Living the Dream: A Girl and Her ‘Oops a Daisy’ Horseplay

No horsing around. Sometimes it’s just all about a Monmouth County girl, her miniature horse and some big advice.

The girl? That’s 17-year-old incoming Freehold Township High School senior Dallas Blair, the new New Jersey Miss Agriculture USA 2024. The mini horse? That’s 8-year-old Daisy in the stable, or Chrome’s Oops a Daisy in shows. Her equine stage name, in other words.

And speaking of words, if you happened to see Daisy and Blair at the 4-H tent at Monmouth County Fair on Sunday or sometime last week, you may have not only been treated to a good showing. Blair may have horse-whispered her words of teen “love what you do” wisdom to you.

“I recently had a girl reach out to me about joining a 4-H horse club and she explained how she felt too old to start, especially without having a lot of experience in the area,” Blair told R-FH Retro. “I told her not to be discouraged and that you are never too old to start something new. So my advice to anyone would be, in the words of C.S. Lewis, ‘You are never too old to set another goal or
to dream a new dream.'”

That dream is not one of horse feathers for Blair. She’s living it. And it has taken flight.

“Agriculture has always been a passion of mine because I have grown up on a farm,” she added. “At a young age, I began to explore this interest on a deeper level through organizations. I have been a member of my county’s 4-H for the past nine years and am serving as a chapter officer for my local FFA, which I have been a member of since freshman year of high school. I want to promote the involvement of youth in organizations such as 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) because they have had such a positive impact on my life and have helped shape me into the person I am today. Through these organizations I have gained lifelong skills, learned so many new things, and made new friends.”

And Daisy is living the dream beside Blair. At the county fair alone recently, she showed Daisy in a showmanship competition, a costume contest and equine demonstrations.

Demonstrations took place in the fair’s show ring where she repeatedly gave two different demonstrations: one with a partner on proper horse grooming; another in which she spoke about the history of miniature horses, different possible uses for them, and demonstrated in-hand jumping with Daisy. The demos and contests earned Daisy and Blair many ribbons, including Reserve Best in Show and first- and second-place in other categories. The costume? Well, Daisy is, of course, dressed up as a daisy. Blair is a bee, because the buzzy pollinators, of course, are the best promoters of agriculture, like Blair.

Besides demonstrations and showing, what are miniature horse like Daisy do? They’re known to have very loving, docile personalities and are often used as therapy and emotional support horses, because of that and their size. They are also sometime bred to be seeing-eye guides. Other than very small children, they’re not meant for riding. Blair plans on evaluating young Daisy’s capabilities, the therapy horse goal in mind, as she works with the other horses, a pony and grows and harvests vegetables on her family farm. Then there’s school and an honors program for her come September.

Outside of the farm and classroom, though, using her new Miss Agriculture title, Blair says she would like to raise awareness of agriculture by promoting the industry and its community, creating a better understanding of farmers and farm life and their value.

“I plan on doing this by attending various events and by utilizing social media,” she said. “I also want to get the youth involved as much as I can. Our country’s youth is so important because they are our future and our future in agriculture.”

Happy horse shoes filled, Blair is living her dream, daring others to dream theirs and spreading the good agricultural word with a gallop toward the future and a horse, of course.