KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake County Horse Council held its inaugural “Fiesta of the Horse” on Sunday, July 1, at Rancho de la Fuente in Lakeport.

The event featured colorful medieval knights jousting; a precision mounted drill team decked out in red, white and blue’ a flamenco dancer twirling gracefully while matching steps with a Spaniard on horseback; fine carriages pulled by adorable miniature horses; party-colored gypsy horses with flowing manes and tails and “feathers” on their feet; and a team of four giant golden Belgian horses pulling a brightly painted freight wagon.

There also was an 1800s-era vaquero performing intricate horseback maneuvers with a dangerous looking long pole, an exotic courtship duet performed on fancy-gaited Peruvian horses and an exciting re-enactment of Annie Oakley’s target shooting from the back of a galloping horse.

The song “America the Beautiful” ushered in the show’s participants during the opening grand entry.

Juliana Vidich of Highland Springs Equestrian Center called it the best horse show she’s seen in Lake County, adding it was “a spectacle I will never forget.”

About 200 people, general audience as well as horse council volunteers and show participants, gathered to enjoy the performance, the first of its kind in Lake County.

Anyone familiar with the leisurely pace of a typical local horse event was in for a pleasant surprise: This spectacle was action-packed and full of excitement and drama from beginning to end. Entertainment was the goal, as well as outreach to the “non-horse” community.

Like many local residents, Carol Cole-Lewis of Lakeport sees horses from a distance grazing in pastures, but she had no idea so many different breeds and riding styles are enjoyed here.

“My breath was literally taken away and I was filled with a sense of excitement and anticipation when I caught my first sight of so many beautiful horses performing together,” she said. “I’m not a horse person, and was unaware of how many people here in Lake County are avid equine fans and the exceptional quality of their skills. I look forward to next year’s fiesta.”

The formal festivities began with a preshow exhibition of “quintain,” or medieval martial arts, put on by the Claiche family of Kelseyville.

During the grand entry, Joy Bennett sang the National Anthem a Capella, while her sister Jocelyn dramatically carried the colors at full gallop.

Can humans and horses dance together? Diane Stawicki and Deb Baumann (and equine Sunny) proved they can with a rousing Flamenco dance that had the audience spontaneously clapping in time.

Claudia Street and Pinie Minto of the Elk Creek Buckarettes performed a musical duet, “Caballos del Rancho a la Fiesta” to the tune of a Dave Stamey song, their working cow horses moving in synchronized “mirror” of each other.

“As a new resident of Lake County, I am impressed with the level of commitment and support of agriculture,” said Street, the new Lake County Farm Bureau executive director. “Horses were an integral part of our agricultural heritage and although times and technology have changed that role, the personal connection between the human and the horse remains strong. The Fiesta of the Horse showcased that connection.”

The Hooves & Wheels Club of Northern California’s demonstration included several miniature horses, always a crowd favorite.

A musical ride set to haunting Irish tunes introduced the audience to beautiful, colorful and very rare Gypsy Vanner horses. In Ireland today, you can still see these horses pulling brightly painted Gypsy caravans.

Members of the Wine Country Peruvian Paso Horse Club performed to flute music from the Andes in traditional costume on their exotically gaited Peruvian Paso horses.

Audience member Pat Beedle of Kelseyville was pleased to learn so much history during the show. “I never knew about Teamsters,” she said. “I guess I just never thought about where the name came from.”

Like others in the crowd, she learned the origins of the word while watching Kelseyville’s Juan Erquiaga and his daughter Kate maneuver a team of giant Belgian horses around the arena, demonstrating backing up and turns while the announcer explained that before the days of autos and gasoline engines, teams of horses pulling wagons moved our nation’s freight.

The audience was asked to imagine the crowded streets of old San Francisco with hundreds of wagons and horses jockeying for position along the docks where ships were being unloaded.

Tremendous skill was needed to thread these huge wagons through narrow openings while handling the reins of two, four or six horses at once. Teamsters took justifiable pride in the ability to do this demanding job.

The show ended with laughter and more thrills, thanks to the comedy Wild West Show reenactment staged by the Annie Oakley Players of Lake County. Here, a blind-folded Annie takes aim, after convincing her assistant that everything will work out okay. As the announcer said, that’s either a very brave man, or a very gullible one.

The day was not without learnings and opportunities for improvement, but overall, things went remarkably smoothly, for which the Lake County Horse Council gives credit to the owners of the property and to a small army of volunteers.

“The first year of any new event is always a special challenge,” said Carol Biggs, president of the Lake County Horse Council. “We thank Frank and Rosana Perez for volunteering beautiful Rancho de la Fuente and for working very hard in advance to help plan and prepare the first annual Fiesta of the Horse. The setting was spectacular. I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response I’m hearing from everyone who came.”

“An event this ambitious could not have been successful without large numbers of talented, hard-working people,” added show producer Deb Baumann. “Some are members of the Horse Council board, but when word got out we were doing this, other people stepped up to help, too. This was truly a community effort.”

Next year, she hopes to have the show videotaped for broadcast on Lake County’s local TV channel.

The Lake County Horse Council already is making plans for next year’s fiesta. Anyone interested in helping or participating can contact Baumann through the Lake County Horse Council at www.lakecountyhorsecouncil.com .