Horses under saddle were passing through pockets of morning sun in the indoor arena at Sea-Vu Farm in Boothbay on August 24. The farm's trainer called out to riders with reminders on technique, and praise for them and the horses.

“OK, huge love to him. Huge love. He was awesome today,” Katie Yereance told Hali Goodwin, 10, as the Boothbay girl finished riding her horse CBMF Off The Charts. (Around the barn, he goes by Eskie.) Goodwin leaned forward to stroke his neck as Yereance told her, “Good job, babe.”

The easy pace of activity belied a serious undertaking involving nearly everyone at the barn that day. Horses and their riders, one horse-and-driver duo, and some of their family members were continuing to get ready for the Morgan horse breed equivalent of the Kentucky Derby. Instead of a race over a track to the finish line, however, the Grand National & World Championship Morgan Horse Show encompasses several disciplines, most of which have nothing to do with speed.

The Boothbay equines and their human partners qualified for the big event in Oklahoma through state and regional shows in recent months.

About 35 people, from competitors to spectators, will be making the trip. A discussion in the barn centered on what to expect, as many would be watching or competing in the event for the first time.

An “enormous” chute leading into the arena inclines downward, “so go in easy,” Yereance, 31, advised riders. The venue is so large, it will be difficult for the competitors to hear what people are saying from the sidelines. “It's a whole new ball game” from other events, she said.

The competitors were looking forward to not only the challenge, but the enjoyment of being there. “It's going to be fun and exciting,” Joanne Lewis, 66, said. “You have to go into it with the understanding that you're doing it for the experience, and that anything else that happens (in competition) is a bonus,” she said.

Lewis, who is Yereance's mother, will take part in the pleasure-driving cart competition with AMZ Tiger Lilly, or Patty. The Boothbay resident drives her horse twice a week; Yearance trains Patty daily.

Caroline Cadorette, 8, of Portland rides her equine partner, Pondview Pure Elegance, or Ellie, four days a week. “My horse and I have worked very hard,” she said while tending Ellie in the barn aisle.

After a good performance at one event, the horse just stopped rather than leave the arena. “She didn't want it to be over. She was very proud of herself,” Cadorette said.

Farm owner Dawn Murphy is proud of trainer Yereance, who took lessons from Murphy as a child. Yereance is “absolutely” the reason so many of the horses have qualified for the Oklahoma event, Murphy said. “She knows what she's doing. She has a lot of talent.”

Yereance, in turn, spread the credit around to the whole “amazing” team at the barn, from the staff to the clients.

For one young qualifier, Skyler Davis, 14, of Boothbay, who rides Sensational Touch, or Lucy, time at the barn has been fitting tightly into an exhausting schedule that includes work at Kaler's restaurant in Boothbay Harbor and field hockey practice. She's an entering freshman at Boothbay Region High School.

Some horse enthusiasts are born into it, and put on a horse not long after. But Davis got into it because her family once lived near Sea-Vu Farm. Seeing the horses made her want to try riding. At 5, she did, and has stuck with it since. “I like the rush it gives you when you're going fast,” she said.

Also scheduled to compete in Oklahoma are two local 18-year-olds and another mount at Sea-Vu. Christin Bailey of Boothbay and Kahla Vise will be in events with Bailey's horse, Sea-Vu Noble Aire, or Nicki.

The show runs October 6 to 13. It can be watched live-stream at www.morgangrandnational.com.