Court thankful for fun, educational week

Hog wrestling and straw racing.

Lots of 4-H shows.

And plenty of food.

As the clock ticked toward midnight Saturday, the Jay County Fair queen and her court reflected on those highlight activities as well as the rest of their week while hanging out in their box watching their second night of demolition derby.

“It was probably one of the craziest things I’ve ever done, but one of the most rewarding,” said queen Abby Saxman shortly after riding in one of the cars competing in the figure 8 race. “Just being in the pageant itself is so much fun, and I’ve learned so much from it.”

A large part of the responsibilities for the queen and her court — Saxman was joined by first runner-up Megan Wellman, second runner-up Brooke Sanders, third runner-up Ashley Alig and Miss Congeniality Jessica Kerrigan — includes attending the 4-H livestock shows. For most of them, that was a new experience.

Of the group, only Alig, a 10-year 4-H member, had any involvement in livestock. (Kerrigan was involved in 4-H as well, but mostly stuck to “green building” projects.) So there was a lot to learn, from the specifics of what a judge is looking for in an animal to the different techniques of showing each species.

“I learned that I am a complete city girl,” said Sanders, who grew up in the Dayton, Ohio. area.

Her family moved to Portland, her dad Dean’s hometown, when she was in high school.

“I knew nothing about animals that I thought I did. …

“(The shows) really got us interested. … I was always asking questions — I call them ‘stupid Brooke questions’ — and trying to figure it all out.”

Alig, who in addition to her 4-H involvement also served as president of Jay County FFA, was a huge help to the rest of the court in that regard.

“I answered a lot of questions … ranging from, ‘Oh, what do they do with this animal’ to ‘What are they doing with that show stick,’” she said.

The result of all the questions and answers, and observing a week’s worth of livestock shows, was a new appreciation for the process.

“Just being able to go to all the 4-H shows, I realized how much work goes into it,” said Saxman. “I have a lot of respect for all the kids who do it and the parents who help out.”

In addition to the livestock shows, the members of the court also attended all of the grandstand events during fair week.

That included being on stage with Hotel California during the concert Wednesday, with the exception of Alig who was competing in the 4-H dairy beef show at the time, and driving one of the demolition derby cars that was being auctioned off in front of the grandstand. The favorite night for several was Monday, when the court competed in both hog wrestling and the straw race.

There were also smaller shared moments throughout the week, such as finding a cat that they named Chester.

“There’s almost too much,” said Kerrigan of her favorite moments while also noting heart-to-heart conversations she and her fellow court members had together.

“Not only just fair week,” added Wellman, “but the experience of doing the pageant, you learn so much about yourself. You meet so many people through it. It’s an awesome experience.”

The court’s duties didn’t end when the derby finally came to a close early Sunday morning. Saxman, Wellman, Sanders, Alig and Kerrigan will be at Friday’s band contest at the fairgrounds to hand out awards and will participate in parades throughout the year.

They’ve also talked about doing service projects in order to help give back to a community that has given so much to them, especially in the last week.

“It’s awesome to have such a great fair in this community,” said Saxman. “People think of Jay County as a small town, but there are so many opportunities here that I don’t think people realize. Just being able to have this fair is amazing. it makes me really proud to be from Jay County.”