In the scrambles children are organized by age groups
and work to catch different sizes and types of animals turned loose.
With the rain in the morning, the scrambles had to be moved into the
livestock show barn on the north end of the Logan County Fairground,
which made for tight quarters.
Before the scrambles, LDN’s own Lesleigh Bennett sang the National
Anthem.
The announcers were Reagan Tibbs and Jayden Lawrence.
New fair royalty Queen Abbie, Junior Miss Sophia and
Little Miss Olivia were also on hand to lead the Pledge of
Allegiance and 4-H pledge.
Soon it was time for the chickens to be released from a big cage.
Sixteen youngsters between the ages of five and seven scurried
around trying to catch one of the eight chickens. As usual, it was
often a challenge as the chickens dodged back and forth to avoid
capture. With persistence, all the chickens were finally caught.
Each child was given a goodie bag after catching a
chicken and the lucky child who caught the golden rooster received a
five dollar bill.
Next, twelve youngsters between the ages of eight and ten tried to
rope one of the six sly goats scrambling around the track. Some
wrestled with the goat as they tried to get a rope around it.
Twelve pre-teens and young teens between the age of ten and fifteen
attempted to catch pigs lathered up with conditioner by the newly
crowned fair royalty. Participant’s arms are covered with soap suds
to make it even more tricky.
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One child worked very hard to catch a pig and other
competitors surrounded her to keep the pig from getting away.
For the final and most exciting part of the evening, fourteen youth
between the ages of twelve and eighteen participated in a calf
scramble, struggling to harness a feisty calf that may weigh up to
350 pounds.
Those who caught a calf get to keep them and raise them for next
year’s steer competition, which is judged during the scrambles. Some
of the calves played “hard to get” as they tried to wrangle away
before finally being roped.
These calves will be brought back for judging at next year’s
scrambles.
Last year’s winners brought their calves back to be judged on
fitting, grooming, confirmation, record keeping and showmanship.
This year’s overall winner for the steer competition was Tucker
Geary, who placed first in fitting, grooming and confirmation.
Callie Carlton placed first in recordkeeping.
In between scrambles, several were recognized for various
accomplishments.
A 4-H scholarship was awarded to 4-H member Sophia Schneider.
Graduating seniors in 4-H included Ella Bobell, Jacob Lawrence,
Sophia Schneider and Brenden Wurth.
As usual, the evening’s events were lively and entertaining with the
children scrambling to catch the animals and thoroughly enjoying
themselves. For the award winners, the memories of their time in 4-H
will likely last for many years.
[Angela Reiners with photos by JA Hodgdon-Ruppel] |