Photo by Deb Gau Emma Basness of Claremont worked to wash one of the Percheron horses her family was showing at this weekend’s Murray County Classic Draft Horse Show.

SLAYTON — It takes a lot of work to get ready for a draft horse show — and competitors at the Murray County Classic were getting an early start on Friday. By around 9 a.m., there was plenty of activity at the fairgrounds as people cleaned and groomed teams of massive horses.

“Each one probably takes about 20 minutes (to wash),” said Emma Basness as she rinsed off a black Percheron at the fairground’s animal wash area. But additionally each horse would need to be brushed, have its mane braided, and more to look its best for the show, she said. It would take a couple of hours before showtime to get ready.

The Murray County Classic Draft Horse Show started Friday evening and continues today and Sunday at the Murray County fairgrounds in Slayton. Organizers said the event brings in teams of draft horses from around the country to compete in a variety of events.

One highlight of today’s and Sunday’s shows will be the six-horse hitch where six horses move as a unit to pull a wagon. The lineup also includes cart events, four-horse hitches and the unicorn hitch — a team of three horses with one in front.

Old-time farming demonstrations will also be held at the fairgrounds, starting at 10 a.m. today.

While some show participants were washing down their horses on Friday morning, Jake Bauer was leading pairs of Clydesdales from TF Clydesdales of Gladbrook, Iowa, on walks around the fairgrounds.

“It’s so they can get out of the stalls and stretch their legs,” Bauer said.

Getting the Clydesdales in condition for summer shows is a task that starts long before the season, Bauer and his father-in-law Steve Fevold said.

“There’s three or four months of training and work before you go to the first show,” Bauer said. Besides building strength and endurance, the horses need to learn to work together as a team.

Basness said the horses that Pittman Percherons of Claremont was showing this weekend could weigh about a ton. But the Percherons were “gentle giants,” she said.

“They don’t realize how big they are,” she said.

Showing draft horses can often be a family affair, show participants said Friday.

“Our family, we’ve had draft horses for almost 31 years,” Basness said. Basness was 14 when she started showing her first six-horse hitch.

One of the fun things about showing draft horses was how close-knit the people were, participants said.

“The draft horse industry, we’re like a big family,” Basness said.

Kellie Gardner said she and her husband train draft horses in addition to competing in shows. One of the fun things about going to shows was seeing horses they had trained, she said.

“It’s fun to watch them progress,” Gardner said.

Bauer said showing draft horses was something “that gets into your blood.”

“Once you start doing it and you start to get a little bit good at it, it makes you want to keep building on it,” he said.