Hope for the Horse Industry?

I attended a Paint show last weekend in Monroe, Washington and was pleasantly surprised to see that the number of entries seemed relatively unchanged from the previous year, at least in the Novice and Amateur all-around classes. Barns seemed full, despite the gas prices (I paid $91 to fill up my truck on the way home!). Typically, this show is one of our largest in the Pacific Northwest, so I hope that the smaller shows are also well-attended.