Fair is another success

PLAINS – The town of Plains ballooned in population as the Sanders County Fair hit the area in full swing. The usually peaceful streets saw an increase of traffic as this year’s fair-goers headed to ride carnival rides, eat fair food and take part in the events scheduled.

This year’s theme was Sow it, Grow it and Show it and like always, the 4-H kids showed off their hours of hard work. The fair opened its doors on Monday, Aug. 25 when entries started to fill the barns.

Not only were photography, prized vegetables and sewing projects on display, but the 4-H kids showed their animals as well.

One competition was the poultry show which had four participants.

Rachel Wrobleski, Jackson Woods, Alexandra Evan, and Jessica Eaton were part of this year’s 4-H poultry competition at the Sanders County Fair.

“I look for the bird to be close to the standard of perfection,” Gordon Cummings, the judge of the poultry competition said.

The judge said a lot of the emphasis during the poultry show is placed on the condition of the birds.

Specifically feather width and length are examined during the judging portion of the show.

Cummings urged the competitors to show off their best bird during the poultry competition.

Rachel Wrobleski brought 11 chickens to the fair but decided to go with a Blue Silky, a breed originating in East Asia for the poultry show.

“I think they are the most unique breed of poultry there is, though others would disagree,” Wrobleski said.

Before the show officially started Cummings met with each competitor individually, inspecting their birds and asking the participants questions. This format was typical of the other shows as well.

Wrobleski took home grand champion honors for the event.

Another popular show was the beef show.

Coby Guenzler of Hot Springs brought four Red Angus cows to the fair to compete in the 4-H competition.

Guenzler said the temperament of the breed made them enjoyable to raise.

“I like how they are nice and how they are easy to work with,” Guenzler said.

Guenzler added he always enjoys the fair and he plans on putting the money he makes towards his college education.

Bill Largent and Jackson Woods competed in the 4-H dog show with Largent taking home grand championship honors in the event and Woods taking home the grand championship ribbon for showmanship.

Saturday afternoon featured the 4-H Round Robin showmanship events, where the youthful competitors displayed several varieties of animals as opposed to the one-breed events of other competitions.

In the large animal round robin competition 4-H members showed off horse, beef, sheep and swine as judges and spectators looked on.

In the senior division of the large animal round robin Mahala Sweet was awarded the grand champion ribbon, while Trevor Paro took home the reserve ribbon.

There was also a junior division for the large animals where the grand champion of the event was Marsada Sweet and the reserve champion was Sage Jackson.

The second set of round robin competitions featured small animals and a dog, rabbits poultry and a pygmy goat were the animals on display for the judges.

In the senior division Shayna Burgess took home the grand champion ribbon, while Jessica Eaton was awarded the reserve ribbon for the event.

In the junior competition Wrobleski was named the grand champion and the reserve ribbon went to Woods.

At the end of Saturday’s events there was a 4-H fashion show shortly before the start of the evening’s rodeo.

During the fashion show, which was held in the pavilion a number of handmade creations, were proudly presented by 4-H members.

Claire McAllister modeled a homemade outfit she had made for the total cost of four dollars, while Sage and Sidney Jackson displayed a quilt, which took them two weeks to complete. Madeline Snow wore a blue colonial dress she had made herself and Brooke Jackson showed off her sewing skills.

Other popular events featured PRCA Bull Riding on Thursday, Aug. 28 and PRCA rodeo on both Friday and Saturday nights. The crowd was entertained by the many cowboys and cowgirls, some of them ranking amongst the world’s best. The fair came to a close on Sunday, Aug. 31 when the Demolition Derby came crashing into town. The event marked the close of the fair, and left many people already looking forward to next year’s fair.