More animals were in front of judges Monday at the Allen County Fair.
4-H participants had their rabbits and goats on display. They’ve gone about their duties as they would any competition day, but with the general public shut out, it comes with mixed reviews by those competing. Some find it as a positive that it’s a calmer year. Others hoped to get more eyes on their projects.
"You don’t have to worry about other people messing with your animals," Chloe Zellmann said, Rabbit Queen of the fair. "You don’t have to worry about people killing your animals. Like, I hate to say it but that happens. Like, people don’t care about your projects. This is our projects. We raise them. This is our livelihood."
"I mean, it’s kind of nice because like not many people spooking the animals, but at the same time people don’t get to come out," said Nate Buell, a 4-H participant showing his goats. "You don’t get to show off your animal to as many people."
Other than that, these 4-H students have stuck to their routines. Many of them raising multiple breeds of their animals.
"So, I have Rhinelander rabbits, which are these beautiful running breeds," said Haley Prine, the fair's Rabbit Princess. "So you can’t just judge them by the judge putting them on the table. They have to run back and forth. Then I also have Holland Lop, which are the cute little American breed that you know of, which have the floppy ears. Then I also have New Zealand which are a meat kind of rabbits. And then also I have Flemish Giants which are one of the largest rabbits that there are.
With years of 4-H participation under their belt, the lessons don’t go unnoticed. Zellmann and Buell each have finished first in one of their competitions, so far, and shared some advice.
"First-year kids, they didn't--they try to be like, 'Oh, I know what I'm doing,'" Zellmann said. And then on show day they get lost. Listen to your elders and listen to their directions because if not, then you're going to get lost."
"You’ve got to work to get where you want to go in life," said Buell. "You can’t, like, stop. You just got to keep working for it.
The fair continues through Saturday.
