boone county fair

2 Boone County 4-H Utopia Fair

Boone County’s fairest of the fair . . . . 34-H Country Ham Project . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Barrel and pole racing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Fishing Frenzy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Livestock lend life’s lessons . . . . . . . . . 7Miniature garden tractors . . . . . . . . . . . 9Photography classes at the fair . . . . . 10Demo derbies offer bang-up times . . 12Fair photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Horse show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

InsideThe Boone County Fair program ispublished yearly by the Specialty

Publications Department of The Community Recorder.

Questions and comments can besent to Editor Melissa Hayden c/oThe Community Press/394 Wards

Corner/Loveland, OH 45140, e-mail

[email protected],or call 513-248-7121.

For advertising call 578-5501.

Contact

3August 2010

By Patricia A. Scheyer | Contributor

The Boone County Fair startedway back in 1932, when theworld was a different place andBoone County was almost 100percent agricultural. John Waltonwas 9 years old in 1940, and hewas able to show animals at thefair that year.

“When the fair started, it washeld in Florence at theFairgrounds across from whereSt. Paul’s church is now,” saidWalton. “Then it moved to theHarvest Home grounds, onLimaburg road, by the golfcourse. Then it went to theBurlington elementary grounds,where the bus pen is now.Finally, it was moved to the pres-ent fairgrounds.”

Walton was a 4-Her in 1940,and he showed chickens and gar-den produce at the fair. It musthave made a great impression onhim, because he became chair ofthe Fair Board in 1958, and he isstill the chair.

“Back then, people loved thefair, because it gave them achance to bring what they hadgrown all year, and socialize withtheir neighbors,” explainedWalton. “Now the county isincreasingly more urbanized, andpeople get together with theirneighbors all year round. Butthey still love the fair.”

The 2010 County fair willbegin on Saturday, July 31, with atractor pull at the fairgrounds.On Sunday everyone will set up,

so the fair can officially open onMonday, August 2. Admission is$8, and that includes all the rides.

“This year we are expandingthe carnival part of the fair, andwe will have a few more rides forthe kids,” said Walton. “We havea catalog of events available atthe Extension Office, or you cango online to www.boonecounty-fair.org.

Be careful to go only to thiswebsite, or you may get anotherstate. We have horse shows every

night, as usual, and Tuesday isthe Miss Boone County Fair con-test.”

Sandra Cupps is a boardmember who helps organizeevery year.

“On Friday night we will behaving something new, a minihot rod tractor pull with lawntractors,” she said. “We also havea new 4-H Country ham exhibit,which is a new class. It is signifi-cant because the kids compete ata state level on this exhibit.”

Both Walton and Cupps saythey try to keep the fair as closeto its agricultural roots as possi-ble, and emphasize that all thework is done by volunteers. Allthe money raised goes right backinto the coffers for next year’sfair.

“And even though we haven’thad this one yet, we’re starting towork on next year’s now,” saidWalton. “But this fair is one ofthe best ever. Y’all come on downand enjoy the fun!”

Boone County’s fairest of the fair

Don’t miss out on the Boone County Fair. There’s lots to do and see for everyone.

To advertisein the next

year’s fair bookcall 578-5501.


By Neva Martin | Contributor

The 4-H Country Ham Projectmade its debut last year in BooneCounty, and this year has nearlydoubled its participants from 13to 25.

Paul Kroth, who leads theendeavor, has worked with 4-Hfor many years, attendingUniversity of Kentucky Extensionprograms and becoming a certi-fied livestock leader.

“UK has several programs andthe Ham Project is one of them,”said Kroth, a Union resident witha farm on Longbranch Road.“We’re always looking for some-thing new for kids to getinvolved (with). (The HamProject) works for kids who don’thave a farm.”

Last year, the state providedthe 4-H youngsters , ages 9-18, inthe Ham Project with two freshhams apiece in January, alongwith two ham socks and curingingredients (sugar, pepper andsalt). The 4-Hers learned the cur-ing procedure and took the hamsto the Kentucky State Fair, where

they had to write and give athree- to five-minute speech.

