Showtime: Fair days bring ribbons and mixed emotions for 4-H and FFA members | Western Colorado

It was quiet on the fairground and funfair stage and although the temperature was barely 27 degrees Celsius, there was already a queue for lime lemonade.

It was 9 a.m. Wednesday morning, and the gates to the Mesa County Fair didn’t officially open until 11 a.m. The outer portions of the fairgrounds were relatively quiet, but the United Companies Arena was a hive of activity.

Electric cattle trimmers buzzed, combs fought tangles and cattle “hairspray” was used liberally. Bulls were being groomed for the market beef show taking place in the open-air arena.

On an outside corner, 9-year-old Kodie Smith was busy getting Blue ready with the help of several friends and family members.

Smith has owned Blue, who is actually mostly black because he’s a black Angus mix, since he was about 8 months old. Blue’s father was named Blue Moon, “so I kept it going,” said Smith, who is part of the Mid-Valley 4-H Club.

This is Smith’s first year raising a bull and there has been a learning curve. She has worked hard to keep Blue healthy, training him, feeding him and caring for him, all in preparation for this day.

“He’s sweet, gentle and kind,” Smith said of her 1,046-pound bull. “He loves to get kisses. He kisses me back.”

Despite this, she knows she must say goodbye today, when the cattle auction takes place. “I don’t want to sell him, but I have to,” she said as she pulled on her long-sleeved show shirt and snapped the front closed.

“I’ve already cried twice,” she said.

Until the call went out for Smith’s show class, Blue was combed and clipped to make the most of his black coat. Then the duo set off, Blue’s dark eyes even larger than usual due to his unfamiliar surroundings and Smith nervous about entering the arena with a bull for the first time.

Around the corner and under an awning with fans, camping chairs and a slide, 18-year-old Madison Hawkins was happy to be at the fair but also sad that it would be the last time she would exhibit animals.

For her last show, she showed a few lambs and Empire, a 1,323-pound bull. “He’s a Shorthorn, so he’s a nice red and white,” said Hawkins, a Fruita FFA member.

The name Empire is a nod to playing cards. Hawkins has a card theme for the names of its bulls: Joker, Ace, Spade, Casino, and so on.

She started showing at the fair when she was 8 and in 4-H. Her first year she did a pottery project and some other things. When she was 10 she started showing bulls. Each one had a personality of its own, each one was hard to part with at the cattle auction.

“It’s going to be worse this year,” Hawkins said, looking fondly at Empire.

“He’s a tough one,” she said.

He can be posturing when stressed, but when he’s calm he’s a “big teddy bear” who loves to be scratched on the back, she said.

“I love him. I always do,” she said. “You always bond with them.”

In addition to missing her animals, she will miss the fair itself. She will likely return next summer, but it will be different, she said.

She plans to attend Colorado Mesa University in the fall, and “it will be a big change,” Hawkins said.

There will be no animals to care for and train every day. She will miss the atmosphere of friends and support she got at the fair. She will miss “oh my god, everything.”

She looks around at the younger kids, like Smith, and remembers those early days of hard work and great performances, and others that didn’t quite work out as hoped. “I remember it being hard to ask for help when I was that age,” she said.

Make friends and ask for advice, she advised.

“Stay strong. Be positive. Enjoy it,” Hawkins said.

When Hawkins shows her bull, she wants to present him to the judge in the best possible light, so she always shakes the judge’s hand and likes to smile. Some judges like the smiles, some don’t. You never know, she said.

How her bull will do in the arena can also be unpredictable. During the market beef show, Empire was stressed, despite his training. “You never know what it’s going to be like,” she said.

This Wednesday morning Empire received a fourth place in its market stable.

And Blue, who became stubborn when Smith tried to lead him around the arena, received sixth place in his class.

Perhaps Blue acted this way because he sensed how nervous she was, Smith suspected.

There’s a lot to learn, so she enjoys watching the older kids show off their bulls, she said as her sister curled Smith’s long hair in preparation for her return to the arena with Blue for showmanship lessons.

Blue was also combed and sprayed as Smith’s mother, Melissa Russell, helped her daughter through the afternoon, when temperatures soared to over 90 degrees.

The beef show continued in the arena, while a juggler performed on a stage in the building next door. The line for limeade was twice as long and the gates to the fair were wide open.