Lake County fair kicks off this weekend
Megan Strickland
Andrey Bauer prepares for the Lake County Fair Shooting sports.
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Tanner Bergh and Peppy trot around, getting ready to strut in the Lake County Fair. The fair events kick off this weekend
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
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RONAN – Anyone looking for some old-timey fun taken straight from the pages of Charlotte’s Web will be in hog heaven this week, as kiddos bring out their animals, vegetables, and everything else ag-related when the Lake County Fair kicks off in Ronan this weekend.
The bulk of the most popular animal show-related events will take place later next week, but dozens of students have been working diligently with Lake County 4-H for months to prepare to test their shooting and horsemanship skills Saturday and Sunday.
Shooting sports begin on Saturday at the Lake County Fairgrounds, with air rifle and archery competitions taking place all day. Shotgun competition is held on Sunday at Big Sky Sporting Clays in Polson.
4-H Shooting Sports Coach Fred Grant said students have been practicing all year for the event.
“It’s a chance for them to show off and earn ribbons for what they’ve learned,” Grant said.
Around 70 students aged 9-18 will participate.
“Our goal is to teach them safe handling and practices,” Grant said of the shooting sports program. “It teaches them a lot. It doesn’t just teach them to pull a string or trigger. It teaches them responsibility. It teaches them to follow through and stay with the program. It’s such a good program. It’s a great bunch of kids.”
The program started in a garage space, moved into the Ronan Community Center, and is now so big that more than $30,000 has been raised to renovate the horticulture barns on the fairgrounds to house the event.
For Grant, the program and all the effort is worth it.
“When they hit that bulls-eye … It’s just great to watch the kids do that,” Grant said. “These aren’t just kids. These are the future of America.”
Among the future leaders is Andrey Bauer. The 14-year-old wants to shoot in national competition for shotgun and archery competition and according to Grant, the teen is well on his way.
At a practice shoot for shotgun competition last week, Bauer grinned as he deftly downed clays that move so quickly that a person blinking their eyes might miss them.
Bauer’s father noted that he can rarely beat the teen, who shot 93 out of 100 clays in a competition last year.
But the competition teaches something more than accuracy.
“They taught me respect for my stuff,” Bauer said. “You respect your gun, your house, your safety. They taught me sportsmanship. You can’t get mad when you lose, with other shooters or yourself.”
And for Bauer, it’s fun to learn.
“The leaders are like motivational speakers,” Bauer said. “The only reason I am here is because they are so fun. They encourage me to chase my dreams.”
While Bauer’s chasing his dreams in shotgun, some kids at the fair are just dipping in their toes, like 10-year-old Tanner Bergh.
Bergh and his horse Peppy will be competing in the horsemanship show held on Monday, July 27.
This is Bergh’s first year competing, but he said he has had a blast learning.
Among the things he has learned this year is “when you are riding, put your heels down.”
He said he and Peppy are excited to be riding in the event.
“It’s fun,” he said.
