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Arts & Entertainment

MARYLAND STATE FAIR: No Ordinary Horse and Pony Show

Bob Shirley has worked at the fair's equestrian competition for decades

At the start of the new school year, the cooler breeze blows in a Maryland tradition in Timonium, steeped in equestrian competition.

It's complemented by three generations of Shirley family taking their places in the horse show ring in a quieter corner of the Maryland State Fair. Year after year for decades the voice that is so familiar to thousands of returning fairgoers echoes through the crowd.

Bob Shirley has been a fixture at the fair for more than 60 years. He recalls his father breeding Clydesdales and the excitement he felt as a child when September approached. 

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"Watching my father compete in the competition every year while growing up, I just naturally assumed I would be a part of it all when I was old enough," Shirley said. 

In 1946, he started working at the State Fair as an office boy for the draft horse show.  In his mid-twenties he began driving in draft horse competitions. Eventually he became MC of the horse show. 

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He played an integral role in classes, competitions and riding shows with great zeal, eventually graduating to superintendent of the horse competitions. In recent years, Shirley has stepped down as superintendent–a retirement of sorts–of horse and pony competitions and now assists his son Dan with the show.  For the Shirleys, this is a true family institution and a living legacy.

"There is something in this small horse ring for folks of all ages. That's one of the reasons I've loved to be a part of it for all these years," he said.   

With "Shetland lead-line classes" for children beginning at 4 years old and younger–in which youngsters on Shetland ponies are lead and controlled by a guide–the equestrian community in Maryland takes this horse ring very seriously. 

"Many children come back to compete and be show spectators year after year, until they are adults," Shirley said.  "The 4-H horse and pony competitions reinforce a love of equestrian competition within our community and serve as a resource to many families and individuals."

Christina Dinel and Lauren Stewart, both 4-H members, watch as the place makers receive their ribbons in the ring.  At 16, Dinel has been competing in stadium jumping and English riding for as long as she can remember.

"I know when I hear Mr. Shirley's voice that it is 'game-on,' and I get psyched just hearing him announcing our names," Dinel said. 

Stewart said she enjoys listening to Shirley announce because of his "genuine love of this competition.

"We look forward to hearing his announcing because he is so animated and enthusiastic, when he calls our numbers … He remembers our names out of the ring too," Stewart said. 

Among the many competitions seen in the ring, Shirley declares the horse pulling competition to be "by far the most exciting event of each year," and he admits he has to "reign himself in" because of his tendency to get carried away in the excitement of it all. 

From office boy to draft horse driver, announcer to superintendent, Bob Shirley is a fixture at the Maryland State Fair. Some would say the Shirleys are synonymous with the Timonium Fairgrounds. Shirley hopes his grandsons will continue the tradition.  

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