I Love the County Fair

[blackcows]

I know it's not Denver, Louisville, or the Junior Nationals but I love the County Fair.  Our Fair starts on Wednesday and goes through Sunday and I can't wait.  We still show in the same county I grew up in and showed in and are now at the age that all of the kids I grew up showing with have our kids showing.  We are turing into our parents...sitting in the barn having a cold drink and handing out money to the kids as they run back and forth from the midway.  It doesn't seem like that long ago we were the young kids begging for more money.  I love the whole thing...the carneys, the rodeo, the tractor pull, the animals, the church food stand, the beer garden, the demo derby, all of it (I guess everything but the Zipper ride...not safe). I know of a few people that are "too cool" to go to the little county fair, not enough competiton, too many freddy 4hers, too long...what ever the reason but I can tell you I don't remember much about the few minutes I was in the show ring at the county fair, state fair, progress shows; but I do remember hanging out with my friends, running around the fairgrounds, staying up late, getting up early, and showing all my friends that came to the fair my animals.

Last year at our fair there was a young girl that showed horses and sheep.  She wore a pink cowboy hat, pink boots, and a pink belt.  She had no idea what she was doing in the show ring but you could tell she was just happy to be at the fair.  Big smile, waving to Grandma and Grandpa, ribbon on the horses halter as soon as the show was over...I hope to see her again this year.

Mike

 

[the angus111]

Mike ,this must be back when we were young day!Our cattle numbers at the county fair are way down.we do have a ton of bucket calves.steers and heifers are not good,maybe 2 heifers and 5 or 6 steers.I know not all people can afford them.also I wish we had county agents,like i had growing up.You are right on though ,it is a great rural tradition.Rusty

 

[RSC]

What he said, great post!

 

[NJ Farms]

I agree 100% about county fairs.  Our county fair is this next week.  My son is showing a steer and heifer.  It's the same place I and my hubby showed as kids.  Our numbers are massively down compared to then, but are slowly increasing.  I still get that excited, nervous queasy feeling about loading up and going.  It certainly is fun.  I certainly appreciate our basic no fit show.  Our angus shed out so slick that it's just easier.

 

[linnettejane]

great post!  and i totally agree with you!  i have been going to the same county fair for 28 years(started showing there when i was 8!  in that 28, i have only missed taking cattle 2 years (having a baby and last year when they were building new barns/under construction)...and  even though i have moved 4 hours and 3 counties away, i still go to it...its really cool to see all the people i grew up with showing cattle now doing it with their little ones too...its a very special event that i have tons of memories from and hopefully my girls will too......

thanks for sharing and reminding us how special county fairs can be! 

ive posted some pics from this years county fair on my blog, if you want to check it out...

 

[OqRanch]

We have a late county show.  Ours isn't until October 14th.

 

[GONEWEST]

The Zipper is the best ride ever invented  (clapping)

 

[simtal]

seems like the country fair was great at first (carnival, food, friends) but some of the worst hosings I ever got were at county fairs. How many people have had a national champion winning heifer whose only defeat was at the local county fair. I know of a few.

zipper is the best ride, however

 

[shortyjock89]

seems like the country fair was great at first (carnival, food, friends) but some of the worst hosings I ever got were at county fairs. How many people have had a national champion winning heifer whose only defeat was at the local county fair. I know of a few.

zipper is the best ride, however

I agree, I've had many steers and a few heifers that win at the state level and do really well at nationals get dead last at my own county fair. If that ain't a kick in the pants for selling calves to 4H kids, I don't know what is.  I didn't sell a single calf in my county last year if that tells ya anything.

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

seems like the country fair was great at first (carnival, food, friends) but some of the worst hosings I ever got were at county fairs. How many people have had a national champion winning heifer whose only defeat was at the local county fair. I know of a few.

zipper is the best ride, however

I once had the lead off heifer from my winning Denver pen place 4th out of 5 at a county fair. 5 weeks later we showed against the heifers that placed 1st and 2nd at the county fair, we placed 1st  and they placed 9th and 13th at a regional national show. Go figure! RW

 

[Cattledog]

seems like the country fair was great at first (carnival, food, friends) but some of the worst hosings I ever got were at county fairs. How many people have had a national champion winning heifer whose only defeat was at the local county fair. I know of a few.

zipper is the best ride, however

Wow! Your hit the nail on the head! If you want to get a good one beat...take her to the local county fair.  I guess I am a glutton for punishment because I keep going back time and time again.  Tell me, how many times have you seen the biggest framed female win her class at the county fair regardless of any other trait.

