon undoubtedly eased the pain of walking the horse and colt home: a distance of mow than five “It was like yesterday.” he says. "The mare won a championship.” During the past 75 years. Gordhas muewd. every possible heavy horse class at the fair. including four and sixhome hitches. singles and teams Inst month. he was convinced to temporarily come out of retirement andshowaooltalSundedand Fair. 188 The Irwis family room dozens of ribbons. plaques and U0- For a time. Cord served on Markham Fair’s heavy horse com. mittee but discovered dual commit- ments to both show and manage- ment msgxmsibilities difficult. Shan- non Hughes. his granddaughter. is a committee member. along with In addition lo Markham and Sun- deriand. the W8 family's tours of duty have included fairs in Pun Perry. Rocmn. WoodbriGge and Ayr. One summer, they made 26 upwardnces. including a shuw in Detroit. He also drove a team in (he (SS-and-ovrr class at the Chicago world's fair; «1 At a fair in (mp. near Ottawa. thew wen 25 six-horse hitches with 150 cntrim in the ring at one time. “h was a sight I'll never forget." Gard ' It's a hobby. but at what cost. The pria: for a singic show class Clydesdale can range fmm 515.0(1) to he “If it's nm a show horse. it's worth nothing," he said Hmwver. the investment doesn't end there. "lb harness a six-horse hitch canrunashighasSZ4.Wwithasin~ ginâ€"scat wagon for driver and assis- Blair Purcell. Joyce lapp. Don Miller. Danny Bound. Brad Grant. Sarah Harper and Sarah Mount. with Jim Thomas But there's more to shmvmanstup athan parading a horse in from of groups of qualified judges - much Have show entries increased? The numbers are down. but the quality is up.” says (Bord. "Good hors- es attract large crowds,” he‘sajd tam costing between 320.000 and 3801100. labour costs to shoe 3 horse can total 585. excluding the price of game." Gard said. Fortunately for Gard and son Steve. home acreage plus rented lands product sufficient hay for all Why the interest and enthusi- asm? “It's fun." says daughter Dadcm. While rivalry between competitors can be keen. it's never so intense as to surpass feeling of friendliness and co~opetatiom she. notes “They‘re all great people.” she said"We work togethet.’ (10nd recalls travelling to the west coast and meeting friends with the same common interest all along the With respect to injury through accidents; Cord says the risk is law. In his many years holding the reins. he's only witnessed two run-aways. one of these at Toronto's Royal Winâ€" ter None at Markham. t ma] must be bathed. then have its mane rolled. its tail bmided and its feet combed (feathered). Much of the work is done minutes before slum begins. V ‘ MWGammmhas mammmmww ‘lt's Arr any It‘wis (TMcsdakw for "All of them.“ Gard said. “All but one.” inn-dens Darlene. Princess. her favourite. is prim» They purchase OPINION waiting for answeis movie orTV sexier. (lame'msmfled mm: Riga; l’bfice officers dilected tmflic. Pedestrianswereslumd off - “You're in my shofl- side- walks by big- citymediapersonmzl. Butmiswastoomal. today. downtown Stoufiville looked like it had heads of six cats had been found scattered across east- side Stoufiville late last sum- menpoliceannounced. Some of the heads were placed in from of a daycare centre and nearby harm on monealSumandacmssme street from Summitview Public School right on Main Street. ,7777 _ _.v--rv weretoldltwaspanoftlwcats mvesdgation. " The guilt had set in. Resi- dents recalled seeing dead cats. suspicious looking peo- ple and garbage bags along Tenth Line and other streets this summer. ofiwrs went all over the east cMSunday.kmx:kingonwme 1.000 doorsastheylooked for moretips» ing migtbom'smkmflwir pets? finest: wean“! just “cats”. They were mnbers oftheir cops more than 250 times oficfing up some "good. good dogsinmeeaflymomi‘ngram wemshocked toseeaseamh- mul-mscmvehide.d1eofioers thankedmeoommunity. Residents walking their mtiviewparkinglotuntildwy You Miete appalled. natu- You had already called Ihe he shock has been replaced by the hmsmdemm unfolavrsmmmm Theit neighbours sperulatj edabmztwhatkindofasicko' wasstiliout therein our town. What could they do next? They tefiatmccd statistics that mow serial kfllers often start wwfifiimmals.m¢w The guilt had set in. Resi- dents recalled seeing dead cats. suspicious looking peo- ple and garbage bags along Tenth Line and other streets this summer. ofiménamésofsomofufi most notorious in criminal his- Caz owners keep their best friends indoors and under watch; Tho posters with the cute photographs of missing cats haunted them. WMhadbeenmplaoed As of yesterday, the case with Iim Mason OfflheTop