The 2025 HFFCF Fair

It’s that time of year again: months of work with sheep and rabbits all coming to fruition for the 2025 HFFCF far. The new format this year was great, with the fair stretched out for an additional day. It was still exceedingly hectic – with lots of early mornings and late evenings – but showing split across three days instead of two made for a much more manageable pace, especially for those with entries in multiple livestock classes.

Thursday was the big day for us, with rabbit check-in at 6AM and 4H sheep showmanship starting at 9AM. It was a mix of anxiety and excitement, as usual, with leg grooming and some final touches to the animals before entering the ring.

Lilia was up first with Betsy in her showmanship class, she took a gamble and led the field into the ring (with Dad was doubting her choice in the stands!) and performed incredibly well: laser focused on the task at hand, eyes on the judge the whole time, and fortunately Betsy behaved exceptionally for the song and dance in front of the judge. As Lilia made it towards the end of the field and the judge was choosing between her and two other showmen for the top three spots, her 4H leader noticed she put her back to the judge as part of one of the walk routines, which may have cost her first or second place. That said, third place in her class for her first year showing livestock was an amazing result, definitely had Mum and Dad puffing out their chests!

Max was in the junior class, having shown last year with Snugglepuff and Shirley in novices. It was a packed field, with a loose sheep running around the pen creating a big of mayhem and the number of showmen making for quite a crowded ring. Max made it through to the final cut of seven showmen, though, and he placed seventh overall. A great result for Wild Man and Stan.

There was no poultry at this year’s fair as a result of the avian flu, so rabbits had a record number of entrants. Lilia again presented extremely well, flying through her showmanship routine almost perfectly, she was very composed and developed a great rapport with the judge. Her show rabbit flinched a few times when she was trying to show its teeth – which resulted in her being docked a few points – but fourth overall in her showmanship class was another great result (I think her best yet…).

While Betsy turned out to be a great show sheep, she was never going to place in the market class: with a skinny loin and legs that hadn’t quite filled out she ended up in the lower half of her lightweight class. Maybe in a month or two she would have filled out, but unfortunately not in time for fair… Stan and Kenny, however, both received fifth places in their respective weight classes, about which Max was pretty stoked. Kenny has always been a PITA in the show ring and just wouldn’t brace aggressively for the judge, which mean his muscly rear end never shone as much as it should have. I think he could have placed top three if he would have flexed his muscles a little more… Que será, será!

All done for another year! So proud of both kiddos, it takes so much commitment and training to get their animals and show skills tuned for Memorial Day long weekend. Such a great experience for them and always fun the way the fair pulls the community together.