The following are scenes from the 2019 Madison County Fair which took place July 7-13 at the Madison County Fairgrounds in London.
Autumn Vargo, 8, tickles the chinny-chin-chin of a Tyrranosauras Rex during the Dino-ROAR show, a fun, hands-on and educational presentation about dinosaurs that thrilled children and adults alike.Kloee Whitaker of Madison-Plains FFA placed fourth in overall showmanship in the 17-year-olds class. She has been showing pigs since she was in third grade.Ian Bowshier of Madison-Plains FFA placed fifth in overall showmanship in the 17-year-olds class.Hunter Nichols of Madison-Plains FFA placed third in overall showmanship in the 17-year-olds class.Dalton Peck, a member of the Helping Hands Happy Hearts 4-H Club, leads the way for “Anthem” in the junior division of the alpaca obstacle course. They placed third.A.J. Jacobs, a member of the Mud Slingers 4-H Club, leads “Amber” through the junior division of the alpaca obstacle course. They placed fifth.Elliana Wilkin of the Helping Hands Happy Hearts 4-H Club winds her way through the junior obstacle course with “Adeline” the alpaca. They placed first. Hayes Smith, 11, listens intently during judging of the first-year cavy class of the Junior Fair small animal show. To prepare for the show, Hayes said he spent the week before fair studying and watching how-to YouTube videos. The hard work paid off; Hayes and his 2-year-old American guinea pig, “Chuck,” took first place. Hayes is a London resident and member of the Helping Hands Happy Hearts 4-H Club.Katelynn Peterson competes in the pole bending lead-line competition of the Junior Fair donkey show. Peterson is a member of the LFS Riders 4-H Club.Gabe Bates, 10, runs through an obstacle course with his standard donkey, “June.” This marked Bates’s second year at the fair and his first with an animal. He said June, who is 20 years old, drives a cart well, performs well on a lead, and is “very pretty.” Bates is a London resident and member of the Krazy 4 Clovers 4-H Club.That’s not a chip on her shoulder; that’s a bearded dragon. Amber Fullen and “Reptar” won a blue ribbon in the self-determined class of the Junior Fair small animal show. Fullen said bearded dragons are the only member of the lizard family that don’t lose their tails when threatened; instead, they uses their tails as whips. Fullen also showed horses at the fair. She is a member of the Exclusively Equine 4-H Club and this year’s Junior Fair equine ambassador.Twin sisters Zoe Hutson (left) and Abby Hutson won grand champion and reserve champion honors, respectively, in the Junior Fair market ducks competition. The 19-year-olds are West Jefferson residents and members of the Town & Country Kids 4-H Club.Jabril Husein, 13, hoses down “Texas Tea,” his miniature donkey. A member of the Rowdy Wranglers 4-H Club, the Mount Sterling resident has been showing donkeys for seven years.Lane Cremeens (left), 11, of London chats with Baylor Ryder, 10, who had just placed first in the 10-year-old class for sheep showmanship. The two played on the same baseball team last year. Cremeens is a member of the Fairfield Rascals 4-H Club and showed a beef feeder. Cremeens is a member of the Born in a Barn 4-H Club.The exterior of the Junior Fair Board Office is decked out for this year’s theme, “Welcome to Fairadise.”Emily Stowers, a member of the Krazy 4 Clovers 4-H Club, participates in the senior division of Western showmanship.Allison Petee leads her horse through the senior class pattern in Western showmanship. The Green Range 4-H Club member placed fifth.Cheyenne Willing, 10, and her horse, “Spirit,” warm up for the Western showmanship class at the equine show. Willing is a London resident and member of the Fairfield Rascals 4-H Club.Cade Smith (left), a member of the Helping Hands Happy Hearts 4-H Club, keeps a gentle but firm hand on Maddie Estep’s market turkey during judging. Jaiden Ballah (right) does the same with her turkey. The birds, which weigh 30 to 45 pounds, can be difficult to handle. Older exhibitors and parents pitch in to keep the birds calm. Ballah, a member of the Fairfield Rascals 4-H Club, came away with the grand champion title. Estep (not pictured) is a member of the Dirty Boots & Shiny Belt Buckles 4-H Club.Courtney Cress, 18, of London gives her steer a bath. The Madison-Plains FFA member competed in the beef showmanship and market classes. She also showed pigs. She has been competing in the show ring since third grade.Olivia Seaburn, 12, won the final drive for overall grand champion market lamb. She also showed a champion ewe and won overall sheep showmanship, earning herself a spot in the grand showman of showmen contest. She is a member of the Beginners to Winners 4-H Club and a resident of South Charleston.Zavier Mayabb, 10, and his brother, Landon Mayabb, 10, carry a pen of rabbits to the show ring. Both are members of the Helping Hands Happy Hearts 4-H Club. Each took about 10 rabbits to the fair. They also showed rabbits.Emily Matthews (left), 13, placed second and Maya Berkey, 15, placed first in the junior doe class at the rabbit show. Matthews is a member of the Jumpers & Flyers 4-H Club and has been showing rabbits for three years. Berkey is a member of the Beginners to Winners 4-H Club and has been showing for six years. Both are from London and both had mini-Rex rabbits.Youngsters from the Presbyterian Childcare Center swarm around Emma McCoy, 15, for a chance to pet her New Zealand white rabbit. McCoy is a member of the Fairfield Rascals 4-H Club. Every year, the childcare center takes youngsters on a field trip to the fair.Helena Hall, 17, leads her guernsey cow, “Hilda,” out of the ring with a first-place ribbon in the senior division of Junior Fair dairy showmanship. Hall is a London resident and member of the Monroe Winners 4-H Club.(From left) Madison County Administrator Rob Slane, London Mayor Patrick Closser and Madison County Commissioner David Hunter take on the “tough” task of judging the creative baking contest.Savannah Hodges, a member of the LFS Riders 4-H Club, leads her steed through walk, trot and lope commands in the equine show’s Western pleasure novice class. The London resident placed second.Brody Hodges leads his pony through the Western showmanship novice class. Hodges and his siblings proved to be very helpful to the Junior Fair’s equine program this year, volunteering their time to clean stalls, sell concessions, and more. They took the top three places in the program’s volunteer hours competition: Savannah, first; Luke, second; and Brody, third.Alyssa Beres listens to what judge Terry Myers has to say about her performance in the Western pleasure easy gait class at the Junior Fair equine show. Beres, a member of the Fairfield Rascals 4-H Club, places fourth. Myers hails from Ostrander and has been judging horse shows for 47 years.Brian Fike points out one of his favorite entries in the Grange photography contest, a silhouetted tree at sunset. Fike traveled from Springfield to see his fiancée Sarah Boysel’s children participate at the Madison County Fair.Dolores Bauer of Willard, Ohio, checks out some of the Grange sewing entries. She visited the Madison County Fair to see her grandchildren–Andrew, Ellie and Ainsley Heisler–show dairy, goat, and Cloverbud projects. In Willard, Bauer volunteers at Teen Challenge, teaching young women with addictions how to sew.
