Today was the Open Dairy Show. The classes go in order of age, from youngest to oldest, so mine was the first class. We start by walking around the ring very slowly. The judge looks at all the animals and one by one, stops them to examine them more closely. When one animal is stopped all the rest have to stop, too, so here we are waiting our turn.
The judge had us line up in a row so he could compare individual calves against each other more easily. I tried to stand Cricket next to a calf that was shorter than she was.
Cricket got 6th place. I was very excited to get a ribbon, and she was very well-behaved. I’m so proud of her.
We all got ribbons except Blake, but his class was big and very competitive, and he wasn’t last, so that’s something. This is Blake's class lining up.
Anna giving Beatrice a pep talk before their class. There were only 2 other heifers in that age group, and the one who won the class was 6 inches taller than Beatrice! Height is a major factor in the judging, especially in junior animals (2 years or under) because if a heifer is a lot taller than her peers, even considering age, it means she's growing well and will be a big cow and hopefully will be a good producer. The cow that won that class was also Grand Champion Holstein.
Anna in the show ring.
After the individual cows are show, they have group classes. We were entered in the Junior Best Three class. Each farm picks its three of its best young animals, and they are judged together against the animals from the other farms. Wanda picked Katy, Adrianna and I to show our calves again in this class. We didn't get ribbons, but we weren't last either, and to me, that counts for something.
Our successful show string.
A class later in the day, Senior Best Three, I think.
As soon as the show is finished, there is a rush to the milking parlor. None of the cows have been milked all day, because they need full udders to look good in the show ring.
The show is done!
I honestly don’t remember where the rest of Friday went. I guess I watched the rest of the show, ate lunch, napped, and then took Katarina (Wanda's daughter) and her new friend Lauren on one ride. I let them pick it, which was a big mistake because the picked the spinning-est ride there. I felt like someone was swirling my insides around, trying to make a tornado like you can in a cup of water.
Today was the last day of the fair. We had an easy morning because we didn’t have to wash the animals as carefully since they weren’t going in the show ring. We had to use this stuff called Hocus Pocus to get the Prime Time adhesive out of their toplines. All for vanity! as Steve would say. I spent most of the morning reading my book, and most of the afternoon, too. I walked around with Anna and got fresh-squeezed lemonade, one of my requisite fair foods. Around 2 o’clock, Adrianna (Steve’s daughter) came to get us to take the animals to the trailer. They all seemed very happy to be heading home, and Cricket hopped right into the trailer as if she was born to do the county fair circuit. I held down the fort while Blake and Steven took them home and nearly finished my book. Blake and Katy and Kristy met Steve and I at the garage to unload all the show equipment, and then Blake and I went back to watch the demolition derby. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, but it was pretty amusing. You could easily see how a bunch of guys were sitting around and one said, “Hey, let’s find some old cars and crash them into each other!”
