What it takes to put on the fair

Next week is the busiest of the summer for the youth of Hot Springs County with everything going on at the county fair, from animals to cake decorating and photography.

We know the younger crowd has put in countless numbers of hours, especially with their animals, getting ready for Fair Week, but it all starts a lot sooner than you think.

Fair preparation for 4-H actually starts October 1, the beginning of the new 4-H calendar year. Those who show beef, for instance, have to have their animals weighed and tagged by the Fair Board by the first Sunday in February.

Everyone has to work with their animals for months to get them used to the ring, being led and standing correctly for judging. It takes a lot of practice to be a winner.

But what about the behind the scenes things that we never see?

It takes a whole team of individuals to make fair week come off without too many hiccups.

The fair board actually runs the fair, however, the 4-H, FFA and UW Extension service are a huge support staff.

Choosing judges for the animals is done by Valerie Mead. Since livestock judges book up quickly with all the fairs going on in Wyoming and surrounding states at the same time, Mead starts making her phone calls to line up judges months in advance.

Joey Johnson does the same thing for judges of the building exhibits, too, as those judges need to be lined up early.

Vickie Nichols calls herself the ‘go-fer’, but she really keeps the ball rolling by getting the entry forms to the kids and helping them get them filled out correctly before passing them on to Mead to enter into the computer.

Entries for the fair begin around the first of July with the horse entries since the Youth Horse Show is the first event of fair, this year on July 27 starting at 8 a.m.

Once everything is entered in the computer, Mead prints off the judging sheets and entry cards and Nichols distributes them to the kids to put on their projects. The judging sheets are put into three-ring binders so the judge’s clerk can record the placement for each entry.

Congratulations to all our Hot Springs County youth that participate in fair, but a huge shout out to all of those adults behind the scenes who make it all possible.