 

[Dave]

Lets get back to the post, I love the county fair.

 

[herefordfootball]

seems like the country fair was great at first (carnival, food, friends) but some of the worst hosings I ever got were at county fairs. How many people have had a national champion winning heifer whose only defeat was at the local county fair. I know of a few.

zipper is the best ride, however

I agree, I've had many steers and a few heifers that win at the state level and do really well at nationals get dead last at my own county fair. If that ain't a kick in the pants for selling calves to 4H kids, I don't know what is.  I didn't sell a single calf in my county last year if that tells ya anything.

Thats the thing about county fairs... Sometimes they dont always get the best judges, they just really dont know good cattle. And then sometimes they get a good judge who while he is judging he says in his head " Well its just a county fair, so I'm gonna pick the cute little girl or boy to win." I'm bout ready to hire one of these kids to show my cattle at the fair.  (lol)

 

[Telos]

There is something about county fairs that words just can't express. I wish I would have taken a creative writing course so I could write how I feel about them. They are much more intimate then your state fairs. All I can say is that they make me feel very, very happy when I go. The icing on the cake is when you run into someone you grew up with an haven't seen in over 20 or 30 years and have kids and grand kids showing. That feeling is hard to beat.

 

[justintime]

We still have our local fair but the livestock shows have virtually died. We still have an excellent 4-H show, with about 130 steers and 80 or so heifers. Back when I was growing up, we had a large show of livestock of all kinds. If you were fortunate to win a Championship in your breed, you were able to parade your animal in front of the grandstand during the evening entertainment show. The large grandstand would be packed with people and it was an exciting event for a young person to be able to walk past and hear the announcer talk about you, your family and your animals. We walked around the race track and oftentimes, there were cattle completely around the race track. It is sad to see this event die a slow death. There used to be lots of breeders who travelled the show circuit and spent their almost their entire summer showing cattle. My dad and I would spend all but 1 week in July and a couple weeks in August, driving the roads, showing the cattle. It was lots of work, but even more fun. It was also a big part of the income our family received through the summer months so it was an important event in our lives. Memories......

 

[HerefordGuy]

I love the county fair! I loved the competition and learning about cattle.  As a kid, I enjoyed the opportunity to focus on cattle the first part of the week and chase the girls the rest of the week!  It was the social event of my summer.  I still enjoy 1970's country music because that is what the band played at the dances at night.  Silver Wings...
I had my first kiss at the RV park of the fair grounds around 3am.  Won't tell you how old I was, because that parts embarrassing. 

Plus, the pie eating contest.  Still remember the year I made my self so sick I threw up in front of everyone (lol)

Can't wait till my kids are old enough to show.

Good times... Thanks for starting this  thread!

 

[blackcows]

I had my first kiss at the RV park of the fair grounds around 3am.  Won't tell you how old I was, because that parts embarrassing. 

Now I am really curious...at least tell us if you are embarassed becuase it was closer to 7 or 27?

Mike

 

[oakview]

Our county fair would probably be considered boring by most people.  We first showed there in 1963.  Our kids last showed there in 2005.  It will be 3 years until my grandchildren will be able to show there.  Only 4-H and FFA members are allowed, no open show.  In fact, until about 15 years ago, only 4-Hers were allowed, no FFA members.  There is no midway, no admission fee, the most premium money you can win would be $5.  There is no grandstand, no entertainment, and very few farm business exhibits.  I still remember fondly learning to play penny poker, water fights, and eating breakfast, lunch, and supper for less than a dollar (total).  Anybody remember wooden show sticks?  I'd go back there in a minute.

 

[HerefordGuy]

Mike- It was closer to 27... Just because I liked to chase the girls didn't mean I was good at it...  ;D  I did a lot of dancing though!

I used my grandpa's wooden show stick when I would show calves.  I have an old scotch comb that I got from my grandpa in a box in my basement, if I had to guess, I'd say its from the 50's or 60's.

 

[NHR]

We have a county youth show not a fair. I wish we would make it into a fair with rides and everything else. When I was a kid we had a full blown fair and it was great.