In my second year in 4-H, the summer of 2010, I took my first feeder calf to fair which I bought in April from a feeder calf farm.  My sister and I each picked out the one we wanted.  I chose one with brown and white spots, so I named him Chip because he looked like he had chocolate chips as spots.  My sister named her feeder Spud; he was black and white spotted.  Every day when I would come home from school, I would go out to the barn to halter Chip and walk him around in the pen.  Finally, when summer arrived, I went out in the barn every day to wash him, walk him or brush him.

As summer began to fade away, my excitement grew as fair time approached. I look forward to fair week every summer.  The last week of August came at last!  We borrowed my dad’s friend’s bright red trailer to take Chip and Spud to the fair along with our camper.  When we arrived at the fairgrounds, we waited in a long line of trailers.  It was like watching ice melt, as we waited unload Chip and Spud with our show box that had our halters, brushes, soap, buckets and feed in.  In the big bright blue metal barn between the sheep barn and the show ring and the sausage stand, we unloaded our animals and tack box, which is a box that holds all of our equipment like our halters, show sticks, and brushes .  The barn filled quickly with other feeders and steers mooing and making noises along with the squeaking of the different looking trailers, some rusty, some new, red, silver, or blue, which brought more animals into the barn.  When everything settled down, we headed back to our camper for the night.

Monday marked the first day of fair.  I woke up, dressed myself, and asked my dad for two dollars for a sausage sandwich. As I walked down to the sausage stand from my camper, I saw other 4-Hers exercising their horses as the hooves of the clanked against the concrete in the barns and on the stones.  The baaing of sheep announced their presence when I walked past their barn.  The grill that cooks the sausage lured me along the way as the freshly squeezed lemons for lemonade and the hot frying oil of the French fry stands pushed me along.  I walked past the red and white striped tents that have shiny, new trucks with advertisements until I arrived at the sausage stand.  I bought my sandwich and put ketchup and pickles on it.  During the fair practically every meal I ate was a sausage sandwich.  They are the best!

  After enjoying my sandwich, I walked over to the cattle barn where Chip and Spud were to be fed, and I changed their water.  I could tell that they didn’t like being tied up all the time.  Their hooves were red from sanding on the sawdust all the time since they weren’t used to it.  The fair was someplace different.  At home they could be in their pen running around, but here they were always tied up except for washing and showing them.  I took Chip out and washed/rinsed him off every day because he would get really dusty lying in that blue barn. 

Fair week, which is chaotic yet thrilling, is the fastest week of my life.  It started out with weighing in the calves and steers to get them into their weight classes for show.  Then the actual show day which is when six to seven calves at a time will parade around the ring and pose with their feet square under their body, while a judge looks at them and places them from first to fifth.  The spectators watching the shows make their decisions on which ones they want to put a bid on for the auction later in the week.  After the day I showed, everything slowed down a little.   We were able to relax for a few days until that Friday:  auction day.  The auction is split into two separate days.  Thursday is for everything going to market like steers, hogs, turkeys, sheep, etc.  Then Friday is the feeder calf auction, since feeders don’t go to market.  My sister and I lined up outside the show arena.  I started to feel jittery and nervous because there was a huge crowd of people, and the auctioneer was talked loudly through the microphone.  I didn’t want Chip to be scared and jumpy, so I would rub his soft neck and quietly talk to him until it was finally my turn to walk through the arena.  Before I went in, my dad told me, “Don’t forget to smile!” and he gave me a really cheesy smile.  I responded, “Okay,” and smiled back at him.  I went into the ring, walk Chip around a few times, until the auctioneer yelled loudly in the microphone, “Sold!”  Chip and I walked out of the show ring.  After the auction was all over, my dad pointed the buyer out in the crowed who bought Chip, a lady named Keisha.  My dad walked me over to where she was standing so that I could thank her, and I started feeling downhearted because after tomorrow afternoon I’d never see Chip again.  I tapped her arm.  She turned around, and I said, “Thank you for buying my feeder calf.” She replied, “Are you excited to see him next year?  I’m going to bring him back as a steer to show him.”  I felt overjoyed! The biggest smile spread across my face.  I could only get one word out of my mouth:  “Yea!” 

“Does he have a name?” she asked me. 

I answered still smiling, “Chip.”  My high spirits only lasted for a little bit. 

On Saturday I took him for one last walk around the barn, tied him back up, wrapped my arms around his neck and said, “I love you, buddy.  Don’t miss me too much.”  I walked out of the barn to go see my friends because I didn’t want to see him leave.  Part of my heart broke when I left.  Later, I walked back toward the blue barn that night.  Stones crunched from the different trailers again, this time coming to pick up animals.  I made my way past all the traffic, and I saw that empty space and halter hanging where Chip lay a few hours ago.  As I put his halter and necktie into the show box, I had tears welled up in my eyes.  On the way back home Saturday night, I kept thinking, I will get to see him next year.  I couldn’t wait for fair to come around again next summer.