This year, before going direct-ly to the state fair, which beginsAug. 29, the 4-Hers will exhibitone of their hams at the BooneCounty Fair competition.

“The state will allow us totake one of our hams for ourcounty fair and one to the statefair,” Kroth added. “After thecompetitions in both places, eachkid gets their hams back. But ifthey don’t give their speech (atthe state fair), they have to givethe hams back.”

Learning how to cure hamsteaches youth about where theirfood comes from, said Kroth.

“(Curing) dates back thou-sands of years. Put it in therefrigerator and after three yearsyou can still eat it,” he added.“The oral presentation helpsthem gain confidence.”

Brooke and Bethany Slagle aretwo 4-Hers who started absorb-ing these lessons last year.

“You learn to process hamsand be respectful and (the pro-gram) teaches you to speak in

front of people,” said 11-year-oldBrooke.

Her 14-year-old sister Bethanyagreed.

“Last year we were just start-ing out,” said Bethany.“Everyone was learning newstuff. This year it went a lotsmoother.”

Dale and Brent Mastin, ages 12and 10, said in addition to learn-ing how to wash, cure and hangtheir hams, they had to find othersupplies for their “ham house.”

“We had to get our own fansand ham hooks,” said Dale.

Topics for their speecheschange every year. Juniors, age13 and under, will talk of the his-tory of country hams and how itfits into Kentucky history. The 14-and-older group will speak onhow to market and sell countryhams, said Christy Eastwood,Youth Development agent.

Last year’s topic, how to curehams, garnered awards for a cou-ple of the juniors at the state fair,said Rosemary Mastin, Dale andBrent’s mother.

“Brent won first place with hisham and Brooke got fourthplace,” said Rosemary. “We didreally well for the first year.”

All are hopeful it will go wellagain. In addition to the HamProject, Brent and Dale will alsoexhibit livestock that includestwo hogs apiece, as well as veg-etables.

“We’re going to eat part of myprize ham this Thanksgiving,”said Brent.

Now in its second year of the ‘cure’The 4-H Country Ham Project

Brook Slagle won fourth place in the stateon her 4-H Country Ham Project last year.

5August 2010

By Patricia A. Scheyer |Contributor

The Boone County Fairwill again host a livelysession of barrel and poleracing beginning at 7 p.m.on Tuesday, Aug. 3.Linda Green, a FairBoard memberwho has beenorganizing theshow for morethan 20 years, saysshe has lots of helpfrom her family set-ting the event up.

“Everybody pitches inand helps,” she said.“We always have avery good crowd,even though ourshow goes on oppo-site the Miss BooneCounty fair contest.It’s great, because there’ssomething for everybody’staste at the fair!”

The barrel and poleracing are timed eventsfor older children andadults, and there is a con-test for children age 8 andunder that leads off theprogram.

“Our first program isthe Peewee Pole contest,and it is a real crowdpleaser because you havethese little bitty kids onthese big horses, and it’sso cute,” said Green.

“The judges are prettylenient with this class,though, and many timesyou have parents orgrandparents leading thehorse through the course.It is considered a learningexperience, and there isplenty of time for pic-tures.”

The second group isages 9 to 18, and the con-test is more serious, with

contestants vying witheach other to beat the besttime, without knockinganything down. Oncethese contestants finishbarrel and pole racing, theOpen category is held,where anyone can enter

and compete,although no rider cancompete in both theYouth and the Opencontests. Entrancefees are $5 for thePeewee, $15 for theYouth, and $20 for

the Open category.“We jackpot our

class entryfees,” said

Green.“Depending on

how many peo-ple enter, we figure

out a percentage,and then divide the

pot. We do ask all our rid-ers to wear boots, and Iactually prefer they notwear hats, because whenthey come off – and theydo when you’re ridingfast – it’s just one morething in the way.”

