4-H’ers looking forward to fair

Lorain County 4-H participants are closer to showing months, even years, worth of work done with their animals at the 173rd Lorain County Fair.

The youngsters will share various skills of the animals they raised through competitions during the weeklong summer event, Aug. 20-26, in Wellington.

Clair Ensign

Claire Ensign, 17, of Elyria, was planning to compete with her new horse Jackson, 5, at this year’s fair.

Claire has been involved in the 4-H club for about seven years and currently is a member of the Junior Fair Board for dog shows.

She has shown a cat and horses in her 4-H career, which lead to her earning the title of Horse Queen in 2017 with her previous companion Roanie, 11.

However, Claire recently decided not to show Jackson, which she acquired this April, because she said he still needed more practice before showing at the fair.

When Claire first got Jackson, she said he was more of a project horse because he had not fully matured.

Claire continues to ride Jackson at least five days a week and grooms him daily.

She said she exposed him to other animals in a barn and people this summer at the All-American Youth Show in Columbus.

Now, Jackson is more calm and cooperative with other animals and people, Claire said.

However, she said she believes he will be ready for next year’s fair, which would be her last year competing.

Although Jackson will not show this year, Claire said she will work for the Junior Fair in the dog and mini horse competitions.

Claire said she’s looking forward to passing down her Horse Queen crown and give it to the next winner at the fair.

She added she can’t wait to see her fair friends and eat the delicious food.

Kayler Frey

Kayler Frey, 16, of Avon, is planning to show her steer, Triton, and her heifer, Nova. Both are over a year old. Kayler, a sophomore at Avon High School, has raised and showed steers for the last three years and is Beef Chair of the Junior Fair Board.

She began her experience six years ago with 4-H by showing pigs.

In preparation of this year’s fair, Kayler said she participated with Triton and Nova in the Ohio Beef Expo in March.

She and Nova won the title of Reserve Champion Heifer, Best of the Buckeye, Low percent of the All Other Breed division.

Kayler said she prepares Nova for the fair all year around, and Triton in November.

In early preparation, Kayler washes each animal daily and helps them get ready for their new fluffy coat.

As the fair nears and summers are hotter, neither of their coats have grown, she said.

Their coats don’t look too bad, but it can affect judging, Kayler said.

She said since having the animals, she had learned a lot about them.

“Growing up in 4-H, I was always rely on someone,” Kayler said. “Now, it doesn’t take much (independently). I’ve shown both in previous shows and these projects have become easier.”

Kayler said she’s looking forward to her showmanship competition this year.

“I’m excited for showmanship every year,” she said. “It’s what I do best.”

Kayler will show Nova in the breed competition at 8:30 a.m., Aug. 22; and Triton at 9 a.m., Aug. 23.

As beef chair of Junior Fair, she said she has gone to the fairgrounds since Aug. 1 to clean out barns.

Tori Dular

Tori Dular, 15, of Grafton, is in an Avian and Poultry Club member and will show her male Phoenix rooster Mignonne — which is French for cute — at this year’s fair.

Mignonne is 10 months old.

Tori, a member of 4-H for over five years, has experience with rabbits, turkeys and larger animals.

She has the most experience with poultry.

Mignonne was hatched along with a fowl hen named Miracle.

Tori had a plan to only show Miracle at the fair if Mignonne is not ready for judging.

She said it’s best to have a backup bird or another form of poultry because of cold weather.

However, Tori said both birds are doing well.

She said it’s easier to naturally clean her birds, let their feathers grow and for them to naturally eat in the summer once they are out of their pens.

Mignonne’s feathers have grown about 12 inches since April, making them about a foot-and-a-half, Tori said.

She said she has consistently practiced with them with standing in one place and flipping them over to better show their full appearance.

Mignonne has yet to have open-judging before fair time.

She said she’s excited to show Mignonne in the Junior Fair Fowl competition Aug. 20.

Tori will help her 4-H club, the Grafton Grangers, as the members participate in many of the childfriendly activities throughout fair week.

She also will auction her turkey for the first time.

“I’m excited to go to auction, because I’ve never been part of it for a livestock animal,” she said. “I can learn what I could change for next year, and just meet a whole new crowd of people.

“It’s like a business where people are looking at everything rather than just the breed.”

BRIANA CONTRERAS — THE MORNING JOURNAL Claire Ensign, 17, of Elyria, has been involved in the 4-H club for about seven years and today is a member of the Junior Fair Board for dog shows in the Lorain County Fair. Claire has shown a cat and mostly horses in her 4-H career and was crowned as Horse Queen in 2017 with her previous companion Roanie, 11. She will be helping with dog and horse shows during this year’s fair, which is from Aug. 20-26.