Fair adds pee wee showmanship

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LOVINGTON, N.M. – The Lea County Fair and Rodeo featured a new attraction a year ago, and it might grow into one of the most popular pieces of the annual exhibition.

The Lea County Fair Board will begin its second year of the peewee showmanship competition, featuring children between the ages of 5-8. It will take place during this year’s fair, set for Friday, Aug. 2-Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Lea County Fairgrounds in Lovington.

“There are a couple of other county and regional shows that do this, so we wanted to see what it could do here,” said Dustin Gaskins, the agriculture teacher and FFA adviser at Eunice High School and a fair board member. “Last year, we showed in beef cattle with a bottle calf, so this year we started to implement it into other species.”

This is a great opportunity for the youngsters to get their feet wet in showing animals instead of just watching their big brothers or big sisters have exhibits at the county fair.

“We have younger siblings that go to the fair and see their older siblings able to show,” said Amber Groves, chair of the livestock committee and a livestock superintendent. “These younger kids are always involved in the work that is put in, but they weren’t getting to show. Now, they get to show the work they’ve put in.

“My hope is that it grows in the future so that those kids feel included when they get to the fair.”

For most families that show livestock, it’s just part of their daily lives. They already have animals for which they are caring, and developing the skills to show allow the younger generation to learn by doing. It’s a caregiver’s mentality; those animals are fed before their human counterparts and receive the best treatment possible.

Livestock showing involves a little more tender, loving care for the particular animals involved. They have to be trained with a halter and lead rope and not be skittish around people. The animals’ calmness and demeanor go a long way when it is shown at the county fair.

“We’re just trying to get some of the younger kids involved,” Gaskins said. “We want to help them get involved and get them hooked on showing before they’re of the age to do it full time.”

Children must be in the third grade in order to join a 4H club, where they can be involved in a variety of activities. The pee wee show allows kids just a few years younger the opportunity to work with animals and put themselves in the spotlight.

“Our goal is to help grow our numbers across the board and taking the pee wee group and growing them into regular showmanship,” he said. “We hope this will help grow our 4H numbers for our county. A lot of parents are really interested in it. We had a couple of parents who reached out to specific superintendents originally and were pushing for it; those superintendents brought it to us as a fair board. I think the parents are excited about it.”

It’s just another step in the right direction for many rural families

“I enjoy seeing the kids, the livestock,” Gaskins said. “Being an FFA adviser, I help a lot in the barns, and I get to see the kids grow. That’s the best part of the fair for me.”  

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