WELLINGTON — Three years ago, the people who owned Twin Hickory’s Midnight tried to discourage Heather Pataky’s family from purchasing the 11-year-old miniature horse.
Three fair titles and dozens of state competition wins later, Heather knows her family made the right choice.
“They told us it would be a mistake to buy him,” she said. “Now he wins all the time.”
The horse won with her sister in 2006 and won a young man the miniature horse prince competition before that.
On Monday, Twin Hickory’s Midnight brought Heather her own princess title in the miniature horse competition at the Lorain County Fair.
The 16-year-old, a junior at Amherst Steele High School, has been in 4-H for eight years.
“I’m shocked,” she said after being crowned. “I thought someone else was going to win. It was my first time, and I had no idea what I was doing.”
While the horse helped earn her some showmanship points, Heather most defiantly earned her crown by doing well in public speaking, essay and an interview to win. Judges chosen by the miniature horse committee pick the winners.
Commonly mistaken for ponies, these horses generally range in size from 28 to 38 inches in height. It’s thought that their origins date back to 17th century France.
The prince this year was Luke Hyer, 15, who was the only male to compete this year. Luke is a junior at North Ridgeville High School and a Ranger football player. He showed his 2-year-old horse named Lollypop.
Contact Adam Wright at 329-7127 or awright@chroniclet.com.
Tags: Local and State
