Good morning everyone. I am a little sad that this is my last article for the 2015 Jackson County Fair.
I have had a lot of fun writing the articles and sharing with the readers the life of a 4-H member, not only during the fair week, but also what it takes prior to the fair to get everything ready.
I want to say thank you again to The Tribune for giving me and future writers this opportunity and for helping me along the way. I also want to say thank you to the employees at the extension office for recommending me and also for all the hard work you guys do, not only during fair week but all year long. Now on to letting you know how my final days of the fair went.
On Friday morning, dad got up early and took care of the animals for us so we could sleep in since we stayed a little later at the fair Thursday night. Mom then got us up and we got ready for our last event of the 2015 fair, the dairy goat show. Once we arrived at the fairgrounds, dad and grandma Diana already were feeding and watering the fair animals. He said it was a reward for us working so hard this week, plus I don’t think he wanted us to get our white show clothes dirty.
The first event in the dairy goat show was the peewee showmanship. This is open to any of the little kids that are not yet able to show in regular 4-H yet. My little sister Maggie picked out our Toggenburg named Soxie to show.
Soxie is one of our bigger goats, but this doesn’t bother Maggie. Even at home she gets right in with the goats and sheep. I think she would climb in the pigpen at home and try to start leading it around if dad would let her.
As the show started Maggie grabbed Soxie’s collar and entered the show arena. She led Soxie around the ring smiling at the judge. She even paid attention and switched sides and kept the goat between her and the judge when she was supposed to. The judge came by and asked Maggie several questions to which Maggie was able to answer them all.
In the end the judge awarded Maggie the first place trophy. Maggie was so excited. As the show went on, Conner and I won some individual breed trophies. Conner’s Alpine doe was named champion Alpine milker. This means he would get to compete later against all the other champion milkers for the overall grand champion milker. Some 4-H members had multiple entries including us.
This means that the member will have more than one goat in the show ring at the same time. All the goat members work well with each other and are always willing to help one another out. Now is time for the breed winning milking does to come out to be judged for overall grand champion milking goat. When the judge announced Conner and his Alpine Minsky as the winner his face lit up with a big smile.
Minsky can be a handful, but he stuck with her and presented her to the best of his ability and all the hard work paid off. Now that all the goats have been judged it is time to move on to the showmanship classes.
I really like the showmanship class. This shows the 4-H’ers knowledge about their animal and their ability to present their animal the best they can. Since this is Conner’s first year showing he will show in the rookie class. He used Soxie since she is the calmest of the goats.
He went out and worked hard and never gave up, and it paid off with champion rookie showmanship. He then moved up to Junior showmanship and ended up reserve champion junior showmanship. Next was my turn in the master showmanship class. I was competing against Hayley Thomas and Brittany Ross. Both are really good at showing their animals.
Congratulations to Hayley for being named champion master showman. I ended up with reserve champion master showmanship. Congratulations to all the kids in the goat barn. I want to give a big thank you to our goat leader Shannon McKeand for all the hard work she does with the goat club especially during fair week.
After the show was over it was time for lunch. We sat and ate lunch while watching the all the 4-H’ers receive their awards for their building projects. Congratulations to all the building winners. After the winners were announced we then went back and hung out in the goat barn while dad started gathering up a few things. In the evening we participated in the parade of champions. This gives the 4-H’ers a chance to be recognized for their accomplishments as well as giving them the opportunity to thank those that have helped them along the way.
Thank you to dad and grandma for helping us at the fairgrounds this week. I also want to thank mom for all the things she has done this week. I know she likes being at the fair and helping but hasn’t been able to much this week with the heat. Thank you to everyone in the goat barn that helped us get loaded and going once dad got a text from mom saying it was time for baby Cora to arrive.
I am excited to say that baby Cora Louise arrived at 9:06 a.m. Saturday morning. Mom and Cora are doing great. She is so cute. I was able to visit with Cora and mom for a little before dad took us to the fairgrounds to get our pigs ready for auction while mom and Cora rest.
As I watch the kids run their animals through the show ring for the last times I could see a wide range of emotions from happy to very sad. I understand the attachment they have to their animals and why they are sad. I don’t like to see my animals go but also understand I cannot keep them all. I want to say thank you to United Producers Inc. for supporting the 4-H and purchasing my barrow.
Conner said he wanted to thank Ed Stuckwisch for supporting 4-H and buying his barrow. Also, thank you to all of the other buyers for supporting the 4-H members and buying their animals. Thank you to everyone that has made this year’s fair a success.
Just because the fair is over doesn’t mean a 4-H’ers responsibilities are done. Many that show livestock at the fair will wake up Sunday and have animals to take care of. I know everyone will work hard on their projects and good luck next year. I can’t wait until next year and to read what the next writer has to write about.
Your 4-H Friend,
Allison Wynn