|
 The Swine Show in particular brings in a pretty
good sized crowd of spectators. Folks take a prime spot on the
wooden bleachers, and a large number of people bring their lawn
chairs and line the fences of the show arena to assure a “front row”
experience as kids herd their animals around the ring.
This year, the Dairy Show was much sparser than in years past with
only two youngsters showing in a number of categories from calves to
full grown milking cows. In the vast majority of the classes there
was only one showman, Dawn Irwin. But also appearing from time to
time was 4-H member Walker Allen.
While Irwin was a solo showman, she was still very conscience of her
showmanship in the ring, and impressed the judge with her handling
ability with all of her animals. The animals were also top quality
which was reflected when it came time to choose an overall champion.
While it was obvious Dawn would be the winner of that championship
trophy, the challenge for the judge was to select which of the
top-notch animals was indeed the very best of the best.
When the winning animal was selected, Logan County’s newest Fair
Queen, Molly Schempp, was on hand to deliver the coveted
championship trophy. Championship awards in the dairy department
were sponsored by Phil Wilson, Atlanta Ag Center; Prairie Farms,
Inc., Peoria Division; Brandt Consolidated, and Irwindale Farms.
In the Showmanship competition Dawn went up against Walker and it
was a tough show, even though there were only two. The judge debated
for quite some time, then made a selection. Dawn would take the top
prize in Showmanship and Walker would receive the Reserve Award. The
Showmanship Champion Award was sponsored by Irwindale Farms with the
Reserve Award sponsored by Phil Wilson, Atlanta Ag Center.
Before releasing the two competitors, the judge spent a little bit
of time speaking to them about their showmanship techniques and
offering tips to the second place winner to help that young man with
his future shows.
Showing cattle of any kind is not as easy as one might think. First
it is good to remember that even with the younger animals, the kids
are dealing with an animal whose weight equals or far exceeds their
own. Leading the cow around the arena takes concentration and
strength, as well as an animal that is accustomed to the process. A
good showman will always position his or her self so that she is
facing the judge. That is quite a dance when the judge orders the
animals to be walked about in circles. Kids work from the left to
the right side of the animal, looking over its rear or over its
head, all depending on where that judge is in relation to the cow.
And, not only is the cow moving, so is the judge, making that task
all the more difficult.
Dawn, the youngest of “the Irwin girls” makes this look easy, but
watch her carefully and she has tells. When the animals is less than
perfect she can stare it down with one of those “if looks could
kill” expressions that makes us bet that the animal shudders just a
bit before deciding she better darn well start behaving.
After the showmanship competition, the Open Dairy Show began. Here
we would see Dawn return along with that other Irwin girl – Sarah.
The Open Show is larger and the girls faced some tougher
competition, but still did well.
For the Irwin family, dairy is a way of life and something that
travels through the generations of the family name. The same is true
with the Irwin family and the Logan County Fair. In the open show,
Dawn and Sarah’s granddad and dad are the superintendent and
assistant superintendent.
Wednesday morning, granddad John Irwin was asked how
many years he has been involved with the dairy show at the Logan
County Fair. John laughed and said perhaps it has been so long he’s
lost track. But on a serious note he said that he has a fair book at
home from 1962 and in it he is listed as the assistant.
[to top of second column] |
 That has been 56 years of helping at the Logan
County Fair, if not more. He said he thought he was an assistant for
a few years, so maybe he has been the superintendent for around 50
years. 4-H Swine Show
On the swine side of the barn, the judge, Damon Stayton was faced
with some pretty big challenges in choosing the best of the best in
a number of breeds and divisions. The Swine Show offers more
competitors than the Dairy Show, and a lot more animals. A number of
the kids were showing gilts and barrows in number of breeds.
At the end of the gilt show there was a familiar face standing with
the winning trophy. Reagan Tibbs took the Grand Champion Gilt and
will hold the Donnie Crane Memorial Traveling Ttrophy for the next
year. The trophy was presented to Tibbs by the late Donnie Crane’s
wife Linda and son Dana.
Awards for the Grand Champion Gilt are sponsored by the Crane Family
with the Traveling Trophy, and the Logan County Paramedic
Association.
In the barrow competition, judging got tough, especially in the
crossbreed class that had six divisions. Judge Slayton commented on
the size of the competition in that breed saying at the end of each
division he though surely that was the end, but then the announcer
would call in another group.
That large breed class was most apparent when it came time to choose
the champion crossbreed. The show ring was as full as it had been
all morning with six youngsters vying for best of the best.
At the end of the day, the Grand Champion Barrow went to Claire
Bobell. Claire was pleased as punch to take that top honor, but
probably no happier than the rest of her family. She was joined in
front of the green 4-H curtain by her dad Ben, older sister Ella
(who also showed) and younger sister Alex. Ella held the plaques
that Claire had earned along the way to the championship, while
little sis Alex showed off the big purple ribbon. Claire held the
banner stating she was the owner of the Grand Champion Barrow. The
Crane Memorial Traveling Trophy was once again presented by Linda
Crane and the sponsors of additional prizes and awards – family
members of Brett Conrady all joined in the shot. Also in the picture
was the new trio of royalty for the Logan County Fair - Queen Molly
Schempp, Junior Miss Julia Collins and Little Miss Kylee Fulk.
While Queen Molly had spent most of her morning with the dairy
cattle, Julia and Kylee had been ever present on the swine side
standing inside the ring and handing out ribbons and plaques as
winners were announced.
Another happy moment at the swine show was the
arrival of Logan County Fair Board President Dean Bruns and
Vice-President Kevin Kurtz, along with Dean’s daughter Gayla. Dean
took the microphone and thanked everyone for their attendance and
made a few remarks about the longevity of the Logan County Fair, and
the swine show. He recalled a day when the barn was filled with
animals and spectators, and noted that in his many, many years with
the fair board he has seen a lot of really good looking animals pass
through the barns. It is a tradition and one that he loves and as he
closed he wished everyone good luck and expressed hopes for
continued success in the future as these young people grow and
continue to show at the Logan County Fair.
[Nila Smith] |
