2014 Fair!! ~ Day 9

Oh my goodness, what a day at The Fair!

Today was jam-packed with all sorts of excitement. That's one of the things I love most about the Clark County Fair: even on Day 9, there are still things to do that capture my attention and fandom. As I have often said, our Fair is small but mighty.

We got home just a bit after midnight. Jerry Harris' show ran late (TOTALLY worth it) and we walked out of the Green Gate well after the official 11:00pm closing time. Thankfully The Malt Shoppe was still open on our way out so Rob could get a night cap vanilla milkshake. I don't eat alone.

Some brief highlights before The Big News:

Today was the CosPlay event. They tried it last year and I thought it was such a miserable failure, I couldn't imagine FairCon would ever appear on the Fan Fair Schedule again. Color me wrong.

A teen friend of mine enjoyed the Fair in costume today with a group of friends. They said there were nine CosPlayers for the "Meet and Greet" at 2:00pm. I assumed they meant nine entries of which their group of five was one. Nope, nine people of which their group comprised more than half. Nevertheless, this triples the number of CosPlayers we saw last year. With that rapid growth, I am totally expecting to see FairCon return next year with much huzzah.

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Rob has a perfect description for Tuff Trucks. He calls it a great example of "Hold my beer and watch this" guy stupidom. At its most fundamental, Tuff Trucks is really just a bunch of guys driving over mounds of dirt, trying to break and blow up stuff on their trucks. It's fantastic!

We watched the evening show where I quickly determined that Cherokee Jeeps are very bouncy. We didn't attend the afternoon show since we were playing with llamas. As a result, we very sadly missed the wedding that occurred just before the trucks started racing around at 2:00pm. Yep, a Tuff Truck driver got hitched on the "table top" mound of dirt in the middle of the track. Rumor has it the happy couple is submitting a video in hopes of being featured on "My Big Redneck Wedding." Yee haw!

Jerry's 10:00pm hypnosis show was a hoot! His subjects were so deeply asleep, they started falling off of their chairs. At one point, with three of them strewn about the stage, Rob remarked that it was like watching a Shakespearean play. Later, one of the young women was certain that she was Miley Cyrus. However, one of her male back-up dancers stole the show when he leapt onto other dancers at the climax of the hit song "Wrecking Ball."

I was actually shocked the other "dancer" caught him.

We spent some time watching the Junior Livestock Auction, also known as the event where young farmers learn hard life lessons about getting emotionally attached to 4-H animals that they are raising for meals. I waved to a couple of friends holding numbered paddles and was disappointed they barely acknowledged me. I am embarrassed to admit how long it took me to realize they couldn't say hey without signaling they were bidding on a pig. Oops.

So those are the basic highlights.

Oh, and yeah, this happened:

OMG OMG OMG

Yes, that is indeed a BLUE FIRST PLACE RIBBON!!! For Open Class Llama Obstacles! Many minds in the Llama Greenway were blown, mine the very most.

Let's be clear: even though I have been volunteering as an assistant handler with Rojo the Therapy Llama for several years, I am pretty clueless when it comes to all the rules and regulations for 4-H-type llama competitions.

There are so many things to remember in the show ring that never ever matter one smidge when hanging out with a camelid in a retirement home or classroom or minivan. Things like holding the lead rope with your thumb pointed down and always staying on the left side of the llama and keeping a llama's neck worth of slack in the lead rope and not touching the llama if you want it to walk backwards or sideways. That's only the stuff I DO know. There's a gazillion more details I know I am missing.

I have been competing in the Open Class Llama Obstacle competition for four years. I consider myself comic relief. Last year I came in 10th place. I joked that it was first place with a bonus zero. The ribbon was even blue! Well, light blue if you want to be technical.

Early flukes and a much more generous judge my first two years garnered 4th and 5th place ribbons. Last year, I convinced Rob to join me (those persuasive wifely wiles again) and he earned a snazzy lime green 7th place ribbon to complement my light blue 10th place.  We were rocking the pastels.

This year, Rob and I decided our goal was to try to fill in some ribbon gaps and aim for 6th, 8th, and 9th places. Early targets of Happy Meal Toy marketing, we want to collect all ten! Well, except for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place ribbons because, well, we weren't going to be silly about it.

We had a choice of three animals to compete with today:

• Little Charlie Chaplin is a brand new addition to Lori and Dave's barn and he is in training to eventually become a therapy llama. Their daughter, Shannon, recently trained Little Chap to jump in the minivan but that's been about the extent of it so far. This is his first Fair, mostly to expose him to activity and people. Little Chap is young and energetic and unpredictable. We all assumed he would pull and resist too much to be safe for my back. So Shannon showed him, just for Little Chap to get some experience.

• Andre is a sweet but lively alpaca (alpacas compete with llamas; it's ok -- they are cousins). He's been in training for therapy work for awhile but he can still be a bit uncooperative and therefore dangerous for my high-maintenance back. So Rob showed Andre.

• That left Napoleon the Alpaca. He is an old pro at going to convalescent homes and schools. He is very well trained, but he is still an alpaca. They are herd animals and don't always like being by themselves. Napoleon occasionally needs some convincing to remember who is in charge, but he was unanimously considered the back-friendliest animal for me to show. So Napoleon was my show ring buddy.

I was ridiculously nervous as it got closer to show time. I laughed at and reprimanded myself. I mean, I wanted 6th, 8th, or 9th place. How hard would that be? I was there for comic relief, for goodness sake. No reason to be nervous.

I made this face for a brief moment, only sort of posing.  My photographer is awesome.

But the truth is, as much as I was saying it didn't matter to me how well I showed Napoleon, it really did. I always care and I always want to do my best. So I was nervous about not really knowing what I was doing while at the same time trying to convince myself that my ignorance would be great fun for the audience.

