Ottawa County Fair draws in fans of all ages
OAK HARBOR - Nine-year-old Morgan Jimenez of Curtis had a big week during the Ottawa County Fair. She was finally old enough to join 4-H, so she prepared all summer to show her goat.
“I walked her around a lot and practiced setting her up,” Morgan said. “We went to other shows for practice.”
But on Wednesday, the day before goat judging, Morgan was all about having fun. Her family camped at the fair all week, so she made memories enjoying the off-hour activities available to fair kids.
“Every morning, me and my friends make plans, and then we check on our animals together,” Morgan said. “Every night, my friend has a circle of campers, and we go over there for a potluck. Last night, I played Gaga Ball with about 20 kids at 10:30 at night.”
Pie eating contest popular to some, not all
There was one fair event Morgan didn’t care for — the pie-eating contest sponsored by the Jr. Fair Board for kids ages 3 to 18. The “pies” were plates of vanilla pudding. Morgan said the experience “wasn’t the best.”
“She said if it was chocolate, she would have won,” said Morgan’s mom, Joleen Jimenez.
A 3-year-old girl began crying when her mom encouraged her to plunge her face into the pudding, but the boys loved the competition. Thirteen-year-old Kase Knecht won the 9-to-13-age category. He licked his plate completely clean before other kids had their pudding half-eaten, and he did not mind at all that much of the pudding was stuck on his face.
“I did nothing to prepare for this — nothing at all,” he said.
More traditional contests had their fans, contestants
Across the fairgrounds in the horse arena, 18-year-old Reagan Mapes of Port Clinton trotted Phoenix, her Quarter Horse Flea-bitten Grey, before judges, earning a third-place ribbon. She has been showing horses since she was 10.
“My love of the outdoors got me into horses,” she said. “It started when I was little. I showed other people’s horses, and then we bought Phoenix in 2017.”
Mapes said she normally competes with Phoenix in Ranch judging, but on Wednesday, she earned the ribbon competing in English riding. She was happily surprised at the win because an injury kept Phoenix temporarily out of competitions.
Phoenix is a horse that 'goes with the flow'
“This is our first show since 2021. I’ve done lots of training with him at home. We ride four or five days a week,” Mapes said. “I didn’t have high hopes of winning, but he’s a good horse that you can pull out of the stall and do anything. He goes with the flow.”
Eight-year-old Millie Grove of Woodville and her “best friend” Kierston Whitcom, 7, of Lindsey, spent much of Wednesday afternoon on the rides. They liked the bounce houses and the racing horses, but their favorite was the Rock-O-Plane because, Grove said, “it goes upside-down.”
“We’ve been going up on this over and over and over,” Whitcom said.
Wednesday was Senior Citizens Day at the fair, so Ken and Kim Harsenje of Genoa stopped by to enjoy the activities.
“They are checking blood pressure rates and sugar count and heart rate,” Kim said. “They have people entertaining, and they gave us a voucher for a free sandwich and ice cream.”
Kim said seniors were given goodie bags filled with gifts like water bottles and fingernail files.
“I’ve been coming to the fair forever — all my life,” Kim said. “Ken likes to walk around and see everything — the animals and the kids’ projects. The fair is like a staple. We come every year.”
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Ottawa County Fair offers fun contests, traditional livestock shows
