County Fair 2008
By Reporter Cheyanne Strong
By Reporter Cheyanne Strong
Well it has happened again. Fair has gone and passed another year in what seems like a blink of an eye. I remember the very first fair all of us went to in our 4-H years, and it seems just like yesterday. It’s amazing how fast time flies by. Speaking of flying by, where in the world did our summer go? Most of our members were looking forward to the fair weekend to get a break from those summer jobs.
We all woke up at the crack of dawn Thursday, August 28th, to load our animals and head to Lakeview for weigh ins. The members spent that afternoon getting their animals weighed in, filling stalls with wood chips, and getting ready for the competition. That night the swine market class competed at 5:00 P.M. and beef market at 7:00 P.M. The members rushed around that evening getting their animals washed and groomed for the show.
In swine market, what matters is how long, lean, and well finished your animal is. In the first class of showman we had Hannah Hand who got Champion, and Jessica Hand who received Reserve Champion.
The second class consisted of Lesley Dark who got Champion, Jordan Fisher who received 2nd blue ribbon, Amanda Dark who placed 4th, and Jessica Kelly who placed 5th. Three of our members, Lesley Dark, Hannah Hand, and Jessica Hand, went back in for the Championship round where Lesley Dark placed Grand Champion and Jessica Hand received Reserve Grand Champion. They both did extremely well against their competition.
The beef market class was a tough competition. In this class the judge compares the finished steers to the well conditioned and muscular bunch. In the first class of beef showman we had Sydnee Bias who placed Champion, Cheyanne Strong who received Reserve Champion, and Tyler Meyer who got 7th place.
In the second class, Avery Overton received Reserve Champion, Kori Worthington got 4th place, Talon Gauthier placed 6th, and Hunter Kittredge got 7th place. Three of our Beef showman, Avery Overton, Sydnee Bias, and Cheyanne Strong went back in for the championship round. Avery Overton received Reserve Grand Champion.
The next morning, Friday, August 29th, members woke up around 6:00 A.M. to clean barns and fill stalls with clean wood chips. In between trips to the chip pile you could find some of our members standing in line at the Espresso Shop waiting for their coffee. It was not what I call warm on some of those days.
The sheep and goat showman were busy that morning getting ready for their market class at 9:00 A.M. All of our members were in the first class because there was only one class of sheep showman. Gonzalo Reyes received Grand Reserve, Linda Robles placed 3rd, Adam Henkel got 4th place, and Tylor Bryant placed 7th.
Emily Little was our only goat showman, and she did a great job placing Reserve Grand Champion in Market Class.
Later that evening our beef and swine showmanship classes began at 6:00 P.M. This is the class where it all comes down to how well you trained your animal, and how much time you spent with it over the Summer.
In the first class of swine showmanship we had Jessica Hand who placed 3rd, Amanda Dark who received 4th, and Hannah Hand who placed 5th.
The second class consisted of: Lesley Dark who received Reserve Champion, Jessica Kelly who placed 3rd, and Jordan Fisher who got 5th place. Lesley Dark hustled back in for the championship round, but did not place in the top two.
In the first class of beef competitors we had Avery Overton who received Champion, Talon Gauthier who placed 3rd, and Sydnee Bias who got 7th place.
The second class consisted of Tyler Meyer who received Champion, Hunter Kittredge who placed 4th, Kori Worthington who got 5th, and Cheyanne Strong who placed 6th. Avery returned for the Championship round where he placed Reserve Grand Champion. Avery did a very great job in all his classes.
That night some of our members went and ate that yummy-greasy fair food for dinner and headed back to their hotels to rest up for the next day.
The next morning, Saturday, August 28th, the members did their usual routine of cleaning and organizing their barns. After the chores were done the sheep showmanship class began at 8:00 A.M. All of our sheep showmen were in the second class because they are all beginners in FFA. Tylor Bryant received Reserve Champion, Gonzalo Reyes placed 4th, Adam Henkel placed 5th. Right behind Adam we had Linda Robles in 6th.
Emily Little also showed that morning, and placed Reserve Grand Champion in goat showmanship.
At noon on Saturday all the members got ready for the moment they had been waiting for. It was time for the livestock auction in the sale barn. A few kids got emotional when it came close to their turn in the ring, because they new it was getting close to saying good bye. Others were looking forward to the sale because they had a little bit of a hand full this summer with their animal. The sale lasted most of the day. Later on some of the members attended the Tracey Lawrence concert a 6:30 P.M., while the rest sat out behind the wood chip pile and listened to what they could here.
The next day was Sunday, August 31st. All the members did their duties in the barns as early as 6:00 A.M. to get it out of the way. The only competition that day was the Round Robin. This was the top showmen of each group who got together and competed by showing every class of livestock. We had four competitors in this class, Avery Overton, Emily Little, Linda Robles, and Tylor Bryant. Avery Overton was the only one who placed and he received 4th. They all did very well and tried their hardest.
Later that night members went to the Destruction Derby. Nothing could be more fun then watching cars crash into each other on purpose. That night you could see everybody with three layers of clothes on, or wrapped up in blankets because it was so cold outside! No one hung out at the fair grounds that night, because they all wanted to get back to their warm- cozy hotel rooms.
The next day, Monday, September 1st, was the last day of fair. All the members mucked out stalls that morning. Throughout the day kids were filling out thank you cards for buyers, and at 4:00 P.M. they collected their checks from the office and headed home. Most were anxious to get home because they were so exhausted from the long weekend, and had only the next day to get ready to go back to school.
We all had great fun at fair this year, and made more memories we will have forever. We couldn’t have done it without our communities support. The North Lake FFA would like to give a special thanks to all our supporters at fair this year and throughout the next year.
