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By Emily King

Long before the trailers of livestock roll onto the fairgrounds, before the scent of funnel cakes and corn dogs laces the air, a team of organizers and volunteers has been working for months

on making this year’s fair the event of the summer. And once the last visitor has passed through the gates and the midway lights turn off, planning for next year’s fair is underway.

Photos courtesy of Washington County Agricultural Fair

6 Washington County Agricultural Fair July 30, 2026

attendees will see a slightly different format from previous years, with a figure-eight track that loops the vehicles around two intersecting circles at the center, adding an extra element of thrill to the fair’s most popular event.

The school bus demolition derby takes place on Wednes-

Band (last Saturday). You can find these musical acts at the Dollar Bank-sponsored Nadene Gardner Show Tent.

The fair’s youngest patrons will find countless activities on the fairgrounds to keep them busy throughout the week. The Rock n’ Roll Kids Pet Show will be back with singer/songwriter

Cowgirls take center stage at the Washington County Fair

By Emily King

Photos courtesy of Washington County Agricultural Fair

It reads like the setup of a blockbuster movie: a second-generation rodeo cowboy starts an all-women rodeo school in Pennsylvania, with the help of a scrappy Hall of Fame Montana cowgirl. On the first day, thirty women show up, from all different backgrounds. They proceed to sell out rodeos across the country. Lifelong bonds are formed, new rodeo fans are created and some bones are broken.

Dave Zebrovious, owner of Circle Z Bar Ranch in Fredonia, grew up in a rodeo family and has spent decades as a pickup man, stock contractor and trainer. He noticed more women were becoming interested in the sport. While women were holding their own against the men, Zebrovious believed they deserved a division designed specifically for female athletes and horses appropriately matched to them.

sidering — an all-women roughstock bronc riding school. But he needed help, and he wanted the best. He teamed up with Brittany “Bucking Horse Gal” Miller, a Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame phenom who has started women’s rodeo schools all over the world. On the first day of rodeo school, a whopping thirty women showed up.

“This is the wild part,” says Zebrovious. “We’ve had girls that had never ridden a horse or been around horses. Then we’ve had girls that have an extensive background in the horse industry. We’ve had cage match fighters, beauticians, mason workers, blacksmiths.”

The common thread between these women was the desire for adventure, competition and community.

In 2023, Zebrovious took a chance on an idea he’d been con-

The All-American Roughstock Academy Ladies Ranch Bronc division became the first and only all-women ranch bronc riding team in the northeastern United States. The team quickly became a hit with audiences who enjoyed seeing these strong female athletes handle such powerful animals with grit, control, and finesse.

Becki Hockenberry of Ship-

pensburg is a hair stylist, an esthetician, a mom and now a rodeo star. She has been around horses her whole life but hadn’t given rodeo a serious thought until her young daughter started competing in rodeo queen pageants. She wanted to show her daughter that women can do anything, whether that’s putting on the glam as a rodeo ambassador or riding the bucking broncos in the ring.

Hockenberry knew that if she were going to pursue this, she would do it the right way. She signed up for Brittany Miller’s school at Circle Z and was equally impressed with Zebrovious’ professionalism and dedication to the sport.

“He’s extremely adamant about taking care of his horses and making sure that they’re saddled properly,” she says. “I didn’t realize the horsemanship that went into this.”

Zebrovious owns his horses and is incredibly selective, choosing those specifically bred for roughstock riding and with the temperament to excel in training. This is crucial for safety.

Hockenberry says that even though they are competing against each other, the women are incredibly supportive of one another and celebrate each other’s wins wholeheartedly.

“One woman just won her first buckle after a year and a half of doing this at the last rodeo we were at, and everyone was ecstatic for her. No one cared that they didn’t win,” she says.

The rodeo is notoriously rough, though, and Hockenberry recently sustained an injury she blames on herself. She tried to ride at five weeks postpartum because she was so eager to get back to her sport. She quickly realized that even though her mind was ready, her core muscles were not, and she fractured her hand.

That’s where some people are critical of female rodeo riders. Hockenberry has come across a few older men in the sport who are set in their cowboy sensibilities and don’t like seeing the women get hurt.

“Even then, once they see us ride, most of the time they come around,” she says.

Since her injury, Hockenberry has devoted herself to training and conditioning at the gym, rebuilding her strength.

“I don’t think a lot of riders think about how much conditioning is involved. Yeah, I took it for granted,” she says. “You need a lot of core strength for this, core and upper body.”

Beyond the physical strength she’s developed, Hockenberry says the rodeo has given her something even more valuable: mental resilience and a sense of community. She has formed incredible bonds with the team, Miller, Zebrovious, and his partner, Karin Powell.

“I have this whole sense of community that I really didn’t have before,” she says.

You can catch the AARSA Ladies Ranch Bronc Division at the Washington County Agricultural Fair Rodeo on Sunday, August 16, at 7:30 p.m.

Monster truck roundup: A crowd favorite returns to the Washington County Fair

By Haven Stetor

Photos courtesy of Washington County Agricultural Fair

After about a five-year hiatus from the Washington County Agricultural Fair, monster trucks will be returning to the grounds. The event was put on pause after several years of bad weather, prompting the fair to temporarily replace it with drag racing. Now, organizers are excited to welcome the crowd favorite back to the fair.