Green’s granddaughter,Kristin, is 15 years old,and she has been ridingall her life. She regularlycompetes in barrel andpole racing, although shesays she likes poles a littlebetter.

“My horse, Peppy, is alittle better at poles,” sheexplained. “I think the keyis that you have to practicea lot. People really like thepole and barrel racesbecause it is exciting, andyou don’t have to be quiet– you can yell for the allthe riders if you want to. Ilove to race, and it’s greatwhen you hear the peopleyelling.”

Barrel andpole racingare exciting



Goin’ fishin’ hasbecome a good way tolure youngsters to the fairtwo days early, by way ofthe Fishing Frenzy.

Now in its second year,the Fishing Frenzy will beheld from 2:30 p.m. to4:30 p.m. Saturday, July31, at the lake directly infront of the fairgrounds,welcoming youth ages 15and younger for thiscatch-and-release event.

“Everyone had a lot offun last year,” said PaulAnkenbauer, programplanner for Boone CountyParks Department, whichcoordinates this free eventthat he calls a youth fish-ing derby. “We had 100participants.”

Parents must accompa-ny their children and theycan fish as well, if theyhave a Kentucky fishinglicense, Ankenbaueradded. The kids don’thave to have one.

Boone County Parksconducts a couple of fish-ing derbies throughoutthe year and will again beaided by volunteers fromNorthern KentuckyFlyfishers, who will helpthe children and supplythe poles.

“This year we’ll takethe kids’ pictures whenthey catch one,”Ankenbauer said, addingthat each child willreceive a certificate withthe picture.

The child needn’t feelbad if he or she doesn’treel in a catch.

“We have our ownpark fish,” Ankenbauersaid with a chuckle. “Ifthey don’t catch a fish outof the lake, we provide a

rubber bass fish. Wealways say it’s the mostphotographed fish inBoone County. We use itall the time.”

Sally Bridley ofBurlington took her sonRyle, now 11, to theFishing Frenzy last yearand called it “a greattime.”

“It was wonderful see-ing all the children,”Bridley said. “I liked itbecause it created a familyatmosphere. A friend fromacross the street partici-pated too, so we had twofamilies together.”

Ryle, a sixth-grader atCamp Ernst MiddleSchool, says he goes fish-ing a lot, and enjoyedFishing Frenzy.

“I caught a catfish anda couple of bluegill,” Rylesaid, and enjoyed fishingwith his best buddy, LarryFugate. “His little brothercaught 10 catfish.”

For additional informa-tion about the FishingFrenzy, call the BooneCounty Parks Departmentat 334-2117 or go to www.boonecountyfair.org.

Fishing Frenzyfares ‘reel’ wellwith families

Brent Mastin of Petersburgproudly displays his catch atlast year's Fishing Frenzy.

7August 2010


It wouldn’t be a county fairwithout livestock, and BooneCounty will host seven differentshows of livestock at the fair inAugust; poultry, which has ducksand chickens, two sheep shows,goats, swine, rabbits, beef anddairy. Winners of the shows areGrand Champion, Reserve, andthen they can place up to fourslots down from there.

“It all depends on how manyentries there are in each show,”said Christy Eastwood, BooneCounty 4-H Youth DevelopmentAgent. “The smallest show isusually dairy.”

Children can show animalsfrom the time they are nine yearsold until they are 18 when theyare in 4-H, and a lot of work goesinto the project.

“The whole thing starts whenthey pick out the animal that they

are going to raise,” saidEastwood. “They have to look atthe structure of the young ani-mal, and decide which animalwill ultimately produce the bestmuscle and structure.

“Then they have to figure outhow much food they need to buyand feed the animal to have itreach the desired weight goal bythe time of the fair. There is a lotfor them to consider, and it allgoes into the learning process forthem to understand how to raisea good animal.”

Eastwood said the projectalmost always becomes a familyproject, but the student usuallylearns responsibility, time man-agement, and money manage-ment.

