Lyle LaMar Hansbarger (1934- )

I2 Lyle LaMar Hansbarger, born 1 December, 1934, Darke County, Ohio. Married 28 May, 1955 to Janet Jarrett, born 14 August, 1937. One child.

Lyle and Janet Hansbarger After winning the Governor's Cup 6 Horse All-Draft Breed Hitch Contest Ohio State Fair ~ August 11, 2005

The Early Bird
Greenville, Ohio
August 29, 2004

Hansbargers leading the nation with horses

by Ryan Berry
Managing Editor

GREENVILLE - Lyle and Janet Hansbarger put on a wonderful show for visitors to the Darke County Fairgrounds when they brought their Six-Horse Hitch of Belgians to the fair for the performance classes of the Draft Horse Show on Aug. 25. These beautiful animals took first place against two other six-horse hitch teams.

Hansbarger taking first place should be no surprise to anyone who follows these types of shows. The couple is currently leading approximately 175 other six-horse hitch teams throughout North America in points in the Belgian class of the Classic Series Six-Horse Hitch. The competition began this past spring in Denver and will finish on Labor Day weekend. In all, there are 46 qualifying events.

Lyle and Janet were born and raised in Darke County. He graduated from Franklin High School and she from Arcanum High School. The couple currently resides near Arcanum.

Lyle has always been fond of horses and even owned several quarter-horses throughout the years, but in 1992 his love for big beautiful Belgians became even greater when he purchased his first. Come forward 12 years and you will find eight of the magnificent creatures on their farm.

While the Belgians on their farm now are without a doubt top notch, success at the top of the heap didn't come overnight. Lyle recalls showing at county and state fairs when his horses couldn't compete with the other horses. But throughout the years he kept buying better horses. In fact, his horses come from all over North America. One of his lead horses is from Calgary and another is from New Mexico. When buying a horse, Lyle looks at how large the animal is, whether or not it is good footed, long-necked and up-headed. All of their horses are gelding.

The Hansbarger's largest horse weighs in at 2,350 pounds and stands 18-feet, three-inches. His smallest horse weighs a ton and is 18-feet, one-inch.

Assisting the Hansbarger's with their horses are two full-time employees. Eric Geiman drives the hitches and Stacie Robbins drives the ladies cart. Both help maintain the animals during the week.

While winning the Darke County Fair's competition is a great honor, Hansbarger and his team recently accomplished a feat rarely (if ever) accomplished by a team from Ohio. They won the Belgian Six-Horse Hitch at the Indiana State Fair. The feat was followed up with a win in the same class at the Ohio State Fair.

Child of Lyle LaMar Hansbarger and Janet Jarrett:

J1 Alan Hansbarger, born 29 March, 1958. Married 20 December, 1975 to Denise Larsh, born 2 March, 1960.
K1 Gregory Hansbarger, born 10 June, 1976; married July 24, 2004 Kathy Enders.