The start of the new year is usually when local 4-H and independent horse exhibitors start gearing up for the Stanislaus County Fair show in July. This year, however, there will be no show as the Stanislaus County Fair Board of Directors voted to cancel all junior horse events for 2026.
“It’s just been kind of stagnant,” said Fair CEO Kim Williams. “There just haven’t been hardly any participants from our county for 4-H and it does operate at a loss. Ultimately, I think that the board would like to see it come back here.”
The horse show has been a staple of the pre-fair events for decades. For the past few years, the horse show was held not at the fair’s arena, but instead at the Diamond Bar Arena in Ceres with the fair staff hosting the event and it being open to participants from other counties. Williams said the horse show was moved there because the fair’s arena was not up to show standards…