Whatever name it goes by, the Texas County Livestock Fair is an annual event with as much or more impact on the community than any other.
That fact was clearly evident last week, as hundreds upon hundreds of people from Houston and numerous other communities came and went Wednesday though Saturday at the Houston Area Chamber of Commerce Fairgrounds to participate in or otherwise be involved in dozens of animal shows and other activities. As someone in attendance said to me while I was there taking photos, the huge turnout shows that Houston and the surrounding area is indeed still largely agriculturally-oriented.
Year in and year out as me and my camera attend this ag-extravaganza, I’m always amazed at the scope of the deal. And I always can’t help but appreciate the monstrous volunteer effort put forth by so many people to make it all possible – particularly members of the Texas County Fair Board, along with their family and friends.
There are a million details to take note of, and few go without their due attention.
But being as I am, I look for reasons to enjoy an event of this nature that are beyond the obvious. And at the Texas County Livestock Fair, I have no trouble finding them.
Here’s sort of a chronological look at just some of what I witnessed at this year’s version.
I love rabbits, and I always enjoy seeing them handled and scrutinized the way they are on day one of the fair. There’s nothing quite like hearing a man or woman with umpteen years of rabbit-judging experience explain what makes one Flemish Giant better than another or why a particular lion head beats a lop-ear for “best in show.”
What a great way to begin the four-day experience – the Battle of the Bunnies.
Coming into Thursday, I didn’t really have any unusually big expectations, but man, what a day. As I said to someone when it was about over, it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable and fruitful days of photography I can remember.
Some of the images in front of my eyes were fleeting, and I failed to digitally document them before they were gone. But I did manage to snap a few decent shots – like one of a short boxing match between a nice young girl and her show goat.
It was an epic moment; the two were in the middle of the arena when the animal stood up on its hind legs and the girl suddenly found herself eye-to-eye with her hooved partner. Before the human combatant earned control of the situation and the goat went back to down to Earth and resumed being a four-legger, the pair exchanged several blows. Instead of getting completely caught up in the moment and forgetting about that piece of technology hanging from my neck, I got one of those photos you sometimes regret missing.
Only a short time later, participants in the annual sheep and goat fashion show entered the arena and the photo opportunities abounded like crazy.
Some of the show’s best moments were provided by another couple of little girls, one of whom didn’t seem to want to be there while the other simply shined in the spotlight.
It’s not that the one who didn’t seem to want to be there didn’t perform her task. On the contrary, she took first place in the dang thing, dressed perfectly as Little Bo Peep and leading a sheep around displaying just enough wardrobe to qualify as “dressed up.”
But wow, the girl didn’t break character for even a split second, maintaining a stoic, almost stern look from beginning to end as she paraded around the ring, holding her staff high. It was hard to imagine anything much cuter.
Until the other girl took over. Dressed as an old lady in curlers and a bath robe, leading around a goat with a big dark beard and ugly eye glasses, she at one point stepped high and threw her head back as if to say, “here I am – how do you like me so far?”
Unbelievably cute, and lots of people let out belly laughs, including me. Thankfully, the camera captured some of the moments.
For me, Friday featured the controlled mayhem that is swine showing, some steer showing and some chicken showing as I split time between the fair and other duties that couldn’t be ignored. Top moments included watching Kaylea Preheim’s swan song in steer showing, as she walked yet another breathtakingly beautiful bovine beast in and out of the arena.
Public address announcer Scott Long read aloud a letter of thanks Preheim had written, and it was hard not to share the girl’s sentiment as she finished out her show career.
Of course, Saturday was dominated by the whole event’s crowning activity, the annual Junior Livestock Sale. As always, the sale provided plenty of special moments, as auctioneers Rick Dixon and Darren Scheets did their level best to make sure not a dime was left on the table.
But this time, something surreal happened as one of the 52 hogs was being sold. A price of $5 a pound is high in these sales, and most pigs go for quite a bit less than that.
But as Alyssa Hayes’ animal went up for bids, the bids kept going. And going. And going!
Two men (doesn’t matter who – they know who they are), locked horns in an epic battle, with Dixon deftly keeping them focused and maintaining control of both the situation and his own emotions. As the price approached double figures, the girl was virtually doing jumping jacks and blowing kisses to the guys, who in perfect style were on almost opposite sides of the arena.
Before it was over, the pig went for $14 a pound, and Hayes’ smile just bout wrapped around her head. The crowd cheered and clapped for both bidders’ efforts and (extreme) interest. I asked a couple of very experienced people if they had ever seen anything like that. The answer was more like, “Seen it? I’ve never even heard of anything like it.”
The pig weighed about 250. Do the math – that’s a bunch of cash. Just awesome.
Anyway, I was tired by the time Saturday evening arrived. But I’m sure less so than a whole lot of the volunteers who sweated through one of the community’s most impactful annual events.
Well done all. For real.