Fair-ly short stories from the Johnson County 4-H fair

Here are some short stories the Daily Journal gathered from the start of fair week.

Rain poses challenge for horse events

The Horse and Pony Western Division show was rained on but not rained out Sunday.

Xander Elliott, a student from Greenwood, said the wet weather disturbed the horses.

“It’s very annoying, they’ll freak out about it,” Elliott said.

Becca Dillon, also of Greenwood, said her horse, Tucker, gets antsy in the rain.

Even longtime 4-H’ers, such as Briar Keehn of Marion County, encountered challenges as she said the downpour made her horse, named Rooster, spooked.

“The horses are kind of freaked out sometimes, it’s complicated,” Keehn said. “It’s kind of getting them out there and getting them going and confined in the right place.”

Keehn is in her seventh year of showing horses–she started in third grade. Although Keehn is from Marion County, she decided to show Rooster in Johnson County because Marion County discontinued its horse-showing event, she said.

Like the horse show, the truck show and food vendors opened despite the rain.

Indoor events like the Little Miss and Mister Johnson County contest and Miss Johnson County pageant went off without a hitch.

The flat drag set for Sunday was rained out, but it was moved to 7 p.m. Wednesday night.

Leeann Doerflein and Andy Bell-Baltaci

4-Hers carry on tradition

Jack Kelsay carries on his family tradition as he enters his fifth year of showing and being a 4-Her. Both his parents grew up being 10 year 4-Hers, his father believes showing animals teaches children important life lessons.

“It’s a great opportunity for young people to learn some skills and learn about themselves, they are able to learn with other people, develop leadership skills,” Joe Kelsay, his father said.

Jack Kelsay won champion for the goat showmanship intermediate class on Monday. He was excited that he was recognized for his hard work through the win, he said.

“I’m very excited, I worked pretty hard for this. We’ve been working with the goats every day for the past few months and it’s just really nice seeing the hard work pay off,” Jack Kelsay said.

All three of Joe Kelsay’s children are involved with 4-H. He enjoys attending the competitions for the community surrounding 4-H, he said.

“As you look around the ring, you get to know these parents and the other kids. It’s fun to see anybody succeed when they work so hard … You can see these young people grow and improve,” Joe Kelsay said.

– Angelica Gonzalez Morales