Fair Season Kicks Off For Clark County Youth

By MAGGIE MCMURRAY

Moapa Valley Progress

The sounds of lambs, goats and pigs joined the voices of hundreds of youngsters on Saturday at the Clark County Fairgrounds in an excited chorus that heralded the start of fair season.

The Clark County Junior Livestock Association held its annual weigh-in and pre-show event for kids who are showing lambs, goats and pigs at this year’s Clark County Fair that will be held April 10-14. The event is open to all kids between the ages of 9 and 19 that live in Clark, Lincoln and Nye counties and are members of either 4-H or FFA.

The weigh-in portion of the day began at 7 a.m. and concluded at 11 a.m.. Two different scales operated non-stop throughout the morning to make sure everyone was accommodated as efficiently as possible. This year saw a rise in numbers almost across the board.

CCJLA Secretary Missy Hardy was pleased with how that portion of the day went. “Everything ran very smoothly this year, even with the increased numbers,” she said. “We’re always excited to see more kids taking advantage of this great opportunity to learn and grow.”

Hardy said that the organization really appreciates their volunteers and loves the amount of participation they saw from the kids this year.
“We’re really excited to see everything come together at the fair in April,” she said.

The concluding event of the day was the afternoon pre-show. This event gave kids the chance to learn just what’s involved with entering the showring at the fair in April.

This year’s judge, Triston Roberts, came all the way from Springfield, IL, to help out. He was pleased with the caliber of contestants that he judged.
“I love to come and work with the kids, especially the younger ones,” he said. “I was really impressed with how well they showed and the number of kids that could show different species and still do a great job.”

Intermediate beef showman Mason Wheeler, who won 2nd place in his class, said that he participated to prepare for the fair and to see where he needs to improve.
“It was not only fun, but I learned I needed to work on setting my steer’s feet better so that’s what I’m going to practice,” he said. “It was a great experience.”

CCJLA President Corey Houston was also pleased with how the day ran.
“This is one of our favorite days of the year,” Houston said. “I love to see how enthusiastic the kids are and how excited they are about their projects. This is a great program and something worth being a part of. I’m happy everything went as well as it did.”

Prizes were awarded to the top three showmen in each class donated by the Lance Rider family and Sullivan Show Supply.

This year’s winners of the beef show were: Seniors-Anna Stratton, 1st; Ryan McMurray, 2nd; Joy Hatch, 3rd. Intermediates-Clay Whipple, 1st; Mason Wheeler, 2nd; Shayla Wolfley, 3rd. Juniors-Rylan Sproul, 1st; Koby Herring, 2nd.

Swine show winners were: Seniors-Emily Matheson, 1st; Avery Freeman, 2nd; Victoria Herring, 3rd. Intermediates-Andi Webber, 1st; Avery Freeman, 2nd; Taytum Yardley, 3rd. Juniors-Fallon Yardley, 1st; Ellie Webber, 2nd; Prentice Freeman, 3rd.

Lamb show winners were: Seniors-Anna Stratton, 1st; Cassidie Jones, 2nd; Avery Freeman, 3rd. Intermediates-Shayla Wolfley, 1st; Layla Moncrief, 2nd; Nadia Shakespear, 3rd. Juniors-Aurelie Stratton, 1st; Lyla Shakespear, 2nd; Khloe May, 3rd.

Goat show winners were: Seniors-Anna Stratton, 1st; Victoria Herring, 2nd; Emily Matheson, 3rd. Intermediates-Nadia Shakespear, 1st; Shayla Wolfley, 2nd; Layla Moncrief, 3rd. Juniors-Fallon Yardley, 1st; Aurelie Stratton, 2nd; Rylan Sproul, 3rd.