|
 And the animals know it too. They are gentle and
laid back, especially the bunnies who have the temperament of Winnie
the Pooh’s Eeyore and the soft cuddly cuteness of any child’s
favorite stuffed animal.
But when they come before the judge it is tough competition, as the
animals though of the same species, offer up a number of breeds and
within each breed a variety of looks.
One of the most fun to see was the bunny that reminded us
immediately of the aforementioned Eeyore as he laid sprawled out
across his grooming table with his enormously long ears hanging over
the edge.
Another was a cotton ball, literally. His hair was so long and so
fuzzy that even a little queen couldn’t resist reaching out and
burrowing her fingers in the thick fuzzy fur.
Speaking of royalty, the 2018 Miss Logan County Fair Queen Molly
Schempp and Junior Miss Logan County Julia Collins were on hand at
the start of the day. They stopped in to watch some of the shows,
and hand out a few ribbons before they had to move on to the ribbon
cut held at the west gate at 9 a.m.
Both young ladies were making the best of their last day as Logan
County royalty. And, both were excited for the pageant that would
come later in the day, and the young women who would be crowned to
reign over the balance of the fair and represent the county in the
coming year.
At the end of the day, the judge did have some tough decisions to
make. Will Stambaugh had rabbits in most all of the classes and took
home a lot of blue ribbons with his animals.
Ivy Sandel did a great job showing her rabbit and when it came time
to choose a champion, it could have been a coin toss.
In the end, Ivy took the Grand Champion position winning Best of
Breed and Champion Chicken. Ivy’s Best of Breed plaque was sponsored
by Berglin’s Appliance Repair, and her champion Rabbit plaque was
sponsored by Neal’s Trailer Repair.
Will took home multiple plaques as well. He first won the Best of
Opposite Sex All Six Class Breeds sponsored by the Hollander’s 4-H
Club. He then took the Best of All Six Class Breeds sponsored by
Neal Tire Repair.
In addition, Will received a plaque for Senior Rabbit Showmanship,
sponsored by Drew Behrens Family in memory of Arthur Behrens &
Family.
Will was awarded Champion and Reserve Champion in the Rabbit Meat
Pen class. His plaques were sponsored by Maxheimer Memorials by
Teresa Stramp, and his grand champion ribbon and plaques were
presented by Queen Molly Schempp and Junior Miss Julia Collins.
[to top of second column] |
Teresa (Maxheimer) Stramp was on hand early in the livestock barns.
Many may recognize that for many years the Maxheimer family has
sponsored plaques for the Best Chicken over on the poultry side of
the barn, given in memory of Teresa’s mother Maxine Maxheimer. This
year Stramp said that she and the family were still sponsoring the
Best Chicken, but that they were sponsoring a number of other
plaques as well including the ones for the rabbit show. She noted
that the 4-H Foundation needs for people to step up and sponsor
plaques and special awards, and the kids deserve the recognition.
Stambaugh’s final award was the Reserve Champion Rabbit
Over on the other end of the barn the poultry show started off
strong with a long competition in all of the classes.
It appeared this year that numbers may have been up just a bit from
last year in the poultry side. There also seemed to be a larger
number of spectators watching the judging than in years past.
The west end of the barn was an active location for most of the
morning, with kids hanging on to their chickens and waiting their
turn to place them in the holding cages for the judge’s scrutiny.
While it was all business in front of the judge while waiting their
turn, a few of the kids and their chickens were more than happy to
ham it up for the camera, in a backward sort of way. For those who
are not aware, the best way to hold a chicken is with the head
tucked under the arm, so the poor birds never see where they are
going, only where they have been!
The judge was enthusiastic and happy to talk to the kids and give
them pointers along the way. He also spoke clearly and explained to
those standing around the cages why he was making the decisions he
was making.
In the end, we saw some familiar faces taking the top positions in
the chickens.
Reed Naughton for the second year took the Best Chicken Award. The
plaque was presented by Teresa Stramp's son Tanner and brother Dale
Maxheimer in memory of Dale and Teresa’s mother Maxine Maxheimer.
Reed also won Champion Cockerel.
Natalie Palmquist and her little black and white bird won Champion
Pullet.
[Nila Smith] |
