Fair spectators enjoy demonstrations featuring Fancy, a rescued horse

A rescue horse has found a niche at the Westmoreland Fair with trainer Scott Downs.

When Fancy was rescued by Second Chance Equine Association in 2009 from a location in Greene County, she was malnourished and loaded with parasites. Fancy and seven other horses didn’t have water or hay, “and she was scared to death of people,” Downs said.

That’s no longer the case.

Fancy and Downs have a daily 5 p.m. date in a small ring next to the Kelly Building at the fairgrounds to demonstrate natural horsemanship techniques. One day this week, Downs showed spectators the basics of working with a horse and how certain movements can prompt the animal to trot in a circle, change direction or move backward.

“In a horse’s world, if you can move their feet, you are alpha,” he said.

Second Chance Equine Association has been doing horse demonstrations at the fair for the last couple of years. Spectators got a chance to go inside the ring with Fancy this week, and Downs spent several hours chatting with fairgoers before and after the demonstrations.

Fancy was the only horse of those rescued from Greene County that wasn’t adopted out. The physical and medical issues were taken care of, but the mental scars remained, Downs said.

“She was a little bit worried about people, so we had to rehab her emotionally,” he said. “This round pen is where we started.”

Most horses rescued by the association get adopted, but Downs and Fancy have become a demonstration team. He said bringing her to the fair raises awareness about the nonprofit and its mission. In addition to rescuing horses in need, Second Chance volunteers help with education to prevent abuse and neglect. A new program pairing veterans with horses is starting next month.

“We really want to grow the organization,” said Downs, a board member. “There’s a lot of horse people that don’t know what we do.”