o What: Clark County Fair.
o Hours today: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
o Where: 17402 N.E. Delfel Road, Ridgefield.
o Admission: Adults, $10; seniors 62 and older, $8; kids 7-12, $5 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today and $7 after 5 p.m.; kids 6 and younger, free; parking, $6; C-Tran shuttle, $2 per person round trip from area park-and-ride lots.
o Carnival: Noon to 11 p.m., unlimited rides, $25.
o Grandstands: Demolition Derby, 2 and 7:30 p.m., free with fair admission.
o Other highlights: Southwest Washington Regional K-9 Demonstrations, 3 p.m.; There She Goes Duo, 9 p.m.
o Pets: Not permitted, except for personal service animals or those on exhibition or in competition.
o Information: www.clarkcofair.com or call 360-397-6180.
o What: Clark County Fair.
o Hours today: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
o Where: 17402 N.E. Delfel Road, Ridgefield.
o Admission: Adults, $10; seniors 62 and older, $8; kids 7-12, $5 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today and $7 after 5 p.m.; kids 6 and younger, free; parking, $6; C-Tran shuttle, $2 per person round trip from area park-and-ride lots.
o Carnival: Noon to 11 p.m., unlimited rides, $25.
o Grandstands: Demolition Derby, 2 and 7:30 p.m., free with fair admission.
o Other highlights: Southwest Washington Regional K-9 Demonstrations, 3 p.m.; There She Goes Duo, 9 p.m.
o Pets: Not permitted, except for personal service animals or those on exhibition or in competition.
o Information: www.clarkcofair.com or call 360-397-6180.
When folks arrive at the Clark County Fair and park on the grass of those pretty, rambling hills around it, the first people they often see are wearing big hats and using transportation systems that have only one horsepower, which is a lot if you’ve ever seen a rodeo.
“We’re the greeters, essentially,” said Brent Skill, captain of the Clark County Fair Mounted Patrol, while taking a break from his duties on Thursday evening.
And horses like Jewel, Skill’s good-sized, 10-year-old red-chestnut Rocky Mountain, are greeters too, and often the first horses that children have ever petted.
That’s OK if people ask for permission first, in case the horses are skittish, said Skill, a professional saddlemaker who lives in Washougal.
“Even little babies, mom will pick them up and they’ll get to pet our horse.”
The all-volunteer mounted patrol, aka fence riders, had 36 of its 60 or so members on duty at the fair Thursday, fewer than usual.
“We’re essentially there to be eyes and ears of the fair,” Skill said. “We patrol the parking lots and, if we see something, we’ll radio it in.”
So far this season, among other things, the riders have discouraged some possible would-be car prowlers.
“We’ve seen a couple of people walking around and looking in cars,” he said. “All we had to do was just ride by. They disappeared quickly when they saw us.”
And there’s the old standby, when city slickers leave their cars parked on hills that all look alike, to them: “You can always spot that lost-car look.”
The riders help find those cars.
Sometimes they’ve helped with more serious problems. In previous years, the riders have summoned help for people who suffered asthma attacks from the dust. And, a couple years ago, they helped find a missing man with Alzheimer’s.
“They put it out on the radio and we found him in two minutes,” Skill said.
Skill, 64, said he grew up in Vancouver and didn’t own a horse until 1985, when he bought one to ride wilderness trails in this area, including Skamania County.
“I haven’t been without one since,” he said.
In 1992, he and his wife, Sonia, came to the fair for the first time.
“We met the fence riders, and I’ve been a member of the group ever since.”
Brent Skill said he makes his own saddles in his shop, Big Hat Saddlery, at his Washougal home.
He also makes saddles for Northwest Saddlery, based in Camas. The Western-style saddles are sold all around the world, including Europe, Australia and New Zealand, he said.
Skill also is a member of Clark County Mounted Search & Rescue, which has worked for the Clark and Skamania county sheriff’s offices and has done searches around the area including on the Long Beach Peninsula.
