4-H a family affair for local youth
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
RONAN — The Lake County Fair means plenty of hard work and good fun for 4-H participants, but for many, the fair is also synonymous with family.
Most local 4-Hers have siblings, parents, aunts and uncles and even grandparents who were involved with 4-H as kids, and some are lucky enough to have older family members offer instruction and help with projects. Such is the case with Arena and Autumn Porter, Mission Valley 4-H Club members who competed in their first county fair this year.
Arena, 9, found that the hardest and most time-consuming part of preparing for the fair was training her Australian shepherd named Tucker and Lionhead bunny for the competitions. Arena and Tucker practiced for months for the obedience portion of the dog show, and the bunny had to learn to sit still and behave while Arena displayed it to the judge — a task trickier than it sounds, mom Holly explained.
“Flipping (the rabbits) to show their sex and their teeth is really tough,” she said.
Holly was thoroughly involved in 4-H growing up, raising and showing dogs, horses, cattle and sheep, and watching her daughters start down a similar path is exciting, she said. 4-H animal projects require serious commitment and self-discipline, and Holly’s watched her daughters, Arena in 4-H and 8-year-old Autumn in Cloverbuds, blossom and mature over the past year.
“(4-H has) made them learn stuff about caring for their animals … I think the dedication is a big deal,” Holly said.
While the girls are also involved in rodeo and softball, neither of those sports require quite as much from the kids as 4-H, Holly explained.
“With (4-H), I can’t do it for them. They have to learn themselves,” she said.
4-H participation has also boosted Arena’s self-confidence and helped her become a better communicator, Holly added. A formerly quiet and reserved girl, “she’s just been a little busybody (at the fair),” Holly said.
Autumn, on the other hand, immediately said “hanging out” with friends was her favorite part of the fair. Of course, she enjoyed watching the shows, too, and said she looks forward to showing sheep, goats and bunnies when she graduates to 4-H next year. Her Cloverbuds projects included beading a necklace and bracelet and baking colossal chocolate cookies.
For Arena, the fair was a bit more demanding. In addition to showing a rabbit and dog, she entered the baking and photography competitions.