“The people are gonna see tricks, they’re gonna see stoppies and they’re gonna see big air,” stated Billy Braukmann, one of the drivers performing at the Washington County Agricultural Fair.

This year, the fair is partnering with the Monster Truck Roundup, a family-operated promotion led by siblings Billy Braukmann and Jessica Millard, whose father spent more than two decades touring the country

with monster trucks. Now, the pair continues the business, but closer to home so that they can balance their own families. They drive the trucks, organize the events and make sure that the shows are family-focused and interactive for all ages. Before the show, families will be allowed on the track to meet the drivers and see the trucks up close. They will also have the opportunity to ride in a real monster truck before the action begins.

“An hour before the show, everyone’s allowed out on the track to meet the drivers and the trucks,” said Braukmann. “We want families to get up close, take pictures, get autographs and really be part of the experience.”

The lineup for the fair features four monster trucks, each with its own unique name and theme. Braukmann

drives Shockwave, and his sister Jessica drives Be Aware, a truck dedicated to raising awareness for breast cancer. Muddy Girl, a muddy truck with a bright pink frame, will be driven by Anne Breaud. Backdraft, a fire truck-themed monster truck that honors first responders and those who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, driven by Justin Perkins, will also make an appearance.

Once the show begins, spectators can expect jumps over dirt ramps, wheelies, stoppies and other crowd-favorite tricks. Fairgoers will be on the edge of their seats with every pass across the arena.

Bringing monster trucks back to the fair is a large task for organizers. After the 4-H horse show concludes on Thursday afternoon, Fair Board member Gino Bioni will use his excavating equipment to convert the arena into a course of dirt ramps and obstacles.

“It’s just a matter of Gino, who’s on our board, and he has construction equipment, you know, the excavators and stuff, for building the ramps or whatever they want built for the event,” Fair Board President Wayne Hunnell said.

Hunnell said Bioni spends hours preparing the

grounds for fair events, working late into the night to make sure everything is ready before the crowds arrive. That behind-the-scenes dedication is what makes attractions like these possible.

“It takes a bit of organization,” Hunnell stated. “But I think the fact that we haven’t had it here for that length of time will bring a lot of folks back into it.”

The Monster Truck Roundup is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 20, at the grandstand. Fans can arrive early to see the trucks parked by 5:30 p.m., go to the track party at 6 p.m. and catch the main show at 7 p.m.

The Range Pad: A space that serves the community year-round

By Haven Stetor

Many fairgoers do not think twice about the gravel lot near Hickory Ridge Road, but this space, known as the “Range Pad,” has become an essential part of the Washington County Fairgrounds. It was constructed about nine years ago by Range Resources to serve as a staging ground for their local operations.

While it may appear to be nothing but a patch of gravel, the Range Pad was actually built with multiple layers of stone capable of supporting trucks weighing up to 80,000 pounds. According to Fair Board President Wayne Hunnell, the special construction allows the surface to handle constant movement and heavy traffic without leaving ruts or damaging the fairgrounds.

The project also improved the overall appearance of the fair-

grounds. During construction, Range Resources cleared overgrown brush along Hickory Ridge Road and installed fencing, which enhanced the overall curb appeal and created a cleaner look.

The pad’s original purpose was to support Range’s drilling operations, but it quickly became an essential space for the fair itself. Its flat, easily accessible location makes it perfect for handicap parking, with golf carts transporting guests to and from the fair festivities. Throughout the rest of the year, the lot continues to serve a variety of purposes, acting as a versatile resource for Washington County.

Over the years, the pad has been used by utility companies completing infrastructure projects, businesses looking for temporary truck parking and, more recently, Penn Commercial Business/Technical

Photos by Wayne Hunnell

School as part of its commercial driver’s license training program.

“This lot has gotten a lot of different uses,” Hunnell said. “It’s benefited the fair for years.”

On June 17, Range Resources returned to the site to support a month-long project at a nearby well pad. This request required fair officials to reorganize existing plans because the lot had already been reserved for Penn Commercial. Fortunately, Penn Commercial Business/Technical School was able to adjust its training schedule while Range completed their project. Once Range’s work is finished, Penn Commercial will resume use of the space.

For Hunnell, going above and beyond to work out a solution was an easy decision because of Range Resources’ long history of supporting the Washington County Agricultural Fair.

Range has served as a longtime sponsor of the fair. The company has sponsored fair events each year, purchased animals during the market livestock sale and funded improvements to the fairgrounds, including replacing the canopy over the food court, now known as

the Range Resources Food Court.

“They’ve been a huge supporter of the fair since they came into the community,” Hunnell said. “When they came back and asked me to use the lot again, it was something we wanted to make work.”

Today, the Range Pad serves as a versatile space for the community year-round. It provides fairgoers with accessible parking, supports local businesses and workforce training throughout the year and continues to generate additional revenue for the fair. What began as an area to hold Range Resources’ heavy equipment has become a lasting investment in the fairgrounds. It is a prime example of what strong community partnerships can provide in Washington County.

Many Washington County residents drive past the lot without giving it a second thought. However, for Hunnell, the Range Pad is proof of what good collaboration can foster. “That lot has had a multitude of different uses that have benefited the fair for years,” Hunnell stated. “It was built for those heavy trucks, but it has turned into a project that serves the fair in so many ways.”