Written by Guest Writer: Porter C. Hossack
Porter and his pig Goose
The Rio Blanco County Fair is very important to our community as well as to the kids who are involved with either 4-H or FFA. As a senior showman who has been involved in FFA/4-H for three years, words cannot describe how much it has taught me and morphed me into the person I am today.
As a showman, I have learned dedication, responsibility, trustworthiness, grit, and so much more. I have learned how to be humble when losing and know that I put everything I had into my livestock no matter what the final outcome will be.
I have learned to be a teacher to the young showman who are just getting a taste of an adventure they will cherish the rest of their lives. Through 4-H and FFA, kids learn where their food comes from, and realize it doesn’t just come straight from the grocery store.
Yes, in the end there will be some tears shed when kids have to let go of that favorite steer or favorite pig they’ve woken up for at 7 oclock in the morning to feed and then the same thing in the evening. Believe me, I’ve been there. But that’s the beauty of it. When a kid cries over the animal they have to sell, it shows just how important that really was to them.
With showing or any other part of the county fair, there is also great reward. Like the feeling when you get to shake the judges hand in the final drive because your pig just won the fair, or when your steer gets the champion slap.
But nothing compares to the life values it teaches you and you will continue to learn as long as you are enrolled in 4-H and FFA as well as partake in the Rio Blanco County Fair.
When reading this, I hope people will understand how important the county fair is. And for the people who are not involved yet and are on the fencepost about either joining 4-H or FFA, do it. Give it a try, and I promise you, you will never want to quit.
The Rio Blanco County Fair Junior Livestock Sale will be held on Saturday, August 8th, at 6:00 pm. Local businesses and individuals have generously supported the Junior Livestock Sale in years past and should be recognized for their continued dedication to rewarding youth for their hard work.
The atmosphere is always vibrant and exciting with the anticipation of who might be able to get the winning bid for the much-loved, market animals. Thank you.
Sierra with her fair pig “Dilly”; photo courtesy of Michelle Cox Photography, LLC
