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SHOPPER’S GUIDE Serving the communities in Stephenson County

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YOUR FREE HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER

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VOLUME 77, NUMBER 29

211553

July 22, 2015

Area young men and women work hard to compete at the county fair Tony Carton Editor

FREEPORT — While many fair goers look forward to fried food, dizzying rides, and grandstand concerts by an assortment of musicians, young competitors don’t let the hype, clutter and monster tractors distract from the beating heart of every county fair everywhere: the farming competitions. County fairs have always been all about those competitions, especially the showing contests. According to a brief history of county fairs by the Encyclopedia of Chicago, livestock judging, plowing contests, and the like were what brought people together in organized competitions in the first place. Some things don’t change over time and today, the concentration, the emotion, the intensity, and the pride not only remain, they’re what separate a county fair from an amusement park. Meg Tessendorf of Kent showed her Southdown sheep at the Stephenson County Fair. She worked hard with her Southdowns, feeding, grooming and training them for show and finally, last week they won their class. “My brothers used to show Southdowns when I was little and my neighbor was getting rid of his so I got a couple,” said Tessendorf. “They’re very easy to work with.” She said the Southdown breeds are the first choice of many youth, families and sheep producers and are used primarily for meat production. “On Wednesday I got Grand Champion overall with one of my junior year lamb and Reserve Champion overall with my ram,” Tessendorf said. “We did very well this

year and I’m going to continue raising the Southdowns for awhile.” A few steps away, in the barn where the beef competition was underway, Drake Musser was showing his crossbred steer. “I have Crossbred and my sister shows the Angus,” said Musser. “I show in AOB and Crossbred.” He said his steer weighed in at 1300 lbs. and is red, while his heifers are all black. “One of them was homeraised and the other two we bought,” he said. “They’ve done really well.” Really well is an understatement. Musser and animals took top awards in this year’s beef competition. “My home-raised actually won the whole show,” he said. Musser has aspirations to become enter the veterinary world and sees raising livestock for completion as early training. “My family has been raising cattle for several generations,” Musser said. “Competition requires training and a certain discipline.” He said in any competition the judges are mostly looking how you present your animal. “They look at how fast you set up your animal and how good you present it,” he said. “You have to calmly walk your animal out and set it in its spot to make it look good.” He said when the animal cooperates everything goes smoothly, but when there is hesitation or distraction there can be problems. “Showing is an art,” Musser said. “You have to teach the animal what to do. We usually walk them around in the barn and help them get set up and then get them used to standing in that position.

Tracy Siegner photo

Meg Tessendorf of Kent showed the Grand Champion and Reserve Champion Southdown sheep at the Stephenson County Fair.

Sometimes if the judge takes a while, the animal will have to stand two or three minutes, but most of the time it’s only for a minute or so.” Showmanship counts too and that means the owner trains rigorously as well. Cattle chores often begin year round at sunrise with feeding, watering, cleaning stalls and corrals. A young person

must practice walking their cattle, so as to prepare for the showmanship section. The cattle have to be repeatedly groomed and washed to ensure proper behavior during the necessary bathing at the fair. These activities are the daily regime for every young person entered in the livestock competitions of a fair.

The Stephenson County Fair is a chance for the young people in our area to show off their hard work, share in each other‘s skills and craftsmanship and be rewarded for their efforts. Support them if you see them tending their animals or practicing their skills. The Stephenson County Fair is a community gathering worthy of celebration.

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