ALEXANDRIA, Ind. —
For Isaac Mohr and his brother, Cade, of Pendleton, raising and showing their animals for 4-H is about responsibility.
“It teaches responsibility, and I just have a lot of fun with the animals,” Isaac, 14, said.
Showing livestock has been a family affair. Isaac shows sheep, Cade shows swine, and older brother Evan, 18, used to show cattle.
Isaac’s sheep, Leo, was first in Dorset breed this year, so he’s going on to the Grand Drive, where all the first-place winners show.
This is his fourth year showing, and he also participated in the showmanship contest Tuesday night.
Cade, 11, said he got fourth place Monday with his favorite pig, Swag.
Swag got his name because of the way he walks around, “like he’s cool,” Cade said. He showed seven pigs total this year.
Isaac said their family friends, the Smiths, of Smith Family Farm in Pendleton, got them hooked on livestock showing.
Cade said he stayed over there to hang with his buddy and liked being around the swine.
“I got involved and love it,” he said. “It teaches responsibility, the best thing you can learn.”
They, in turn, got friend Alec Wehner, 14, interested. He was hanging out with them at the fair and said he’s thinking about getting involved in 4-H now.
Isaac said Wehner has been helping them out.
The Smiths keep the boys’ animals at the farm for them and the Mohrs travel there daily to feed and walk them, Isaac said.
He and Cade said they feed the pigs marshmallows at fair time.
Cade said it doesn’t make them fat and they really like it. In a way, it’s like a treat for a dog as Isaac said they often give them a marshmallow after a walk.
While Isaac added that they are at a disadvantage not being near the animals at all times, they still enjoy the experience.
The fair may only be a week long, but taking care of the animals is a yearlong role, he added.
Cade added that they have gone elsewhere, such as Greenfield, for other fairs, and could go to the state fair from the county level.
“I just like working and showing them, getting good results,” he said.
Isaac said a champion animal doesn’t necessarily have to come from a champion parent, but rather that an animal’s potential depends on the person who raised it.
It’s about forming a trusting relationship, and Isaac said he likes all of the 4-H livestock showing experience save for the end, when an animal could be sold.
“(4-H is) a great opportunity for kids,” Cade said.
Find Dani Palmer on Facebook and @DaniPalmer_THB on Twitter, or call 640-4847.
4-H Fair
Related Photos
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Alec Wehner, 14; Isaac Mohr, 14; and Cade Mohr, 11, show off Isaac’s winning sheep, Leo, at the 4-H Fair. Dani Palmer
Discussion
At 4-H Fair, responsibility an age-old component
It’s ‘the best thing you can learn,’ says Pendleton boy, 11
- 4-H Fair
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Horses big part of 4-Hers life
Nine-year-old Micah Hardy, like many 4-Hers, has never known a life without horses. Her mother joked that her daughter was even on a horse before she was born as she rode while she was pregnant with the girl.
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Souped up and ready to go
It isn’t much of a spectator sport but the competitors readying their garden tractors for the decades-old pull sure do enjoy it. “It’s not that exciting to sit and watch,” joked Wayne Richards, the coordinator for this year’s Garden Tractor Pull at the Madison County 4-H Fair. “But it is a lot of fun to be a part of.
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More to 4-H than livestock
Don’t go into Exhibit Hall just to escape the sweltering heat at the Madison County 4-H Fair. 4-Hers like Tressia Phipps and Jackie Lieurance want you to go there to appreciate the hundreds of projects on display inside that air-conditioned building.
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Teen loves her pigs — and lets them go
In her fifth year of 4-H, Cheyenne Morgan is part of the Grand Champions Club. This year she won two reserve-champion ribbons, a third, two fifths and a sixth place and showed six hogs.
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Midway rides thrill fairgoers
Despite the heat and the storms, the midway at the Madison County 4-H Fair has a lot to offer for Alexandria and the rest of Madison County. Between classic fair food and new and returning rides, the fair has delivered another carnival for the entire area.
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At 4-H Fair, responsibility an age-old component
For Isaac Mohr and his brother, Cade, of Pendleton, raising and showing their animals for 4-H is about responsibility.
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Raising, showing animals is hard work
Showing animals in the Madison County 4-H Fair competitions is more than just strutting animals around an arena. There is a lot of hard work that goes into raising the animals, and then caring for and prepping them for the fair competitions.
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Frankton teen takes first attempt at 4-H competition in stride
Lexie Bousman is participating in her first Madison County 4-H Fair, and though her pet rooster, "Quail Bird," didn’t fare well with the judges, the bird was still a hit in other ways.
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Struggling to find the cool at the fair
As temperatures once again soared into the mid-90s on Monday, finding effective ways to keep animals and their humans cool became job one at the Madison County 4-H Fair.
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Rising early to get rabbits ready
By the time you read this Tuesday, Emilee Hollingsworth will have been up for hours, prepping and primping, cleaning and clipping the nails of her 18 rabbits, readying them for judging at the Madison County 4-H Fair.
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