Mills County 4-Hers Spend Weeks, Months Preparing To Show Animals, Projects At County Fair

The Mills County Fair is right around the corner and local 4-H members are finalizing their projects for judging.

The fair provides opportunities for a variety of involvement including static projects, livestock, fashion, communication and more. Two 4-H members, Malachi Hardesty and Rhyley Wright, have been hard at work as exhibition time grows near.

Hardesty is a senior level member and part of the Mills Billies 4-H Club. He joined 4-H a few years ago at the encouragement of his mom and grew to find value and enjoyment through his involvement. This year, he plans to be involved in a combination of static and livestock exhibits. Static projects can be entered in several areas, including food and nutrition; photography; science, technology, engineering and math.

Over the years, Hardesty’s entered static projects, including a poster comparing traditional and electric cars and a deep dive into the history of magic. He appreciates the way 4-H helps him showcase his assortment of interests.

“It’s a great place to start. You just get to have fun and show what you did all year,” Hardesty said.

This year, Hardesty is excited to enter some projects in his new area of interest: blacksmithing.

“It’s cool. There’s fire and hammers, and you get to make swords and tools and all kinds of fun,” he said.

His interest in blacksmithing was sparked by the realization that he had many of the required materials already around at home. After some initial experimenting with whatever supplies he could find, Hardesty was gifted an anvil by his grandmother. He also attended a course to help sharpen his skills.

“I went to a blacksmithing class where they had a full forge. It wasn’t just like a campfire,” he said. “It only took two or three days to make a couple things, whereas it takes me a week at home.”

Hardesty has now learned to make many items, including knives, swords, plant hangers, and a fire poker. As he approaches judging for his static project, he is identifying exactly which pieces he wants to enter.

In addition to his static projects, Hardesty shows multiple breeds of birds and rabbits. He likes having the chance to educate and engage with community members at the fair. This includes doing his own research into the animals he shows.

“4-H kind of piqued my interest to dig deeper into the types of stories behind the breeds,” he said. “Before, I just would have thought, ‘hey, this one’s got a different design, cool.’”
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Wright showing livestock

Intermediate level 4-H member Rhyley Wright will also be showing livestock at the fair, but with larger animals. This year’s fair marks her first time showing her own sheep. For two years, Wright was a part of the county’s Share a Sheep program. This program allows 4-H members without animals of their own to learn about proper care and showmanship.

“I really learned how much I love sheep during those two years, because previously I hadn’t really worked with any sheep, any of that stuff,” she said. “That’s what kind of got me started off on everything.”

Wright has a few sheep of her own now and spends hours a day feeding, grooming, and getting comfortable with her animals. She takes time to sit with them in their pen, often spending time reading next to them so the sheep are familiar with her company. In the last stretch before the fair, she is increasing the time she spends with them.

“Usually I’ll walk them and then wash them, that way they don’t get dirty,” Wright said. “I do that like three times a week. This week I’ll be walking them every day, though, because fair is coming up.”

In addition to her sheep, she intends to enter multiple chickens and a few static projects.

“I work with flowers. I’ll dry them and put them in resin, and I’ll put together a poster board to show the scientific side of it.” she said. Wright also plans to enter a homemade jam as a static contribution.

Both 4-H members noted the amount of work that goes into managing a mixture of projects and ensuring all aspects are thoroughly completed.

For Wright, this can be difficult at times.

“When you get that many projects, you have to make sure you’re walking your sheep, but you’re also making sure you have your chickens in and they’re in good show condition,” Wright said. “You have to make sure all these static projects are in order so you don’t miss any of them, because it just gets to be a lot and you have to make sure you have it organized.”

Nonetheless, they are eager for the start of the fair and the many opportunities it brings. Hardesty enjoys getting the chance to connect with friends and Wright is ready to have her work pay off.

“My favorite part of 4-H is being able to work and then show at the very end what you’ve done throughout the summer,” she said.

Static judging kicks off the fair on July 10.