Fun At The Fair: 4-H kids swing into new adventures at Chautauqua County Fair
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DUNKIRK -- This year's Chautauqua County Fair theme is "Swing Into New Adventures With 4-H" and as fair week continues, the 4-H kids are doing exactly that.
4-H animal shows are held throughout the week, continuing Wednesday with some such as the Open Class Dairy and the Goat Showmanship shows.
4-H member Annabelle Lear has animals in multiple barns; a goat, rabbit and horse. Her horse is 16 years old, rescued from a slaughterhouse and is an overall great horse, she said.
"He does whatever you want him to do, but we don't do jumps," Lear said. "He's a great horse. The fair gives him the chance to get more active and he has the opportunity to get out of the barn and to the pasture more."
Lear's mother also used to do gaming, so that is something Lear said she has done with her horse, also using him as a trail horse.
In the beef cow barn, Cody Nickerson shows his black angus cross cow, Cookie Dough.
"We had four shows we were in," Nickerson said. "We walk them around a lot. We have to lead them and get them set up just right. I got third and fourth place in showmanship."
Nickerson's sister, Kristen Nickerson, also shows her beef cow, Camaro, who she said weighs 1,243 pounds.
"The fair allows us to spend the most time with our cows," she said. "We walk around a lot in the ring. We have to keep eye contact with the judge, set them up just right, and make sure they walk smoothly."
In the dairy barn, Dale Perry showed his Holstein, Mirabell and Jersey, Vision, in the Open Class show Wednesday, with the 4-H Dairy show to follow the next day. When talking with The Post-Journal, Perry had finished showing Mirabell with Vision coming up soon.
"I have fun walking my cows around in the show," Perry said. "My cows are what I like most about the fair."
Also in the dairy barn, Jillian Bond and her family are showing six heifers this year; five Jerseys and one Brown Swiss. For her, Bond said the fair always has an air of excitement.
"There's adrenaline and excitement that comes with showing," Bond said. "You don't know what place you're going to get in the show, and I always like seeing everyone else and everyone helps each other out. I also like getting to spend time with my family."
The Chautauqua County Fair continues throughout the rest of this week. A full schedule of events can be found at chautauquacofair.org.