Eleven-year-old Aubrey Baysof Walton enters more than oneanimal, usually showing in thegoats, the lambs, and the dairyfeeder steers. She does look for

certain characteristics in the ani-mals that will mean that theywill have more muscle, andtherefore be more attractive tobuyers at the fair.

“In goats, I look for a moresquare shape to them,” she said.“I also look for a long loin. Theyare like dogs, because they fol-low you around, and they comewhen you call them.”

She admitted that it is alwayshard to give the animals up,because she becomes close tothem.

“I always want to give themaffection, and that really is a partof raising a good animal,” sheexplained. “But loving themmakes it hard to give them up. Ido have help with figuring outhow much to feed all my ani-mals, and I am learning. When Igrow up, I’d like to be a veteri-narian. I love being in 4-H … it’sa lot of fun!”

Livestock lend life’s lessons

Raising livestock teaches young peoplemany great lessons about life andresponsibility.

9August 2010


It’s not your father’s regulargarden tractor, out merely tomow the grass or plant the cornand tomatoes. No, depending onthe class, it has been built to dosome heavy pulling.

A new feature at the fair thisyear, the Miniature Hot RodGarden Tractor Pull, rolls up at 7 p.m. Friday night at the MotorSports Arena, and has been adream of fair board member JimRudicill for some time.

“I guess I’m the one who pur-sued it,” said Rudicill. “I’ve seenthem (miniature garden tractorpulls) at other places and havewanted to have them for the lastfour or five years. We just hap-pened to have a Friday nightopen.”

Rudicill explained that, similar

to a regular farm tractor pullingcontest, the tractor is hooked upto a pulling sled that has a box ofweights on rollers that move for-ward, adding more weight andfinally stopping the tractor. Thetractor pulling its load the great-est distance wins. The contestincludes five classes, withengines that go from the lightestto heaviest.

“You’ve got motorcycleengines on them, hot rod trac-tors,” Rudicill added. “They’rebeefed up, not just regular gar-den tractors.”

In this first year, the NorthCentral Kentucky Garden TractorPullers will be the ones primarilyparticipating, he said.

Larry Curtsinger, leader of thetractor pullers organization, saidpeople will be coming fromeverywhere in the region, not just

locally.“We’ll likely have just four

classes competing; nobody hasshown up for the fifth classes,”he added. “That’s just where theyrun anything– (including) singlecyclinders, double or diesel.”

Besides fairground admission,which is $8, entry fees are $10 forClass 1 (1,000-pound sportsstock) and $20 for the others.

“Eighty percent (of entry fees)goes back to the pullers,”Curtsinger said.

Motor Sports Arena events area wonderful draw for fair goers,said Sandra Cupps, fair boardmember.

“Motor sports seem to be verypopular with all the action,” saidCupps. “The Motor Sports Arenais a nice venue and the fair-grounds itself is a nice venue.You may only have it in your

heart to see the power, but thenyou see the rides, the food andthe horses. This is a differentkind of horsepower.”

Rudicill said the MiniatureHot Rod Garden Tractor Pullmay be pulling its own weight inthe future.

“This year it’ll be the (NorthCentral Kentucky) club itself put-ting it on,” Rudicill said. “Nextyear, I’d say there’ll be peoplegetting involved and waiting tobuild a tractor themselves.”

For more information or toregister for the Mini Hot RodTractor Pull, call Larry Curtsingerat 289-7433.

Miniature garden tractors going for a lot of 'pull'

“Motor sportsseem to be verypopular with allthe action.”


By Patricia A. Scheyer |Contributor

There will be six newclasses of photography atthe Boone County Fairthis year. Rae Beasley hasbeen in charge of thePhotography Show formore than 20 years, andshe enjoys seeing the pic-tures that people turn in.

“Last year we had 339entries, and because therewere so many pictures,we ended up having asmany as 30 pictures ineach class,” said Beasley.“It’s better for the judges

if there are 15 to 20 pic-tures in each class. So Iwent to the board andasked if we could splitsome of the classes, andthat resulted in moreclasses, with a total of 28this year.”

