Douglas County Fair starts this weekend, and that means the horses will be coming out of their barns.

Two horse shows are set this weekend at the fairgrounds. The first, for 4-H’ers, starts at 9 a.m. Saturday. The other starts at 9 a.m. Sunday and is open to any rider.

The 4-H show will include several classes, such as pleasure, English, Western and trail.

“They’ll be some races – barrel race, pole race, flag race,” said county extension agent Bill Wood.

The 4-H horse show is open only to club members but anyone can come to watch.

“It’s indoors so they don’t have to sit out in the heat,” said Wood.

Douglas County residents can ride in Sunday’s show for free, and riders from outside the county pay a small fee.

“It’s really just grown into a big show,” said Gretchen Brumm, who is in her fourth year of running the open show that will include halter, performance and race classes – and a stick horse race for riders 6 and younger.

“It’s just adorable,” said Brumm. The stick horse class usually starts about 11:30 a.m.

Both shows are free and open to the public. For a full schedule of fair events, visit www.dgcountyfair.com.