When Napoleon and I were awaiting our turn to go next, he suddenly got really fidgety. He kept going around me in circles, like a pony ride. All his energy and his seeming desire to bolt back to his pen made me even more nervous and convinced those other pastel ribbons were well in sight.

And then we were off. Through "train tracks" and under "branches" and over "bridges." Napoleon didn't really want to sidestep but I was astounded he was willing to go backwards.

He slalomed the stick-things like a pro but would have absolutely nothing to do with a kiddie pool of water. The rules are that the human handler has to walk through the pool with the animal. Despite three attempt to get Napoleon to join me, his feetsies stayed dry while I squished around the Llama Greenway for awhile.

As I finished the obstacles and left the ring, I didn't hear a sound. It was eerily silent. No polite applause, no laughter, nothing. It was so freaky, I was certain I had messed up terribly. I asked Shannon if I had forgotten something. She just smiled and said, "No, you did good." I just knew she was being nice and was protecting me from some terrible embarrassment that I would come to know about all too soon.

There were six obstacle competitors. So much for gunning for the 8th and 9th place ribbons. However, when Rob's name was called for 6th place, I clapped more than I should have. But hey, the collection was filling in!

I was prepared to hear my name next. Andre had been a handful; he pulled Rob all over the place, didn't really want to do any of the obstacles, and got distracted by some alpaca buddies near the show ring. So Andre placing lower than Napoleon wasn't a surprise. I got ready to collect my 5th place ribbon.

But, my name wasn't called. They kept not calling it.

They finally called Shannon's name for Little Chap's win for 2nd place. We were all ecstatic! Second place the first time ever in a show ring?!? Are you kidding?! But Little Chap had done phenomenonally. He followed Shannon's commands, he completed most of the obstacles, and he got at least one foot in the kiddie pool. We all can't wait to see what he can do as a therapy llama.

So after Shannon's red ribbon, that left one more. My name still hadn't been called. I was certain there had been a mix-up and they had somehow lost my entry. All my nervousness had been for not since for some reason the judges had forgotten me. Just as I was trying to figure out how I was going to blog about that without sounding inconsolably crushed, I heard my name.

Lori, Shannon, Rob, and I all looked at each other in disbelief...immediately followed by a spontaneous group cheer that echoed all around the Greenway. The goofy grin really hasn't left my face since.

1st place, 2nd place, and a not-quite-as-elated 6th place.  But Rob, we needed the 6th place ribbon for our collection!

A little while later, I tried to post something coherent on my Columbian blog, but I just couldn't find the words. So I just posted "OMG!" with a photo.

And now even 12+ hours later, I am still having trouble finding words for all of this. This blog entry has been surprisingly difficult to write. I am excited and thrilled and confused and giddy and still wondering if the judge made a mistake. I keep looking at the pictures to remember that it really happened, and then I try telling myself that all this breathless excitement in my head is silly because this was just one competition among many, during one year at the Fair among many, for one animal among many. I mean, there are 4-H kids all over the Fairgrounds who have been handed blue ribbons numerous times in the past nine days alone.  I really need to get a grip.

See?  And I'm sure this 4-H'er is sleeping right now.  Me, I'm not convinced I am going to sleep for the next 3 days.  And when I finally do, it will certainly be while clutching my ribbon.

And yet, this is the first time I have ever been handed a big blue ribbon with a gold llama head embossed on it. I am well aware that this experience may not repeat itself. So I am trying to breathe it in, marinate in it, and enjoy it while it lasts. But there is a really good chance that I will be purchasing a new picture frame soon.

Wow and wow.

Stats
Today's pedometer reading was a very respectable 4.20 miles. Rob commented that at least half of that was due to me dancing wildly all over the Llama Greenway with my ribbon. He might be right.

The milkshake Flavor of the Day was blackberry.

The re-entry hand stamp animal was a dog that looked a lot like a beefy steer. The Yellow Gate attendant clarified that it was supposed to be a collie dog. I'm still not convinced.

Rob shared his Diet Cokes with both "Josh" and "Andrew." I shared my Coke with "Ricardo."

I still have a couple things I need to eat tomorrow, namely a piece of Church Ladies Pie. I was going to have it today but the Deep Friend Cookie Dough was calling my name. All in all, a very tasty Fair Food Feast Parade today!

Sneaking in some healthy cherry tomatoes from our garden.  NOW they're red...

Yummy fries to go with my Ms. Burger from the Burger Buggy

Ms. Burger.  It is a hamburger with a slice of ham on it, too.  AND there was some mayo on there!  I think this is the best burger at the Fair. 

Two sodas in one week??  I'm such a rebel!  Enjoying a Coke with "Ricardo."

Trying to calm my show ring nerves with an old-school chocolate covered ice cream bar. 

Tutti Fruitti and Lime Hawaiian Shaved Ice.  I liked the Tutti Fruitti.  It was sort of a tangy cherry.

Beignets that Rob and I shared.  The vendor was at the Fair last year in a little truck.  Now they are sharing space with that lady at the Yakisoba Noodle place.  Excellent treat, the beignets.  They were covered in powdered sugar, which Rob finished off with his fingers.  Like I said, I do not eat alone.

Still hungry!  This chocolate covered banana from the Smoothies vendor outside of the Grandstands was very good.  They dipped it while I was waiting.

Another fruit drink from the Smashers booth.  This one was Peach Pear.  It was as refreshing and tangy as the strawberry one.  I like this new vendor!

A chicken gyro from the Greek Cusina booth.  It was pretty good, although it could have used more tzatziki sauce.

A little Deep Fried Cookie Dough to end the night.  Mmmmm!