Although over the years, great horses on ranches and farms around the world have seen their to-do lists reduced thanks to technology, many in the agriculture industry still love to show off their hoofed friends.

And Northwest Colorado is no exception.

The Moffat County Draft Horse Competition kicked off Friday night at the Moffat County Fairgrounds, featuring draft horses and their handlers from across the Western Slope and Utah.

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After planning the show for months, Mardi coordinator Anson noted that half of the teams that entered the show were forced to back down in the past two weeks, but the event was still able to pull together many horse enthusiasts.

“I think we have a good variety of events and a good variety of races that have come out. We had a bit of everything, ”Anson said.

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Events on the program included power team races, team hitching, four horse hitch obstacle course, and more.

Horse Power organizers have recruited Kelli Gardner from Madrid, Ohio, to judge equine competitors and their human companions on their riding ability, equipment safety and presentation, among other parameters.

While some events featured saddleback riders, others had larger rigs, whether it was a two-person wagon or six-horse hitch competitors who opened up the Friday night event.

Anson’s sons, Grady and Garrett, were each handling a full six-person squad against Palisade’s Clark Family Orchards.

“They must have formed a sort of mismatched group. My boys worked really hard for this, ”Anson said.

This is the ninth year of Horse Power, an event that features participants as young as 6 years old to others who feature workhorses competing full time. All share an appreciation for the utility of horses today, even with modern farm and ranch equipment that replaces them in many ways.

Anson said the show served as an indicator of horse owners’ love for their animals.

“People like to play with their horses. If you don’t have something like that, they just sit in the pasture, ”she said. “People like to dress their horses and they like to dress for that with them.”

Moffat County Horse Power continues with two shows, at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday and one, at 10 a.m., on Sunday at the Moffat County Fairgrounds.