One category is theblack and white photos,and within that categoryare people, scenic, pictori-al, nature, and small andlarge domestic and cap-tive animals. There aretwo categories of colorphotographs, one for ages14 and under, and one forages 15 and older.

Nineteen classes are in theolder category, and 4 inthe 14 and under. Thenew classes include wildbirds, bugs and insects,Kentucky barns, and sce-nic landscape, which hasbeen divided into rural,and city or urban.

“I am particularlyproud of the Kentuckybarns class, becauseBoone County started outas an agricultural area,and I’d love to see youngpeople drive around thecountryside, and takenotice of the farm build-ings before they all disap-pear,” said Beasley.

Beasley said that manytimes there is confusionabout what class to puttheir photo in. She speci-fied that if anyone hasquestions, they can callher at 525-2975. All pic-

tures have to be at thefairgrounds on Monday,Aug. 2, between 2 and 7pm. The pictures arejudged Tuesday morning.

A few things havechanged in the rules, suchas each person can stillenter six pictures, but theycan only enter one pictureper class, whereas lastyear two pictures per classwere allowed. Anotherconsideration is that eachpicture can be no smallerthan 4-by-6, and no largerthan 11-by-14, but thisyear the overall size canbe no larger than 16-by-20.

“Every year we havepeople who might have asmall picture, but they put

such a big mat on it, andwe have a lot of entries, sowe had to put a size limiton the entries,” saidBeasley. “Also, someonealways comes each yearwith a picture framedunder glass, and we can’taccept that. They have tobe mounted on a sturdyboard, and they can bematted.”

Virginia Lainhart ofHebron started beinginterested in photographysince around 1950, andover the years she hastaken photos of every-thing from animals toflowers to scenery duringher travels with her hus-band. She has collectedseveral ribbons from theBoone County Fair pho-tography contest, andisn’t sure if she is going toenter this year. But shehas a little advice for newphotographers.

“When you take pic-tures, you have to bepatient,“ she stated. “Youlook through theviewfinder, and think’what do I want to cap-ture?’ You don’t just pointand shoot. And what youcreate will always bringback memories, for yearsto come.”

New photography classes at fair



For crash-’em-up,burn-’em-up enthusiasts,7:30 p.m. is the magicaltime for the first threenights of the fair. That’swhen demolition derbiesare on track at the fair’sMotor Sports Arena.

On Monday, it’s thescreaming mini-cars. OnWednesday, it’s the full-sized sedans. Tucked inbetween on Tuesday, it’sthe Tire Burnout Contestand Lawn Mower Derby,with a mini cars-figure 8contest thrown in.

There’s somethingappealing to participants

and spectators alike whenit comes to metal-on-metalcontact, with vehicles run-ning into each other untilonly one is left standing,according to EmeryMartin, from Derby King,which stages the fair’sdemolition derby races.

“It’s an anxiety outletfor people with pent-upfrustration,” said Martin.“You can’t do it on theroad. It’s called roadrage.”

A participant and win-ner from prior demolitionderbies agrees. BooneCounty resident GaryPrather has been running(and ramming) cars for

the past 17 years. “It’s just the adrenaline

rush,” said Prather. “Myfamily’s done it ever sinceI was young. When I gotold enough, I wanted todo it, too.”

Prather also promotesdemolition events, includ-ing those at the KentonCounty Fair, just asMartin promotes the ones

for Boone’s fair.Prather plans to run

again in the fair’s derbythis year, for Wednesday’sFull-Size Sedan event. Hiscar of choice is either aFord Crown Victoria or aLincoln. His wife,Rachael, will participateas well, which he encour-ages.

“It’s a joy watching her

run, if she’d like to,” headded.

Last year was the firstyear for the Lawn MowerDerby, said fair boardmember Sandra Cupps,who had pushed for theidea.

