Since he got his name on all the gas tanks around the state, that Bowman dairyman sure has been on a “high horse.”

First he got appointed South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture and now he’s made another name for himself — as a blue-ribbon cowboy.

Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers of Bowman recently won first place in the 2005 Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino Federation Celebrity Ride at the South Carolina State Fair in Columbia.

“I think I had an advantage over the others in the competition, because I asked if the Paso Fino rode more like a Holstein cow or a Jersey cow, so I knew how to ride it,” Weathers said, laughing. “The one I rode was so well trained that my main thing was to stay out of the way and let the horse do what it knew to do.”

Riding Duendecita-de-Pride, owned by Gayle Brown of Aiken, “was as easy as pie,” Weathers said. “She aimed to please and did exactly what I asked. Paso Finos are people horses and make wonderful companions.”

The Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino Federation was established in 1987 with the purpose of preserving the “four-beat lateral gait.”

For the last 10 years, the PPRPFF has been host for a demonstration and Celebrity Ride. Ben Tanner and Angie Goff, both employees of WIS-TV, were second- and third-place winners respectively. Other riders included Nat Roer of WLTX-TV; Mary Virginia Taylor, bishop of the S.C. United Methodist Church Annual Conference; and Richard Eckstrom, S.C. comptroller general.

In September 2004, Weathers entered the public spotlight when he was appointed state agricultural commissioner to complete the term of Charles Sharpe, who resigned after criminal conduct. A month ago Weathers announced his plans to run for the Republican nomination for a full four-year term as agriculture commissioner when elections are held in 2006.

The Paso Fino is often called “the Cadillac of the horse world.” Literally translated, “Paso Fino” means “fine step.”

Born with a four-beat lateral gait creating a rapid, unbroken rhythm, the Paso Fino’s gait is smooth and rhythmic. The horse’s body acts as a shock absorber, so the rider feels no bounce and sits in the saddle able to glide along. Paso Finos can trot diagonally, lope, canter or gallop. They can also be trained to do formal dressage.

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