Ashley Royer of Fredericktown has been riding horses longer than she has been walking. She first started riding when she was just 3 months old. She turned 2 on Friday.

"I rode horses until I was 7 months along," said Ashley Royer's mother, Leslie Royer. "I guess you could say she's been riding since before she was born."

The 2-year-old was the youngest rider in the 10th Anniversary SEMO District Fair Horse Show Sunday afternoon at Arena Park in Cape Girardeau.

The horse show has become a fair tradition. It was part of opening day events Sunday for the 143rd annual SEMO District Fair, which continues through Sept. 19.

Ashley Royer rode in the leadline class during the horse show, a class limited to children 6 and younger. Each child in the leadline class had to sit on horseback and hold the reins to the horse while the horse was led into the ring by an adult.

"She sits on the horse and does pretty much everything by herself," Ashley's mother said. "It's something we do as a family. I guess you could say it runs in her blood."

Leslie Royer has been riding for 30 years and was waiting for her turn in the ring.

Her husband, Russell, was entered in the Men's Plantation Class. As he rode their horse around the ring, Leslie shouted out encouragement and continued to coach him about how to hold the reins.

The Royers, who have been married only three years, share a single horse between them, a Tennessee Walking Horse named "Blue A Kiss." It was on that horse that Leslie Royer taught her husband to ride.

As the event came to a close, Leslie Royer's coaching showed signs of paying off. Her husband placed fourth among the nine riders who had entered the event.

The horse show has been a part of the SEMO District Fair since Charlie Mangels suggested the idea of having a horse show at the fair.

"We have more and better horses each year," said Becky Huck, one of the original committee members who helped establish the horse show.

The horse show, which has become the largest in eastern Missouri, has been held on the opening day of the fair. Opening day also is free admission day. Attendance totals were unavailable late Sunday evening.

The horse show typically draws a large crowd from the region.

Huck estimated the horse show attracted more than 300 entries this year, with people coming from as far away as Kentucky, Illinois and Arkansas to participate.

"We have the show to promote the horse industry in our region and to give people an opportunity to show their horses," she said.

She also said the horse show was especially important for families who show their horses together.

"Parents are trying to teach their kids to do their best. They don't always win, but that's the way life always is," she said.

SEMO DISTRICT FAIR

Parade -- 5:30 p.m. today from Capaha Park to the Fairgrounds

Smile contest -- 7 p.m. tonight at the R&R Tent

Demolition derby -- 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Grandstand

Circus show -- 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Big Top Tent