08/21/2026
Yesterday was the first day of the fair and it was show day. As I sit back and think about what it took for her to get here, we couldn't be more proud of her.
She took the responsibility of waking up early every morning to walk up to the barn to feed her sheep and change out their water, even in the dark before school started. On weekends, she would have it done before we would wake up. She would go up throughout the day, feeding them more because Smokey was tiny. As the fair approached, we weren't even sure if he would make the weight cut off. The breeder and our feed guy, who both helped us out tremendously, just kept saying he had the structure but just needed another month. Time was not on her side when it came to Smokey. Kayleigh had to balance working with him on walking and standing with not stressing him out too much or overworking him to where he wouldn't gain weight. She tracked his weight gain, and we agonized over the numbers.
Then there was Bandit, he didn't have any problems with weight gain, but he gave Kayleigh other challenges. He was bigger and could pull Kayleigh around when she walked him. He didn't like the stand and would often jump up on her as a means of resistance. Smokey and Bandit were pals, they were bonded. When she took one out for a walk, the other was not happy and let her know it. This meant that in order to keep Smokey less stressed, she had to work Bandit in the barn or have one of us walk Smokey with her and Bandit.
On Tuesday night, all of her careful work with Smokey was put to the test. It was weigh in time. When Smokey crossed the scale, he was 103! He barely passed by 3 pounds. We went out to celebrate all her hard work and headed to bed early for the next day was show day.
There is something special about watching your child in the show ring. It is different than watching them in a sport. They formed a bond with the animals, they raised them, they put in the long hours, and now it is time to show them off to a judge. It is just like in NAVHDA, on test day, your dog could ready but decides not to show up. We saw kids who poured everything they had into their animals get a run for their money. Their sheep decided not today buddy. Yet, they persisted, they didn't give up, they tried their best to remain calm and in turn calm their animal.
Kayleigh got to enter the show ring 7 times during the day, each time gaining a bit more experience. Her confidence, her smile, her learning from others so quickly to make adjustments in stance, in holding and walking was impressive to watch.
She ended the day with several ribbons:
Smokey - Reserve Champion Natural - she was 2nd to an older girl who has been doing this for years and even the judge said if Smokey just had another month it might have been a different story
Bandit - Champion Dorper - while she was the only one, the judge commended her on showing the breed and encouraged others to look into them.
And the one we are most proud of, the one where it was judging her, not the sheep's frame or muscle, but how she handeled the sheep, how she showed off the sheep to the judge, and her respect for the judge - CHAMPION JUNIOR SHOWMANSHIP - She exuded confidence, had a smile on her face and maintained eye contact the entire time in the ring. She even switched sides on the sheep as the judge walked around. When we saw that, we knew that sealed the deal. That meant she went to the next round with the older kids and she was put to the test. The judge had them switching sheep with eachother, walking them and getting them to stand. What a hard task for someone who just started showing sheep this year. She held her own and we are so very proud of her.
We came home exhaused yesterday, but it was probably the highest point of the year. Now it's all fun until Saturday which is auction day. If you are in the area, come out at 1pm to the Kenosha County Fair and support all the hard 4H kids who took on the hard work of raising and training an animal of their own.
