The 4H Show Ring
The Dutchess County Fair is in full swing in Rhinebeck. I always look forward to the fair with a combination of excitement and dread. While some people use the arrival of a pumpkin spice latte to mark the changes of the season, for me it is the arrival of the Dutchess County Fair. It is a great pleasure for me to spend the day at the fair, I’ve been going to the fair since I was a kid and it was always a day to look forward to. As a kid, it was the rides and games of chance, the food, and the crowds. As a teenager, it was the Midway and trying to look cool to all the young ladies. As a parent, it was a long, hot day where it felt like money was falling out of my pocket. Now, however, it is just a time to enjoy and admire, visit, and reflect on what a special place the county fair is.
My favorite place to spend time at the fair these days is at the livestock barns and show rings. It’s a chance for me to admire some beautiful animals and really take a good look at them. But mostly I enjoy the 4H shows and seeing all the 4H kids doing their thing. While I never participated in 4H, many former alumni I know still speak of those days with great pleasure and pride. They have fond memories and some really funny stories as well of fairgoer antics and the escapades of the week. For those of you who don’t know, the county fair is the culmination of a summer of work for these kids. They select an animal, maybe a cow or steer, a rabbit or a chicken, a pig or a goat, or in my daughter’s case a horse. They spend all summer taking care of that animal and training it for the show. Hours and hours turn into weeks and weeks, all with one goal in mind-being ready for the show ring! The effort of the summer comes down to 10 minutes and then it’s over. Those who do well get not only a blue ribbon and bragging rights but also the chance to take their animal to the next level, either at the State Fair or the Big E, and compete with others from around the region. But for most, their year is not measured by the calendar but with the close of one project animal and the start of the next.
Walking through the barns and watching the shows, I can’t help but be impressed with watching this all unfold in front of me. It is good to see a child commit themselves to something with no sure knowledge of how that effort will end up. Most do not win and even knowing that going into the ringl, they still do their best to succeed. Yet, even in the loss, there are great life lessons to be learned, and hopefully once the pain of loss has been forgotten the lesson will stay with them for a lifetime. In fact, when you take a step back, their win is arriving at the fair, the success in the completion of their project, and what happens in the show ring is just the cherry on top. My daughter, who is now 28, still talks about those summers and she is beginning to appreciate the lessons she learned more than 15 years ago.
Learning how to commit to a goal. Learning the discipline to stay focused. Having the responsibility for the care and comfort of an animal. Encouraging your friends to succeed while at the same time competing against them. Working together to help each other and learning not to give up because something is hard or difficult. These are all things that we later understand are important to know as adults. No matter where these kids end up in life, no matter what their career is, the lessons of the 4H show ring will stay with them.
Hope to see you at the market this weekend and if you have the time head on up the fair, you might even see me strolling thru the livestock barns.