PORT ANGELES — Paisley Morris is going for the gold.
Morris, 15, is competing in horse showmanship for a medal at the Clallam County Fair this weekend.
“You have to go in and do a sequence of maneuvers — turns, backing, trot circles — and the judge decides if it was good enough for a gold medal,” Morris said.
Morris is a member of 4-H. She said she earned her bronze and silver medals at competitions earlier this year. Morris also competes in gaming, Western performance, English performance, dressage, judging and costume class.
She is one of dozens of 4-H and FFA members competing at the fair, which is open through Sunday at the Clallam County Fairgrounds.
Morris said she loves the fair.
“I absolutely love showing horses, and it’s a really good opportunity to show in all the events you would like to show in,” she said.
Morris enjoys the fair for the showing and social aspect of it, she said.
“I love teaching all the little kids about the events,” she added.
Another 4-H member, Avery Resser, 10, was hanging out in the sheep and goat barn, where she was showing six goats and two sheep.
“I market my lambs and participate in the auction, and I show my goats and sheep,” Resser said. “I get money for my market sheep. I put it in a bank account for maybe college.”
Ember Frisby, 10, is showing a dairy cow this weekend. It’s her first time competing at the fair.
“I decided to participate in the fair mostly to have fun and to experience working with animals and also because I like winning,” Frisby said. “There is a pretty small division for dairy cows. I don’t know if I’ll win, but I’m sure I’ll do good.”
She started raising her cow in February.
Frisby said she’ll spend the weekend taking care of her animal and making sure she has food and water.
“I’ll probably go on some amusement park rides,” she added.
She said she decided to compete at the fair because she thought it was really cool seeing people work with cows in previous years attending the fair.
The fair isn’t just for kids, though.
Volunteer Teresa Beckstrom with Pacific Northwest Junior Livestock Auction has been involved with the fair since she was a child.
“My mom was manager out here, Sandy Bailey, so I’ve been out here since I was 10,” Beckstrom said. “I personally like that everybody kicks in and volunteers. It feels like a family.”
Beckstrom volunteers at the swine barn because her kids showed pigs when they were young, she said.
She encouraged everyone to check out the fair.
“It’s a great thing,” Beckstrom said.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
Colton McEwan, 8, a member of the Port Angeles-based Lambchops 4H Club, urges passers-by to pet his show goats, Shooter and Oatey, in the goat and sheep barn at Thursday at the Clallam County Fair. In the background is fellow 4-H Club member Wesley Harmon, 8. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