“It seemed to be verysuccessful,” said Cupps.“That’s why we’re doingit again.”

The Monday andWednesday night eventsare $35 across the board,said Martin , but theTuesday night gardentractor event costs $20 toenter. The Tire Burnout,“anything with a wheel,”is limited to the first 50entrants, and costs noth-ing. “You could win$100.”

For safety’s sake, gar-den-tractor entrants mustconstruct a cage that goesaround the drivers’ legsand feet as well as wear ahelmet. The battery mustbe removed, whichsounds counter-intuitive,but the mowers are jump-started only one timebefore the drivers look forothers to crash into. Themower left standing is thewinner.

“I ran the mower(event) last year and gotthird,” said Prather. “Mymom, Jenny, ended upwinning. I was actuallyglad to see her win.”

Demolition derbieshave lost participantsbecause of the economictimes, said King.

“Before, it wouldn’t beunusual for 30 to 40 carsto be registered,” Kingadded. “Now, we’ve dou-bled the prize money.With 40 cars, a winnerwould receive $500. Nowif 10 or more show up,they can receive $1,000.”

To register for any ofthe demolition derbies,call Emery Martin at 270-268-1356.

Demolition derbies offer bang-up good times

Demolition derbies have been a longtime favorite at the fair.

13August 2010

Kids of all agesenjoy the Fishing

Frenzy, a youthfishing derby that

kicks off the fairagain this year.

The fair is theperfect placeto show offyour growingskills.

Takoda Walton exhibits a dairy feeder steer at the fair.

Pageants are a fair favorite.

Boone County 4-H Utopia Fair



Horse shows have been partof the Boone County fair since itsinception in 1932, and fairgoerscan see at least one horse showevery day, from Monday, Aug. 2,through Saturday, Aug. 7. FairBoard Member Linda Green is incharge of the Western Pleasurehorse show on Monday, and thePole and Barrel racing onTuesday, and Larry Burcham,also a Fair Board Member, hasorganized the shows fromWednesday through Saturday foralmost 40 years.

“We have people who come toour horse shows from at least sixstates,” said Burcham. “They useour shows to prepare for theWorld Championship AmericanSaddle Bred competition which isat the Kentucky State Fair the lastweek of August.”

The show schedule starts forBurcham on Wednesday, with 16

classes of Tennessee Walkers, thegrand old plantation horses.Thursday includes show, regis-tered and hackneyed ponies, aswell as the Arabian costumeclass, a very popular show, andhunt horses, which is similar tothe bigger horse shows, but thereis no jumping.

“We have a lot of hunt horsesin Boone County,” Burchamadded.

Friday night showcases thehackney ponies, and the Cobbponies, which are the kind thatpull the Queen’s carriage. Thereare also three and five gaitedhorses, and American SaddleBreds, along with several highstepping categories.

“Saturday night is prettymuch the same as Friday night,except it is the championshipshows,” explained Burcham. “Ithink most people have alwayswanted to have a horse, andshow it, and for many the horseshows are close to living out afantasy. Also, Kentucky is horsecountry, so they love to come andsee their horses.”

Kim Smith, whose parentsown Sandy Run Stables, teachesriding, and has shown horses atthe fair since she was six yearsold. About 13 of her students willparticipate in the shows, one asyoung as 10 years old, who isentered in the Walk TrotEquitation, and a lady in her 60s,

who will compete in PleasureDriving, since there is no ridingclass for her.

“It has always been her dreamto show horses, even though shegrew up with them,” said Smith.“I think people like to compete,and improve for next year. Andthey like hanging out with otherswho compete. It is just fun!”

Horse shows define fair

Sierra Pintarich, 10 on her National ShowHorse, Primo Bandoso.

“We have people come to our horseshows from at least six states.”

boone county fair

Documents

isthe miss boone county

nextyears fair bookcall

chair ofthe fair board

organizeevery year

h country ham exhibit

havea new

h country ham project

h utopia fairboone countys